## 5 Conclusions and Future Work  
This study analyzes the causality of the barriers that impede EDUC4 implementation using the DEMATEL. This work extended the conventional DEMATEL analysis by integrating the notion of Fermatean fuzzy sets into the analysis. Such an approach is novel in the domain literature and is considered the primary methodological contribution of this work. The threshold parameter for the DEMATEL analysis is also analytically determined via the application of the MMDE algorithm. A post-analysis of the results of the proposed computational framework is also reported. The analysis yielded the following findings:  
* The critical EDUC4 barriers in the baseline case are identified to be related to the lack of training resources (B5), costs (B2), insufficiency of available technologies (B8), skills gap of human resources (B3), knowledge gap (B7), and the complexity of the learning platforms (B11);
* The lack of training resources (B5) for implementing EDUC4 has the most influence on the other barriers, making it the most prominent dispatcher (in terms of frequency) in the baseline case;
* The complexity of learning platforms (B11) for EDUC4 implementation receives the most influence from the dispatchers, making it the most prominent receiver in the baseline case;
* The scenario analysis and the subsequent statistical test show that, while B5 is more prominent in terms of frequency of critical relationships with other EDUC4 barriers, addressing the cost barrier (B2) yields statistically more favorable results in terms of the general (mean) reduction of EDUC4 implementation barriers in the system. Two important observations are made based on these findings. First, the quantity/ frequency of critical relationships may not directly imply priority. Rather, the quality of critical relationships may be seen as a more favorable measure for prioritizing EDUC4 implementation barriers. Second, considering the interdependencies of the EDUC4 barriers of implementing EDUC4 is essential in focusing efforts on those barriers that yield the greatest abatement of other barriers, which should further facilitate EDUC4 implementation. For instance, focusing investment on addressing the most significant barriers is comparative to addressing the fundamental issue of implementing EDUC4. Consequently, the prominent barriers (i.e., B2 and B5) should be prioritized by policymakers to efficiently address the EDUC4 implementation. Among the two prominent barriers, the cost barrier (B2) is found to yield significantly greater abatement of aggregate influence of barriers in the system. This insight is essential for the Philippines and other developing economies with limited resources for employing initiatives to implement EDUC4, making prioritization critical, especially in addressing EDUC4 barriers. While the case demonstration is in the Philippines, the developed causal framework can be adopted by other developing economies, especially in the ASEAN, because the variations in the characteristics of the countries in this region are relatively minimal. However, an analyst should factor in cultural factors, which can be more pronounced in other countries. Nevertheless, the generalizability of the results of \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **Baseline** & **Scenario (a)** & **Baseline** & **Scenario (b)** & **Scenario (a)** & **Scenario (b)** \\ \hline Mean & 0.5430 & 0.3338 & 0.5273 & 0.4333 & 0.3338 & 0.4333 \\ Variance & 0.0042 & 0.0019 & 0.0057 & 0.0030 & 0.0019 & 0.0030 \\ Observations & 132 & 132 & 132 & 132 & 132 & 132 \\ df & 230 & 238 & 251 & 251 & \\ t Stat & 30.7897 & & 11.5844 & & \(-\)16.3662 & \\ \(p\)-value & 0.0000 * & & 0.0000 * & & 0.0000 * & \\ t Critical & 1.9703 & & 1.9700 & & 1.9695 & \\ (two-tail) & 1.9703 & & 1.9700 & & 1.9695 & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Significantly different at \(\alpha=0.01\).  
\end{table} 
Table 4: The \(t\)-test assuming unequal variances of comparisons of the mean of the total relation matrices for the baseline, scenario (a), and scenario (b).