Education is the foundation of culture and the engine of economies; it is an essential part of life. However, it remains inaccessible or unavailable in some parts of developing nations. Moreover, such barriers for girls and women can extend beyond education and into the workplace, and this is a bone of contention based on erroneous beliefs and other factors. Barriers for girls’ and women’s education are debatable in the literature; however, there is a sparsity of literature that focuses on the bridge to the workplace. Therefore, through a focus group study, this study explores the barriers that prohibit the transition for women from higher education to employment in Egypt. Based on qualitative data from focus group participants, the barriers to girls’ and women’s education are related to cultural, economic, family, and structural–educational barriers. In addition, stereotypical thinking and discrimination are factors hindering girls and women from ‘decent’ employment in Egypt. Based on this study’s results, some practical recommendations were elicited, which centre around awareness enhancement, formulation of laws and policies, and development of employability skills and entrepreneurship skills. The managerial and societal implications of this study are illustrated. It is anticipated that the results of this study will serve to create an inherent need to undertake a larger survey to investigate the barriers from a wider number of respondents.

The determinants of hospital project or healthcare project (HP) success are divergent and difficult to generalize because of the heterogeneous perceptions of various stakeholders. There is also a paucity of HP life cycle success evaluations from planning to post-construction phases. Meanwhile, the successful delivery and continual functionality of HPs are pivotal for sustainable development, as evident in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 about ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all people. To contribute to sustainable development, a novel evaluation framework is essential to define robust metrics of selected key performance indicators (KPIs) for monitoring and controlling HPs at the life cycle phases thereof. Fuzzy set theory, namely the bisector error method (BEM), was applied to questionnaire survey outputs of an expert panel to establish performance metrics of HPs within five grades, namely, poor, average, good, very good and excellent. The novel evaluation framework comprising indexes, indicators and grades are demonstrated on hypothetical HPs to provide objective, reliable and practical outcomes for performance comparison, benchmarking and improvement purposes. The findings show that a high standard is required for excellent planning, execution, and performance in HPs. The life cycle success evaluation framework is foundational in policymaking. Thus, policymakers can track the success of HPs by linking the performance metrics to goals and policy priorities in benchmarking and strategic planning for sustainable development in HPs.

Over the past few decades, numerous efforts have been made to increase the proportion of women in the construction industry, coupled with various calls for legislation and rules to prohibit gender discrimination. Despite these efforts, minimal progress has been noticed in the construction industry. While recruitment remains crucial, the current culture in construction reveals a knowledge gap in recruitment and retention in employment—a concept known as a ‘leaky pipeline’. Lack of awareness of career options and the challenges of working in a male-dominated, occasionally discriminatory workplace are some of the significant barriers to attracting and keeping women in the construction industry. Much of the research in South Africa shows that most construction companies employed few women but only in lower secretarial and administrative positions. Therefore, this study investigated the barriers facing women’s entry and retention in construction-related employment in South Africa using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) to understand and prioritise the barriers. Data were collected through the administration of online and paper-based questionnaires. The results of the analysis show that the barriers in the order of criticality include support and empowerment issues (SEs), educational/academic-related barriers (ABs), barriers from professional conditions and work attributes (BPs), social perception and gender stereotype barriers (SPs), professional perceptions and gender bias (PP), and individual confidence/interest/awareness/circumstance-related barriers (IBs), respectively. Based on the findings of the study, several recommendations, including on-the-job tutoring and flexible work arrangements, amongst others, were provided.

The pursuit of disabled students’ inclusion in higher education remains a significant global concern, particularly in developing nations where systemic and institutional barriers persist. Despite progressive legislative and policy frameworks promoting inclusive education, Kenyan and Pakistani universities continue to encounter structural, financial, and attitudinal challenges that hinder equal participation in learning and research for disabled students. This study aims to identify, analyze, and prioritize the complementary support strategies necessary for disabled students’ inclusion in learning and research opportunities in both Kenyan and Pakistani higher education institutions. Employing a quantitative research design, data were gathered through structured questionnaires distributed among disabled students in institutions of higher learning. The data were analyzed using the fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) approach, which integrates fuzzy logic with descriptive statistics to objectively determine the weight, level of agreement, and internal consistency of the identified support strategies. Among the six support strategies, Physical Facility Support emerged as the most crucial in Pakistan, followed by Attitudinal and Community Support. On the other hand, the Kenyan group indicated Policies and Advocacy as the most essential support strategy for disabled students’ inclusion in higher education. The findings underscore that the two countries differ in how they prioritize support strategies for the inclusion of students with disabilities. This study contributes theoretically by advancing the application of the FSE model within inclusion research, offering a rigorous, data-driven framework for understanding multidimensional support strategies for disabled students.

The Nigerian construction industry is faced with environmental degradation, economic and social-related challenges, in which Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) could be regarded as practical solution. Sadly, many construction professionals and stakeholders are reluctant to adopt this innovative approach in developing countries like Nigeria. This informs the necessity to investigate the relationships between MiC indicators and performance metrics with a survey of professionals with practical experience in the use of MiC in executing infrastructure in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. The data retrieved from the respondents were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationships between MiC indicators and performance in this study. The results of the analysis revealed that both procedural and internal MiC indicators are significant to enhancing economic, environmental, and social performance. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the impact of MiC is extremely beneficial in all construction ramifications for sustainable practice. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that massive awareness campaigns regarding the necessity of using technology in construction activities be launched among professionals and stakeholders in the construction industry to enhance the use of MiC in the Nigerian construction industry.

The global construction industry is projected to reach a value of US$22 trillion by 2040, accounting for approximately 7% of the global gross domestic product (Mischke et al. 2024). However, the in...