bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Safe Development Paradox in Flood Risk Management: A Critical Review
Authors: Breen Morgan J. , Kebede Abiy S. , König Carola S.
Published: December 2022

Climate change and continued urban development in flood-prone areas exacerbate flood risks. Flood Risk Management authorities often turn to structural protection measures to minimise losses. However, these measures often lead to infrastructural lock-ins with potential unintended consequences as increased safety can induce increased development, ultimately leading to higher losses in the event of failures of the structural safe-guards in place. This process has been referred to as the Safe Development Paradox: a cross-cutting science-policy-practice challenge that requires a systematic understanding in the context of climate change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, there are no comprehensive review studies, to date, that summarize the state of knowledge of the Safe Development Paradox. This paper provides the first evidence base through a critical review of the state-of-the-art and quantitative analysis of the peer-reviewed English-language literature since 2000, highlighting key knowledge gaps and issues hindering progress in addressing the Safe Development Paradox. It was identified that current research is compounded by a lack of consistent terminology, limited geographic distribution of case studies, and skewed emphasis on fluvial flooding. The review ends with potential directions across the science, policy, and practice domains for increasing knowledge and tackling the Safe Development Paradox.
A Bibliometric Analysis on Pay-per-Click as an Instrument for Digital Entrepreneurship Management Using VOSviewer and SCOPUS Data Analysis Tools
Authors: Rodriguez-Marin Mauro , Saiz-Alvarez José Manuel , Huezo-Ponce Lizette
Published: December 2022

Network data maps constitute a practical visual data-classification tool in structuring complex research literature endowed with multiple economic, social, and psychological relationships, as happens with the evolution of digital entrepreneurship as a research topic in the COVID-19 era. Has the digitalization process, accelerated by COVID-19, influenced entrepreneurship by strengthening digital entrepreneurship worldwide? Is innovation the most-cited keyword in the digital entrepreneurship-related literature published in the SCOPUS database from 2001 onwards? Does pay-per-click as an instrument for digital entrepreneurship management foster sustainable development? To answer these questions, we combine a software tool for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks, VOSviewer version 1.6.18, with the SCOPUS bibliographic data tool to investigate the keyword ‘digital entrepreneurship.’ As a result, we obtained 2154 documents in the SCOPUS database for 2001–2022 in all 27 subject areas, of which 1055 documents were from BMA (Business, Management, and Accounting) and EEF (Economics, Econometrics, and Finance) areas. Regarding the keyword ‘pay-per-click,’ we obtained 63 papers for 2005–2022 from BMA and EEF subject areas. We find that there is a growing interest in researching digital entrepreneurship led by authors from the European Union and followed by the United States; innovation is the most-cited keyword in documents related to digital entrepreneurship, and researchers worldwide are giving more importance to the process of digitalization compared to the link between educational, economic, and technological factors and digital entrepreneurship. Regarding ‘pay-per-click,’ we find that the literature published on this topic is broadly based on the US, and given the small number of publications on this issue, it is a research area with great potential to investigate and publish about it.
Variations in Mode Choice of Residents Prior and during COVID-19: An Empirical Evidence from Johannesburg, South Africa
Authors: Aderibigbe Oluwayemi-Oniya , Gumbo Trynos
Published: December 2022

There have been numerous studies on the impact of COVID-19 on mobility in most developed countries; however, few of the studies have focused on the impact of the pandemic in developing countries, especially in Africa. In view of this, our study examined the impact of the pandemic on residents’ transportation mode choice in South Africa. This study adopted the use of both primary and secondary data obtained from TomTom statistics and an online survey of respondents’ mobility patterns before and during the pandemic. The questionnaire was administered through emails, and respondents were asked to provide information about their socio-economic characteristics, travel characteristics (before and during COVID-19), and the effect of COVID-19 on their travel patterns. A multinomial logistic model was adopted for analysis, and the findings revealed that variations existed in trip frequency, trip purpose, and mode choice of people before and during the pandemic. It was also discovered that respondents shifted from the use of public transport to private cars during the pandemic as a result of the implications for their health. Based on this, we propose that an enabling environment and an efficient transport planning technique should be adopted by the government and relevant stakeholders in the transport sector. This will integrate all modes of transport to reduce the over-reliance on private automobiles and also to encourage the use of non-motorized transport (walk/cycle) for sustainable transport planning in the future.
Multimodal Approaches to Math and Physical Education within Cooperative Learning to Enhance Social Attitudes
Authors: Bassachs Marcel , Serra Teresa , Bubnys Remigijus , Cañabate Dolors , Colomer Jordi
Published: December 2022

This study investigates cooperative learning educational approaches that support preservice teachers’ (PSTs) academic and social attitudes. The extent of positive interdependence between PSTs during multimodal cooperative physical and mathematical activities was measured using a validated questionnaire on attitudes (academic and social) toward cooperative learning attitudes. The multimodal activities triggered positive PSTs’ interdependence characterized by teaching dimensions such as encouraging learner-to-learner interactions, intersubjective skills, and sociocultural awareness. PSTs believed that the cooperative activities helped to form peer-to-peer relationships among team members, which in turn fostered professional judgments. While social and affective attitudes were rated higher than academic ones, the difference was not significant. Hence, this study emphasizes that the multimodal approaches (based on both mathematical and physical development) triggered deeper social rather than academic attitudes, thus underscoring the importance of promoting key competences and the role they play in sustainable education.
Hydrogen for Cooking: A Review of Cooking Technologies, Renewable Hydrogen Systems and Techno-Economics
Authors: Mukelabai Mulako D. , Wijayantha K. G. U. , Blanchard Richard E.
Published: December 2022

About 3 billion people use conventional carbon-based fuels such as wood, charcoal, and animal dung for their daily cooking needs. Cooking with biomass causes deforestation and habitat loss, emissions of greenhouse gases, and smoke pollution that affects people’s health and well-being. Hydrogen can play a role in enabling clean and safe cooking by reducing household air pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This first-of-a-kind review study on cooking with hydrogen assessed existing cooking technologies and hydrogen systems in developing country contexts. Our critical assessment also included the modelling and experimental studies on hydrogen. Renewable hydrogen systems and their adoptability in developing countries were analysed. Finally, we presented a scenario for hydrogen production pathways in developing countries. Our findings indicated that hydrogen is attractive and can be safely used as a cooking fuel. However, radical and disruptive models are necessary to transform the traditional cooking landscape. There is a need to develop global south-based hydrogen models that emphasize adoptability and capture the challenges in developing countries. In addition, the techno-economic assumptions of the models vary significantly, leading to a wide-ranging levelized cost of electricity. This finding underscored the necessity to use comprehensive techno-economic assumptions that can accurately predict hydrogen costs.
Judicial Independence and Domestic Supply Chain: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment
Authors: Cao Yuqiang , Liang Weiming , Yang Guocheng , Yin Jun
Published: December 2022

How to effectively break down market segmentation and build a sustainable and unified domestic market has become critical to achieving high-quality development in the Chinese economy nowadays. This study examines the effects and mechanisms of improved judicial independence on the development of larger and more sustainable domestic supply chains, using a sample of Chinese enterprises from 2011 to 2016 and a quasi-natural experiment of local judicial reforms. We find that, after the establishment of local circuit courts, the distribution distance of a firm’s supply chain increases significantly. The mechanism analysis suggests that the increase in distribution distance in the domestic supply chain is due to the breakdown of market segmentation resulting from the reduction in local judicial protectionism and the improvement in the quality of local justice after the establishment of circuit courts. Further tests show that the impact of improved judicial independence on the domestic supply chain is most pronounced among small and manufacturing non-state-owned enterprises and those from less competitive industries. Overall, the findings of this paper provide important insights into developing large and sustainable supply chains via breaking down market segmentation, thereby promoting long-term economic growth.
Implementation of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Procurement Process of Buildings: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Scherz Marco , Wieser Antonija Ana , Passer Alexander , Kreiner Helmuth
Published: December 2022

The construction industry adds a high share to global CO2 emissions and, thus, to the global climate crisis. Future buildings need to be planned, constructed, operated, and deconstructed in a lifecycle-oriented manner so that the building stock represents a capital asset for future generations. The greatest leverages for reducing a building’s CO2 emissions lie in the early project phase and subsequently in the tendering and awarding process, which makes early Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indispensable. In this study, we set a sociological research framework consisting of (i) choosing a research topic, (ii) conducting a literature review, (iii) measuring variables and gathering data, (iv) analyzing data, and (v) drawing a conclusion. Since there are countless studies that apply LCA in the construction sector for environmental assessment, emission reduction, or decision support, we posed the question of whether LCA was also applied in the public building tendering and awarding process. Furthermore, we focused on identifying obstacles to LCA implementation in this early project phase. Therefore, we applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The results show that numerous articles focused on sustainable tendering or green public procurement in the construction industry; however, the LCA method is scarcely used in the procurement processes (19 articles in the final sample). Based on our findings, the main obstacles to LCA implementation in the procurement process are highlighted in the study. In the future, the mandatory integration of LCA into the procurement process will be crucial to reduce the CO2 emissions generated by the construction industry and thus contribute to the EU climate target plan to ensure carbon neutrality by 2050.
Sustainable Education Quality Improvement Using Academic Accreditation: Findings from a University in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Almurayh Abdullah , Saeed Saqib , Aldhafferi Nahier , Alqahtani Abdullah , Saqib Madeeha
Published: December 2022

Accreditation is widely considered to be a vital tool for quality assurance in higher education; however, there is disagreement in the academic community on the intended benefits of accreditation. Preparing for accreditation requires extensive financial and human resources to complete the required documentation. All accreditation agencies require improvements in institutional infrastructure, enhanced student support, appropriate learning environments, and faculty development, which can directly improve students’ learning experiences. In this paper, we explore the impact of accreditation on students’ learning by using a case study-based approach. We selected four degree programs from a University in Saudi Arabia and compared the performances of students in different courses before and after acquiring local program accreditation (NCAAA). The results highlight that although there is no direct relationship between increased student performance and acquiring accreditation, there is a significant impact on the performance of student learning. However, there is a need for sustained efforts to continuously adopt accreditation-aligned practices to gain a sustained advantage. We have presented a model that can enable academic institutions to continuously adhere to best practices even if no accreditation visit has been scheduled in the near future. This way, academic programs can consistently improve their processes and enhance student learning.
Social Capital and Household Economic Welfare: Do Entrepreneurship, Financial and Digital Literacy Matter?
Authors: Prayitno Putra Hilmi , Sahid Sheerad , Hussin Muhammad
Published: December 2022

Alleviating household economic fragility and poverty is a global challenge in achieving a nation’s well-being. This study aims to examine the impact of social capital and Indonesian household economic welfare, as well as understand the mediating role of entrepreneurial, digital, and financial literacy. To address this objective, a structural equation modeling partial least square was adopted to acquire comprehend findings. The survey data were gathered from households in East Java of Indonesia using a simple random sampling approach. The findings from this study highlight that social capital significantly influences several literacies of households in Indonesia, including digital literacy, financial literacy, and entrepreneurial literacy. However, this study failed to confirm the nexus between social capital and household economic welfare. In addition, financial literacy, digital literacy, and entrepreneurial literacy all play an important role in mediating the connection between social capital and the economic welfare of households.
The Impact of Internet Use on Rural Women’s Off-Farm Work Participation: Empirical Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Wei , Zhang Shengbo
Published: December 2022

Promoting rural women’s participation in off-farm work is an important way to increase their income and alleviate a shortage of off-farm labor supply. The widespread use of the Internet provides new opportunities to promote their participation in off-farm work. This paper draws on data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to analyze the impact of Internet use on rural women’s off-farm work participation by using a logit model and propensity score matching method. The results show that, relative to groups who do not use the Internet, rural women who use the Internet demonstrate an eight-percentage point increase in their participation in off-farm work and a greater enhancement effect on the employed model than the self-employed model. Further analysis reveals that Internet use primarily affects rural women’s participation in off-farm work in four aspects: increasing the efficiency of access to information; increasing human capital; increasing the accumulation of social capital; and changing the perception of gender roles. The heterogeneity analysis finds that when rural women are younger and more educated, Internet use will have a more pronounced effect on their off-farm work participation. As the number of minors in the household increases, Internet use has a more positive effect on rural women’s off-farm work participation. Additionally, rural women in China’s eastern and central regions are more likely to be positively impacted by Internet use than counterparts from the west. The findings provide new empirical evidence that contributes to the government’s use of the Internet to promote rural female off-farm work participation.
Applying the DEMATEL Method to Evaluate Social Media Criteria in Promoting Sustainable Health Behavior—A Case Study of Vegetarian Diet Promotion by a Non-Profit Organization
Authors: Liao Chi-Horng
Published: December 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the determinants of the success of social media health promotion by non-profit organizations. Based on a literature review, fourteen criteria were considered in the study. A questionnaire was administered to seventeen respondents working with a non-profit organization involved in healthcare services in Taiwan. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to evaluate the causal relationships among the proposed factors. The results indicated that user-friendliness, word of mouth, and security mechanisms are some of the key causal factors. In addition, cultural consideration, emotional connection, using the same language and tone, and mobilization are among the key effect factors. The findings provide non-profit healthcare organizations with insights about how they can better implement health promotion on social media. The study also provides an original contribution by examining the success criteria of social media health promotion using the DEMATEL method.
The Effect of Exports and Two-Way Foreign Direct Investment between China and Pan-East Asian Countries
Authors: Hou Jingyuan , Cheng Zhonghai , Gong Xinshu
Published: December 2022

Rising protectionism and globalization have led to new interest in new regionalism. The facilitation and liberalization of two-way direct investment between China and Pan-East Asian countries result in increasing exports between these countries. By studying the relationship between China’s investment and export trade in Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian countries, this paper explores the influence mechanism of China’s two-way foreign direct investment and export trade with Pan-East Asian countries. The study discovers that with the improvement of the bilateral economic development level, China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) to Northeast Asia and Southeast Asian countries will significantly increase the scale of China’s export trade. Yet, the total value of the export creation effect decreases over time. China’s utilization of Inward Foreign Direct Investment (IFDI) has a significant inhibitory effect on export trade. The two-way interaction effect of China’s OFDI and IFDI is weak. As the level of IFDI in China increases, the effect of OFDI on exports increases—though this effect differs across regions and countries.
Acoustic Emission Test of Marble Powder Concrete
Authors: Wang Fujiang , Fan Liyun , Chen Yihu , Wan Zhaohua , Liu Fabiao
Published: December 2022

Uniaxial compression tests were carried out based on acoustic emission technology to study the rule and process of the damage evolution of marble powder concrete (MPC) under compression. The fracture characteristics of MPC are examined by analyzing the variation characteristics of acoustic emission signal parameters. The damage evolution model of MPC is established based on the characteristic parameters. The results showed that the strength loss rate of MPC decreased with the curing time, and the maximum strength loss rate of 28 d was 6.2% when the substitution percentage was 15%. According to the analysis of acoustic emission parameters, the compression failure process of MPC can be divided into three stages, the acoustic emission activity is higher in the early stage of loading, the relative stress during critical instability failure is reduced, and the substitution percentage is reduced by 4.2% at 15%. MPC is mainly fractured by tensile failure. With the increase in marble powder substitution percentage, the proportion of tensile mode cracks in stages I and II decreased. The proportion in stage III showed an increasing trend, and the failure characteristics gradually changed from brittleness to ductility. The fluctuation amplitude of the b-value increased with the substitution percentage, and the highest volatility was 18.5% when the substitution percentage was 15%. The crack propagation behavior gradually changed from stable growth to unstable growth. When the substitution percentage is lower than 15%, the damage development of MPC in the middle of stress (relative stress 20~70%) is relatively slow, and the damage development is accelerated in the late stress stage.
The Impact of Citizen Participation on Public Sentiments during Crises: Comparative Study of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
Authors: Giedraitytė Vidmantė , Smaliukienė Rasa , Vedlūga Tomas
Published: December 2022

Citizen participation is identified as one of the essential tools of modern public governance in developing sustainable cities and communities. This is especially important during crises. This analysis revisits the debate regarding citizen participation and its impact on two public sentiments: the sense of security of the citizen and the citizen’s attitude toward the future during a crisis. The aim of this analysis was to discover how the variables of citizen participation in support, decision-making, and physical assistance to state institutions during crises affect these two public sentiments within geographically proximate countries. A cross-country omnibus survey was conducted on a random sample of 2875 citizens in the three Baltic countries: 959 in Estonia, 931 in Latvia, and 985 in Lithuania, respectively. Poisson regression procedures and linear regression analysis models were used for data analysis. Citizen participation was examined as a complex phenomenon manifested in the domains of citizen-led and government-led participation. It was found that the correlation between citizen participation, sense of security, and attitude toward the future varies from country to country despite the same nature of the crisis and despite the geographical proximity of the countries in question. The correlation analysis provided the only exception to trust in government (element of citizen-led participation), which was directly associated with the citizen’s sense of security. In all other cases, the correlations found were country-specific and not engagement-specific. The findings suggest that the phenomenon of citizen participation during times of crisis has not yet been fully explored. Furthermore, despite prevailing paradigms about the positive impact of citizen participation in a non-crisis situation, its impact is not necessarily direct or positive.
The Effect of Up-Flow Rate on the Nitrogen Treatment Efficiency and Sludge Characteristics of ANAMMOX Process with Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Bed Reactor
Authors: Tsai Tsung-Yueh , Chen Wen-Yun
Published: December 2022

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (ANAMMOX) technology is a novel biological nitrogen removal technology with potential applications for the treatment of nitrogenous wastewater treatment prospects. Most of the literature explores the growth environment of anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and total nitrogen removal efficiency but the influence of reactor operating conditions (such as up-flow rate) on the treatment efficiency and sludge growth property of anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria is rarely discussed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discuss the effect of up-flow rate on the treatment efficiency and sludge property of the anaerobic ammonia oxidation treatment procedure adopting up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) as a reactor. The results show that up-flow rate has a significant effect on sludge concentration and sludge growth rate. The highest sludge concentration and maximum sludge growth rate could be obtained at the up-flow rate of 3.21 m/h. According to the analysis results of the sludge concentration, we speculate that when the flow rate was lower than 3.21 m/h, the sludge particles did not easily collide with each other to produce a larger sludge floc. On the contrary, when the up-flow rate was higher than 3.21 m/h, the larger sludge floc could be decomposed by the shear force. The sludge concentration was reduced by these two reasons. On the other hand, the average total nitrogen volume removal rates in test runs 1 through to 4 were 0.18 g-N/m3/d, 0.19 g-N/m3/d, 0.20 g-N/m3/d and 0.20 g-N/m3/d at up-flow rates from 1.95 m/h to 3.70 m/h, respectively. Therefore, the treatment efficiency was not affected by the up-flow rate in these operating conditions.
The Impact of Political Instability, Food Prices, and Crime Rate on Tourism: A Way toward Sustainable Tourism in Pakistan
Authors: Rauf Abdul , Abbas Ameer Muhammad Aamir , Rafiq Asim , Shakir Saifullah , Abid Saira
Published: December 2022

This study aims to examine the impact of political instability, food prices, and the crime rate on tourism development in Pakistan over the semi-annual data from 1995 to 2019. To achieve the goal of this study, an asymmetric ARDL technique was used. The Asymmetric Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) aided in gaining access to both positive and negative shocks in political stability, crime rate, and food inflation. The findings showed that due to positive variations in the political conditions, tourism will increase by 0.12%, and if political instability prevails in the country, tourism will decrease by 23%. On the other hand, the magnitude of political stability is less than the negative variation of political instability on tourism. The study concludes that there is a considerable asymmetric association between political instability, crime rate, food prices, and tourism development in Pakistan. Based on these findings, it is advised that the government adopt proactive measures to establish and reinforce the political stability mechanism and terrorism control, as well as to improve the living standards of the general population. Moreover, establish a structure for adaptation efforts, focusing on the coordination of tourism expansion platforms for sustainable tourism in Pakistan to attract more foreigners for the sake of a surge in tourism proceeds.
Digital Financial Services and Strategic Financial Management: Financial Services Firms and Microenterprises in African Markets
Authors: Elliot Esi A. , Cavazos Carmina , Ngugi Benjamin
Published: December 2022

This study highlights the impact of digital financial services as enhancing the capacity of development goals as well as social sustainability. The selected emerging markets are Ghanaian financial service providers (FSP)s and microenterprise customers (CME)s, where we examine how “Ubuntu”, an African philosophy of humanism, legitimizes spaces for a more democratic, egalitarian, and ethical engagement of human beings. This study adopts a grounded theory methodology for investigation of the phenomena with a sample size of 70 relationship managers. The findings further existing sustainability literature pertaining to social sustainability and consumer wellbeing. We contribute to theory by presenting a psychological perspective which be leveraged for digital financial services branding to expand usage within communal systems. This leverage of Ubuntu becomes especially relevant when there is the need to compensate for deficits in weak business infrastructures in low-income but expanding markets. Our study highlights digital financial services can be used to improve the emotional and psychological consumer wellbeing and to strengthen business relationships, meeting joint goals of market share expansion, brand image enhancement and profitability. This perspective also contributes to social sustainability on a global scale since the Western world depends on quality products from emerging markets.
Effect of Water Treatment on the Chemical Composition of Drinking Water: A Case of Lovozero, Murmansk Region, Russia
Authors: Mazukhina Svetlana , Drogobuzhskaya Svetlana , Sandimirov Sergey , Masloboev Vladimir
Published: December 2022

The surface waters in Russia’s Murmansk Region used for public water supply are exposed to the negative impact of dust particles carried from the storage facilities for mining waste. For example, lanthanides and other rare metals enter the surface waters in Lovozero District from the tailings storage facilities (TSFs) of the Lovozero Concentrator, which requires thorough water treatment of drinking water. Using the monitoring data of the natural water of the Virma River and of the tap water in the residential community of Lovozero, Murmansk Region, and with the help of physical and chemical modeling (in the software suite Selector), we examined the effect of reagents used in water treatment on water chemistry. It was shown that the use of aluminum polyoxydichloride coagulant can lead to an increase in the concentration of aluminum and chlorine in water, a change in pH and Eh values. The use of liquid chlorine leads to a decrease in pH values and a change in the concentration of HCO3−, which entails a change in the forms of migration of calcium and lanthanides in solution. The composition of the precipitated phases changed, which indicates a change in the water chemistry, demonstrating that the applied water treatment technology adopted in Lovozero fails to improve water quality. It was shown that replacing liquid chlorine (a hazardous reagent) with NaOCl optimized the water treatment process, eliminating the need to stabilize the pH by adding sodium. Physical and chemical modeling was found to be useful for studying and optimizing water treatment processes.
Ammonia Recovery from Organic Waste Digestate via Gas–Liquid Stripping: Application of the Factorial Design of Experiments and Comparison of the Influence of the Stripping Gas
Authors: Palakodeti Advait , Azman Samet , Dewil Raf , Appels Lise
Published: December 2022

The effects of temperature, pH, and gas-to-liquid-volume-ratio on ammonia recovery via gas–liquid stripping have been widely studied. However, there is a lack of a structured approach towards characterising the stripping process. Furthermore, limited information is available on the effect of the composition of the stripping gas on ammonia recovery. This study includes the application of a factorial design of experiments to ammonia stripping. The outcome is a mathematical relationship for ammonia recovery as a function of process conditions. The temperature was found to have the highest influence on ammonia recovery. With respect to the influence of the stripping gas, similar ammonia recoveries were reported when using air, CH4, and N2 (96, 92, and 95%, respectively). This was attributed to their similar influences on the pH of the digestate, and subsequently, on the free ammonia equilibrium. In addition, the presence of CO2 in the stripping gas had a critical effect on ammonia recovery due to its influence on the total ammonia equilibrium in the digestate. These results showed the possibility of using different stripping gases interchangeably to obtain similar ammonia recoveries, with a critical emphasis on their CO2 content.
Solar Photovoltaic Power Forecasting: A Review
Authors: Iheanetu Kelachukwu J.
Published: December 2022

The recent global warming effect has brought into focus different solutions for combating climate change. The generation of climate-friendly renewable energy alternatives has been vastly improved and commercialized for power generation. As a result of this industrial revolution, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have drawn much attention as a power generation source for varying applications, including the main utility-grid power supply. There has been tremendous growth in both on- and off-grid solar PV installations in the last few years. This trend is expected to continue over the next few years as government legislation and awareness campaigns increase to encourage a shift toward using renewable energy alternatives. Despite the numerous advantages of solar PV power generation, the highly variable nature of the sun’s irradiance in different seasons of various geopolitical areas/regions can significantly affect the expected energy yield. This variation directly impacts the profitability or economic viability of the system, and cannot be neglected. To overcome this challenge, various procedures have been applied to forecast the generated solar PV energy. This study provides a comprehensive and systematic review of recent advances in solar PV power forecasting techniques with a focus on data-driven procedures. It critically analyzes recent studies on solar PV power forecasting to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques or models implemented. The clarity provided will form a basis for higher accuracy in future models and applications.
Sustainable Environmental-Based ZnO Nanoparticles Derived from Pisonia grandis for Future Biological and Environmental Applications
Authors: Sutharappa Kaliyamoorthy Thiyakarajan , Subramaniyan Vijayakumar , Renganathan Sangeetha , Elavarasan Vidhya , Ravi Jagatheesvaran , Prabhakaran Kala Praseetha , Subramaniyan Prathipkumar , Vijayakumar Sekar
Published: December 2022

The bio-synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Pisonia grandis is discussed in this work as an effective ecologically beneficial and straightforward method. This strategy intends to increase ZnO nanoparticle usage in the biomedical and environmental sectors, while reducing the particle of hazardous chemicals in nanoparticle synthesis. In the current study, bio-augmented zinc oxide nanomaterials (ZnO-NPs) were fabricated from Pisonia grandis aqueous leaf extracts. Different methods were used to analyze the ZnO-nanoparticles including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transforms Infrared (FT-IR), Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) with EDX. The synthesized nanoparticles as spheres were verified by FE-SEM analysis; XRD measurements showed that the particle flakes had an average size of 30.32 nm and were very pure. FT-IR analysis was used to validate the functional moieties in charge of capping and stabilizing ZnO nanoparticles. The antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and photodegradation properties of synthesized nanoparticles were assessed using well diffusion, MTT, and UV visible irradiation techniques. The bio-fabricated nanoparticles were proven to be outstanding cytotoxic and antimicrobial nanomaterials. As a result of the employment of biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles as photocatalytic agents, 89.2% of the methylene blue dye was degraded in 140 min. ZnO nanoparticles produced from P. grandis can serve as promising substrates in biomedicine and applications of environmental relevance due to their eco-friendliness, nontoxic behavior, and cytocompatibility.
Comparison of Methodologies Used to Estimate Enteric Methane Emissions and Warming Impact from 1920 to 2020 for U.S. Beef Production
Authors: Gilreath Jessica , Wickersham Tryon , Sawyer Jason
Published: December 2022

Estimates of historical enteric methane emissions by US beef cattle using various methodologies recommended by IPCC were compared, then translated using two expressions of carbon dioxide equivalence. Three existing methodologies (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 as used by FAO, EPA, and NASEM, respectively) were compared using a common time series (1920 to 2020) for each sector of the US beef cattle production system. Annual enteric methane emissions were converted to annual CO2 equivalents for global warming potential on a 100-year horizon (GWP100) and CO2 warming equivalents (GWP*) to compare two expressions of methane equivalence to carbon dioxide. While the ranking of estimates among methods was stable, the magnitude of difference between the methods increased over time. In 1920, the Tier 3 method estimated emissions 16% greater than Tier 1; this difference increased to 60% greater in 2020. Cumulative GWP* ranged from 8.9% below to 29.4% below cumulative GWP100 in 2020, depending upon method; differences in annual emissions metrics were larger, with GWP* metrics ranging from 261% below to 123% above GWP100 expression. While several methods exist to generate emissions inventories, method choice results in substantial differences in direct emissions estimates and carbon dioxide equivalence.
Understanding Consumer Panic Buying Behaviors during the Strict Lockdown on Omicron Variant: A Risk Perception View
Authors: Yang Yaodong , Ren Huaqing , Zhang Han
Published: December 2022

Panic buying has been globally observed, leading to substantial stock-outs and supply chain disruptions, thus inducing additional panic buying. Regarding panic buying behavior as an intuitive over-protective measure during the strict lockdown and seal-off management in China, this study presented a synthetic conceptual model by integrating the protective action decision model (PADM). We examined inductively the relationships among media exposure, cognitive-affective risk perception, stakeholder perception, protective perception, and panic buying behavior using a survey of 517 participants who experienced panic buying during the Omicron epidemic in China. Results suggest that traditional media exposure could attenuate people’s affective risk perception, whereas social media exposure increases the degree of cognitive and affective aspects of risk perception. Furthermore, we detect that cognitive and affective risk perceptions positively affect people’s panic-buying behaviors. The effects of stakeholder and protective perceptions on panic buying were also examined.
Hemp Sowing Seed Production: Assessment of New Approaches in North-Italy
Authors: Assirelli Alberto , Santangelo Enrico , Stagno Fiorella , Roccuzzo Giancarlo , Musio Salvatore , Amaducci Stefano
Published: December 2022

Bottlenecks occur as the cultivated area increases and the inappropriate mechanization methods hinder the stable supply of seeds for hemp multiplication. Moreover, the seeds ripen scalarly, and a timely stabilization is required to impede a germinability reduction. The study coupled the delayed sowing of a non-specific hemp variety to a harvesting system allowing for the collection of seeds with other threshing fractions. The final goal was the identification of an innovative route integrating agronomic and mechanical aspects for the improvement of the supply chain of seed production. To this aim, harvesting trials were carried out on the variety Futura sowed at the end of June in North Italy and were collected with a combine equipped with a separator developed for the recovery of threshing residues. The shortening of the growth cycle did not affect the plant height (173 cm on average). The effective working time of the combine was 57% of the total working time and the field efficiency was 1.14 ha h−1, a good performance considering that in our work the seeds was threshed simultaneously to the harvest operation. Seed losses were found to be mostly at the expense of the mowing and threshing system (sector B) but remained below 5%. The separation system allowed for the rescue of 492.20 kg ha−1 (DW basis) of high-value threshing residues.
Does the Emissions Trading System Promote Clean Development? A Re-Examination based on Micro-Enterprise Data
Authors: Wu Hui , Li Yaodong
Published: December 2022

In 2007, the SO2 emissions trading pilot policy was established to offer a framework for the management of the industrial environment. The evaluation of the effect of this policy on the industrial enterprise environment is expected to be of great importance for the development of the industrial economy. Our paper aimed to analyze the implementation effects and mechanisms of emissions trading systems using data collected from the China Industrial Enterprise Database and China Industrial Enterprise Pollution Discharge Database from 1998 to 2012. It was found that the policy decreased the emissions intensity of industrial enterprises; moreover, the emission reduction effect was most apparent in the eastern region, in non-state-owned enterprises, in large-scale enterprises, and in low-pollution industries. The findings of the intermediate effect test revealed that the emissions trading system positively affects the environment through the “innovation compensation” effect and “resource allocation” effects. Based on these findings, we make the following recommendations for policy: we should continue to comply with the improvement strategy of joining “market decision” with “government regulation”, actively encourage the construction of an emissions trading system, and guide industrial enterprises to fabricate a plan for working on environmental performance under the motivation of technological innovation.
The Effect of Operating Cash Flow on the Likelihood and Duration of Survival for Marginally Distressed Firms in Taiwan
Authors: Huang Jiang-Chuan , Lin Hueh-Chen , Huang Daniel
Published: December 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of operating cash flow (OCF) on the likelihood and the duration of distressed firms returning to a profitable position for survival. By selecting 309 marginally distressed firms that are Taiwan listed firms, we identified 218 firms that survived from financial distress and 91 firms that did not survive from financial distress for the logistic regression model. We found that the greater adequacy, stability, and growth of changes in OCF and the higher liquidity, growth, and size of firms significantly increased the likelihood of firm survival, suggesting that a distressed firm is more likely to return to profitability for survival if it can improve OCF after suddenly encountering financial distress. Moreover, applying duration analysis, this study took a further step to investigate the time dependence of firm survival among 218 surviving firms. The results suggest that firms generating more OCF in the post-distress period and possessing higher profitability, liquidity, and growth in the pre-distress period significantly took less time on resolving financial distress for survival. However, an economic recession can significantly impede the time and speed of firm survival. Overall, the study found consistent and robust evidence that OCF is a reliable instrument to predict the likelihood and duration of survival for financially distressed firms. The study also provides practical implications for managers, investors, policymakers, and lenders who intend to promote firm financial performance and sustainability.
The Agricultural Economic Value of Weather Forecasting in China
Authors: Shen Danna , Shi Wang-Fang , Tang Wei , Wang Yan , Liao Jun
Published: December 2022

Agriculture is one of the areas most sensitive to climate change. Extreme climate events can directly affect agricultural production and development. Based on the data from the statistical yearbooks of 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2019 and the survey data of meteorological forecasting, this paper uses the fixed-effect model to empirically test the impact of meteorological forecasting on agricultural economic value. The results show that meteorological forecasting has a significant promoting effect on agricultural economic value, in that an increase in the accuracy of the meteorological forecast by one percentage point will increase agricultural economic value by 0.500 percentage points, and the results still hold after a series of robustness tests. Further study showed that there were some regional differences in the agricultural economic value of the meteorological forecasting, and the meteorological forecasting had the strongest promoting effect on the agricultural economic value of the western region, followed by the eastern region and the central region.
Investigation on the Seismic Wave Propagation Characteristics Excited by Explosion Source in High-Steep Rock Slope Site Using Discrete Element Method
Authors: Song Danqing , Quan Xuerui , Liu Mengxin , Liu Chun , Liu Weihua , Wang Xiaoyu , Han Dechao
Published: December 2022

The influence of seismic waves induced by explosion sources on the dynamic response characteristics of rock slope sites is one of the most important problems affecting engineering construction. To investigate the wave propagation characteristics and attenuation law of seismic waves induced by explosive sources in rock sites from the perspective of time and frequency domains, the high-performance matrix discrete element method (MatDEM) is used to carry out numerical simulation tests on a granite rock medium site. The discrete element model of the high-steep rock slope is established by MatDEM, and the dynamic analysis of the rock medium site is conducted by loading blasting vibration load to generate seismic waves. The results show that the seismic waves in the rock site present characteristics of arc propagation attenuation. The maximum attenuation rate of the dynamic response is the fastest within 0.3 s and 25 m from the explosion source. The slope region can weaken the dynamic response of seismic waves generated by the explosion source. In particular, the high-frequency band (>20 Hz) has an obvious filtering effect. The dynamic response of the P-wave induced by the explosive source is greater than that of the S-wave in the bedrock and surface region. The dynamic amplification effect of the P-wave is greater than that of the S-wave in the slope region. The seismic waves in the slope region show an attenuation effect along the slope surface and have a typical elevation amplification effect inside the slope.
Prioritisation of Charismatic Animals in Major Conservation Journals Measured by the Altmetric Attention Score
Authors: Prokop Pavol , Masarovič Rudolf , Hajdúchová Sandra , Ježová Zuzana , Zvaríková Martina , Fedor Peter
Published: December 2022

Large, charismatic animals trigger human emotional responses, which consequently result in taxonomic biases that have been proven in various fields. In our research, we analysed the representation of animals and plants in scientific papers published in three major conservation journals (Conservation Biology, Journal of Applied Ecology and Conservation Letters) between 2011 and 2020. Furthermore, we examined the Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) and each paper’s total number of citations focused exclusively on a single taxon (59% of all papers). Mammals were represented on journal cover pages significantly more frequently than other taxa, while reptiles, amphibians and fish were underrepresented. The total number of published papers and the AAS favoured mammals significantly, while reptiles, plants and amphibians received the lowest AAS. The AAS of mammals was positively influenced by the body mass and appeal score. Scientific citations showed a slight correlation with the AAS. Papers about mammals, invertebrates and amphibians received the most citations, followed by plants, fish, birds and reptiles. These results showed that there are taxonomic biases that favour large mammals over other taxa, both among scientists as well as the public. Therefore, publication policy should be changed in order to support the shift of scientists and, subsequently, public interest itself toward neglected taxa.