Nalanda University is a public central/union university located in Nalanda district's Rajgir in the state of Bihar, India. It is designated as an international institution of national importance and excellence. The international university was established by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 2010. The decision to set up the university was endorsed at the second and fourth East Asia Summits. The President of India serves as Visitor to the university....
This document investigates the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on communication within Indonesia’s digital society. It systematically reviews the literature and conceptualizes the Prompt Society, which describes the condition wherein communication becomes procedural and algorithmically mediated. The automation of reflexivity, cognitive dependency, and algorithmic power describes the three highly interlinked dimensions identified. The author demonstrates the reconfiguration of social agency and interaction, communication, and the human process of social interaction by moving from a reflective conversation to simple procedural prompting. The author acknowledges the need for critical intervention in algorithmic literacy to preserve ethical and reflective communication.
Microplastics (MPs), recognised as emerging contaminants, are increasingly prevalent in riverine ecosystems due to escalating anthropogenic activities. River deltas, which typically serve as ecologically rich and pristine habitats, are now under threat from solid and liquid waste inputs, particularly in rivers flowing through urban and agricultural landscapes. This research investigates MP contamination in sediments of the Brahmani River within the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (India), encompassing both mangrove and non-mangrove sites. The highest recorded abundance was 50.4 items/kg dry weight (dw) and 25 items/kg wet weight (ww), with fibers, fragments, and films as the dominant morphotypes. Across most sites, fibers in the 0.1–5 mm size range were predominant. Polymer identification by ATR-FTIR revealed a predominance of polyamide (PA), followed by low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP). SEM–EDS analyses revealed that MPs had surface-adsorbed heavy metals (HMs), including chromium, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, barium, and lead, which were sourced from the surrounding riverine environment. Risk assessment indices, including contamination factor (CF), polymer hazard index (PHI), potential ecological risk index (PERI), and pollution load index (PLI), indicated high ecological risk at several sites. High ecological risk indices were observed, raising serious concerns for elephants that depend on the river for drinking water. Ecological functioning in the Brahmani River in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary supports saltwater crocodiles, Olive Ridley turtles, and other native and migratory birds. Mangrove sediments were identified as significant sinks for MPs, with the potential to disrupt benthic communities and impair mangrove productivity. This research will help ecologists, policymakers, NGOs, and state and federal governments develop policies and regulations to protect the Brahmani River, which supports the ecological functions of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhitarkanika National Park.
Ponds, ubiquitous in subtropical regions, play a pivotal role in regulating the regional hydrological cycle, fostering biodiversity, and providing livelihood opportunities. This study assesses the water quality and ecological health of ten rural and urban ponds in Gaya district, Bihar, analysing PO₄3⁻, SO₄2⁻, NO₃⁻, Chl-a, DO, BOD, COD, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and bicarbonate, during February–March 2021. Anthropogenic activities, including grey water, domestic waste, and agricultural runoff, have led to elevated nutrient and organic loads, with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) ranging from 35.0 to 60.0 mg/L and chemical oxygen demand (COD) ranging from 130.0 to 290.0 mg/L, exceeding limits prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). All ponds were classified as hypertrophic, based on Carlson’s Composite Trophic Status Index (CTSI > 90), indicating excessive nutrient enrichment. High concentrations of total nitrogen (TN-66–236 mg/L) and total phosphorus (TN-0.45–12.2 mg/L) indicate strong phosphorus and nitrogen-driven trophic pressure throughout the system. Persistently higher TSI(TN) than TSI(TP) across rural and urban sites indicates nitrogen loading as the primary regulator of trophic state. Furthermore, the Water Quality Index (WQI, 207.1–350.9) indicated unsuitability for domestic use. Globally, small ponds are being lost due to intensive agriculture, encroachment and urban sprawl, even though they are increasingly recognised as critical regulators of nutrient cycling, refuges for freshwater biodiversity, buffers against droughts and floods, and serve as potential sources of irrigation and drinking water. Therefore, assessing their ecological health for human use is vital for advancing sustainable development and guiding rejuvenation strategies and policy frameworks to strengthen conservation practices.
This study examines the influence of board-level governance and national institutional conditions on corporate disclosure of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in emerging markets, specifically focusing on the Middle East. Grounded in resource dependence and institutional theories, this study investigates the impact of board size, independence, tenure, gender diversity, and meeting frequency on SDG reporting, as well as the interplay of these factors with country-level governance indicators, specifically Voice and Accountability and Political Stability. This study employs panel data from 249 publicly traded companies in ten Middle Eastern nations (2020–2023), utilizing fixed-effects models, Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, and quantile regression to analyze variations in disclosure levels. The results show that more board meetings and more women on the board always lead to better SDG disclosure. The Middle East Green Initiative has also improved reporting practices in the region. In contrast, board size, independence, and tenure have only small average effects. However, quantile regression shows that these factors are important for firms with high levels of disclosure, indicating that the effects of governance are not always linear. The quality of national governance has only a small effect on the mean models. This study enhances sustainability governance literature by amalgamating firm- and country-level determinants and illustrating how regional climate initiatives can stimulate SDG reporting. Although rooted in the Middle East, the findings provide applicable insights for emerging markets and regional frameworks globally, from ASEAN to the African Union, on utilizing governance and policy alignment to promote sustainability transparency.
