bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Speed Characteristics in Relation to Speed Limit Increase and Its Influence on Driver’s Speed Selection Behavior
Authors: Shirazinejad Reza S. , Dissanayake Sunanda
Published: February 2020

Speed is a quality measurement for travel, since it is related to traffic, safety, time, and economics. The speed limit on selected freeways in Kansas changed from 70 mph to 75 mph in the summer of 2011. In this study, the driver’s speed selection behavior was analyzed by considering average speed and 85th percentile speed in the before and after periods. Data from Automatic Traffic Recorders (ATRs) on the sections affected by speed limit increase and sections with no speed limit increase were analyzed. The t-test was applied to investigate if there was any significant difference in the speed of drivers on both treated and control sections. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test was also conducted to see if the distribution of speed data in the before period was different than after the period. The results showed that for the majority of the sections affected by speed limit change, there was a statistically significant difference in the 85th percentile speed of drivers during after period. Additionally, the K-S test results showed that the distribution of speed data in the before period was different than after the period for the majority of treated sections. The results indicated how drivers’ behavior was influenced by the speed limit increase.
Developing Students’ Action Competence for a Sustainable Future: A Review of Educational Research
Authors: Chen Shih-Yeh , Liu Shiang-Yao
Published: February 2020

The goal of education for sustainable development is to develop future citizens who can make informed decision and take responsible action to solve the problem. The concept of action competence proposed by Jensen and Schnack in 1997, which emerges as a critical thought from traditional environmental education, gradually attracts the attention with the maturing on the idea of sustainability. This research aims to systematically analyse the peer-reviewed studies published between 1997 and 2017 that embraced the concept of action competence as the instructional approach. After coding 170 articles from two quality databases, some patterns emerge from the year of publication in the resulting 34 empirical studies. Findings on the research design, pathway of intervention, instructional setting, and learning outcome increase our understanding of action competence applied in the authentic context. There is a sharp increase on the inter-disciplinary topic of sustainable development. It reflects the influence of the intergovernmental agreement and the resilience of action competence from environmental education to education for sustainable development. Reviewed studies indicate that action-oriented and transformative pedagogy cultivate students to be active participants, empower their capability of deliberating the causes and effects, and construct their visions for finding strategies toward the problems.
The Places Children Go: Understanding Spatial Patterns and Formation Mechanism for Children’s Commercial Activity Space in Changchun City, China
Authors: Liu Wei , Li Chenggu , Tong Yao , Zhang Jing , Ma Zuopeng
Published: February 2020

In recent years, the demand for children’s activities has been increasing, and the children’s consumer market has expanded annually. A large number of urban commercial spaces for children’s activity that meet the needs of children’s activities have been built in Chinese cities. This paper analyzed the distribution of these spaces in Changchun City, divided children’s activity space into five categories, analyzed the distribution and spatial differentiation using ArcGIS tools, and discussed the formation mechanism of the spatial pattern of children’s activity space. The results show that: (a) The spatial agglomeration of children’s activity places in Changchun was remarkable and formed a multicore spatial pattern of three municipal and six district-level centers. (b) Different varieties of children’s activity places showed significant spatial differences with “center–periphery” and spatial distribution patterns and each block unit had specialized characteristics. (c) The diversification and social demand for children’s activities, children’s consumption (a new growth factor for the modern service industry), market competition for rent, coupling relationship with urban functional areas, traffic convenience and accessibility, and changes of children’s activity behavior patterns and preferences were the main factors that influence commercial children’s activity space in Changchun. (d) The inequitable spatial distribution of children’s activities, the poor accessibility of children’s activity places, the lack of outdoor places and natural elements, the excessive concentration of children’s activities, and the lack of reasonable guidance of children’s commercial activity places in the city pose challenges for daily activities of urban children. Based on these results, this paper put forward some constructive policy suggestions, such as the planned addition of children’s public places and children’s outdoor places, enriched green and natural elements of children’s places, the construction of children’s activities facilities in residential areas, and the addition of children’s activity facilities in the compulsory standards for urban construction.
Measuring Disability Inclusion Performance in Cities Using Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool)
Authors: Rebernik Nataša , Szajczyk Marek , Bahillo Alfonso , Goličnik Marušić Barbara
Published: February 2020

Cities are exposed to a growing complexity, diversity and rapid socio-technical developments. One of the greatest challenges is as of how to become fully inclusive to fit the needs of all their citizens, including those with disabilities. Inclusive city, both in theory and practice, still lacks attention. Even in the context of ambitious contemporary concepts, such as smart and sustainable city, the question remains: Do smart and sustainable cities consider inclusiveness of all their inhabitants? Among numerous evaluation systems that measure city’s smartness, sustainability or quality of life, those tackling inclusion are very rare. Specifically, disability inclusion is hardly covered. This may be one of the reasons why cities struggle with applying disability inclusion to practice in a holistic and integrative way. This paper proposes a Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool) and Disability Inclusion Performance Index (DIPI), designed to guide cities through a maze of accessibility and disability inclusion related requirements set within the political, legislative and standardization frameworks. The testing in two European cities shows that the tool is beneficial for providing diagnosis as to how disability friendly a city is, and as such offers an opportunity for designing informed corrective measures towards disability inclusive city design.
Relationships between Body Mass Index and Self-Reported Motorcycle Crashes in Vietnam
Authors: Truong Long T. , Tay Richard , Nguyen Hang T.T.
Published: February 2020

The relationship between overweight, obesity, or body mass index (BMI) and crashes among drivers of passenger cars, vans, and trucks has been the focus of much research. However, little is understood about this relationship among motorcyclists, particularly motorcycle taxi drivers who tend to work long hours. Motorcycle taxis are an increasingly popular and important mode of travel in many cities, especially in South-East Asia, due partly to the rise of ride-hailing services. This paper assesses the body mass index (BMI) of motorcycle taxi drivers in Vietnam and its impacts on crashes among three types of drivers (traditional, ride-hailing, and hybrid). Data from a structured questionnaire survey of motorcycle taxi drivers conducted in Hanoi, Vietnam were used. Results show that 18.8% of motorcycle taxi drivers were overweight or obese whereas only 1.4% were underweight. Fulltime motorcycle taxi drivers were more likely to be overweight or obese. Results of random effect binary logistic regression show that overweight and obese motorcycle taxi drivers had significantly higher overall and injury crash risks, when compared to normal-weight motorcycle taxi drivers. Results also indicate that hybrid motorcycle taxi drivers had lower overall and injury crash risks when compared to traditional motorcycle taxi drivers.
Effects of SOP Lagoon Additive on Gaseous Emissions from Stored Liquid Dairy Manure
Authors: Peterson Carlyn B. , El Mashad Hamed M. , Zhao Yongjing , Pan Yuee , Mitloehner Frank M.
Published: February 2020

Animal manure is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants and nuisances such as ammonia and odors. There are several technologies to reduce emissions on animal farms including manure additives; however, few have been proven effective and easy to apply to dairy lagoon systems. The present research aimed at testing the ability of the commercial additive “SOP LAGOON” to reduce emissions of GHGs (i.e., carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)), as well as ammonia (NH3) and odors from lagoon stored liquid manure. Emissions of GHGs, NH3 and odors were measured in the laboratory from barrels filled with 65 L of manure treated with SOP LAGOON or left untreated as a control. Manure was collected from a commercial dairy that is located in Solano County, California. Emissions of GHGs and NH3 were continuously measured for one week using flux chambers placed on top of the barrels and connected to a mobile air emissions laboratory. The effects of the untreated control, versus the two respective treatment additive doses of 30.8 and 61.6 g/m3 of manure were compared to each other. The low dose was selected based on the manufacturer recommendation and the high dose was selected by doubling the low dose. Results showed that SOP LAGOON applied at the high dose (61.6 g of SOP LAGOON per m3 of manure) versus the control greatly reduced (p < 0.05) emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O and NH3 by 14.7%, 22.7%, 45.4% and 45.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the high dose of SOP LAGOON treated samples versus the control samples showed less odor intensity (p < 0.05). There was no significant effect of the low dose of SOP LAGOON on the emissions of different gases. The HIGH dose of SOP LAGOON might decrease the number of methanogens and hydrolytic microorganisms and their excreted enzymes during manure storage. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism of emission reduction using SOP LAGOON.
Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Community Resilience: Empirical Evidence in the Nickel Mining Industry in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors: Zainuddin Rela Iskandar , Awang Abd Hair , Ramli Zaimah , Taufik Yani , Md Sum Sarmila , Muhammad Mahazan
Published: February 2020

Mining is an important industry in Indonesia. A nickel mining company has operated for almost 45 years. It has managed corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in the neighbouring local community. In addition to the environmental conservation and mitigation, as well as socioeconomic enhancement, the CSR is expected to nurture resilience in the local communities. This study’s goal is to examine the effect of CSR on community resilience (COM-R) in the surrounding community. To analyse the effect of CSR practise on COM-R, Partial Least Squares -Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) is used. Results show that CSR has a positive effect on and a significant relationship with COM-R. Results also indicate that CSR’s contribution to COM-R enhances community collective efficacy, community action, and adaptation. Thus, the verified CSR and COM-R model benefits other researchers, companies, and governments to be further explored.
Optimize the Banker’s Multi-Stage Decision-Making and the Mechanism of Pay Contract Influencing on Bank Default Risk in the Long-Term Model
Authors: Ma Tianyi , Jiang Minghui , Yuan Xuchuan
Published: February 2020

In recent years, researchers have been devoted to illustrating the correlation between bankers’ pay contracts and a bank’s risk-taking behavior where corporate governance is concerned, especially throughout the past four decades and by using empirical analysis. Despite being a widespread concern, the causality of this relationship is not thoroughly understood. We initiate this research by modeling bankers’ multi-stage decisions of option investment and bond investment from the perspective of theoretical analysis, and by analyzing the function image results using data from Wells Fargo & Co. from the ExecuComp, BvD Orbis, and CRSP-COMPUSTAT databases. We aim to deeply explore the mechanism of how compensation influencing on risk. We are the first to find that it has a “risk cap”, which is the optimal risk level to maximize the return of decision-making. We are also the first to discover the optimal decision coefficient level to maximize the decision return, during which the internal causes and mechanisms of the impact of bankers’ compensation on a bank’s default risk are revealed. We also illustrate the influence of the number of periods. We expect our findings to provide advice for establishing policies when designing pay contracts.
Entrepreneurial Universities and Sustainable Development. The Network Bricolage Process of Academic Entrepreneurs
Authors: Padilla-Meléndez Antonio , Del Aguila-Obra Ana Rosa , Lockett Nigel , Fuster Elena
Published: February 2020

This paper studies the network bricolage process of academic entrepreneurs (AEs). Based on a qualitative study, surprisingly, it shows how these entrepreneurs still encounter institutional barriers which exist in universities, in particular regarding building the social capital needed for exploiting their business ideas, and they are not, as expected, well connected to the existing formal networks but rather to the informal ones. This paper uses the bricolage approach of entrepreneurship and the literature on academic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial universities, and social capital. In-depth interviews with key informants were conducted. Specifically, the study reveals the existence of a relevant network bricolage process of these AEs using informal versus formal networks to develop their ventures. As policy implications, there is a need for a better support from different university levels in order to increase the engagement in entrepreneurial activities of the different individuals. Universities should take a more proactive role when fostering AE activity and solve several barriers that still exist regarding knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship (e.g., bureaucracy and lack of confidence). For AEs, they need to take a more proactive role in building networks and ‘see-sawing’ between both types of network (formal and informal). By doing this, they can overcome the lack of knowledge, build trust, and improve word-of-mouth about their companies. All of this will benefit the university knowledge exchange. As a contribution, this paper explains the behavior of individual entrepreneurs when they exploit business ideas using the networks they have at hand in order to overcome institutional barriers in universities. Furthermore, it describes the process of the selection (‘see-sawing’ metaphor) of informal versus formal networks by AEs when applying their network bricolage.
Mixed Logit Model Based on Improved Nonlinear Utility Functions: A Market Shares Solution Method of Different Railway Traffic Modes
Authors: Han Bing , Ren Shuang , Bao Jingjing
Published: February 2020

In recent years, with the development of high-speed railway in China, the railway operating mileages and passenger transport capacity have increased rapidly. Due to the high density of trains and the limited capacity of railways, it is necessary to solve market shares of different railway traffic modes in order to adjust the operation plans appropriately and run railway passenger transport products in line with passenger demand. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to calculate market shares by formulating a mixed logit model based on improved nonlinear utility functions taking different factors into consideration, such as seat grades, fares, running time, passenger income levels and so on. Firstly according to maximum likelihood estimation, the likelihood function of this mixed logit model is proposed to maximize utility of all passenger groups. After that, we propose two improved algorithms based on the simulated annealing algorithm (ISAA-CC and ISAA-SS) to estimate the unknown parameters and solve the optimal solution of this model in order to enhance the computational efficiency. Finally, a real-world instance with related data of Beijing–Tianjin corridor, is implemented to demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed approaches. In addition, by performing this numerical experiment and comparing these two improved algorithms with the traditional Newton method, the ant colony algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm, we prove that the improved algorithms we developed are superior to others in the optimal solution.
Non-Linear Microscopy: A Well-Established Technique for Biological Applications towards Serving as a Diagnostic Tool for in situ Cultural Heritage Studies
Authors: Mari Meropi , Filippidis George
Published: February 2020

A range of sophisticated imaging techniques have been developed in recent years that can reveal the surface structure of cultural heritage objects with varying precision. In combination with various spectroscopic methods, they allow the study of the chemical composition of the object; thus, conclusions can be drawn about the origin of the object or its initial components, method, or time of creation, authenticity, mechanisms of degradation, and ways of further conservation. At present, different techniques can be applied to a wide range of cultural heritage objects, such as varnishes, paintings, archaeological objects, binding media, paper-based documents, parchments, marbles, frescoes, as well as various objects made of leather, fabric, stone, ceramics and glass, wood, or metal. One of the main needs in the study of cultural heritage (CH) is the transportability/portability of the research equipment, since many pieces under investigation cannot be moved to the laboratory, either because of their size, inseparability (for example, frescoes on walls, mural paintings in caves), or the threat of damage. In this work, we briefly overview the main optical- and laser-based methods used for the study of cultural heritage objects indicating the scope of their application, and we focus on the applications of non-linear microscopic methods for the investigation of a series of artifacts. We also discuss all the requirements for the construction of a prototype transportable non-linear optical system that will be used as a novel diagnostic tool for in situ studies of CH assets. The availability of such a transportable workstation will significantly improve the study and characterization of various types of CH objects and will constitute an extremely useful diagnostic tool for heritage scientists dealing with a variety of investigations.
Institutional Investors’ Trading Response to Stock Market Anomalies: Evidence from Korea
Authors: Kim Jungmu , Ok Youngkyung , Park Yuen Jung
Published: February 2020

This study examines whether institutions are sophisticated investors that exploit stock characteristics known to predict future returns in Korea, using data from 2000 to 2018. We analyze the institutional demand, measured as a change in institutional ownership, for stocks with eight well-known anomalies as well as the future abnormal returns of institutional trading. We find that, generally, institutions do not trade consistently with stock anomaly predictions because they are reluctant to hold both highly overvalued and highly undervalued stocks. Although they use a few anomalies, they use these characteristics passively to avoid stocks known to underperform rather than to pick stocks known to outperform. Furthermore, the positive returns on long-legs are concentrated on stocks sold by institutions, while the negative returns on short-legs are concentrated on stocks bought by them. Our finding casts doubt on the widely-accepted notion that institutions are skilled investors and that institutional arbitrage trading corrects any mispricing in the market. To the contrary, institutions’ loss-averse trading behaviors cause or magnify mispricing.
Evaluating the Contribution of Soybean Rust- Resistant Cultivars to Soybean Production and the Soybean Market in Brazil: A Supply and Demand Model Analysis
Authors: Ishiwata Yuki Ishikawa , Furuya Jun
Published: February 2020

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi (Sydow & Sydow), has become a serious issue in Brazil. As Brazil is one of the largest soybean-producing and exporting countries in the world, a considerable decrease in soybean production due to SBR would have a significant impact on the global soybean market. SBR-resistant cultivars have been developed to prevent a decrease in soybean production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of SBR-resistant cultivars on soybean production and the soybean market in Brazil using a supply and demand model. This model consists of functions of yield, cultivated area, exports, and stock changes of soybean and soybean products, demand for soybean products, and price linkages. Five scenarios were simulated to evaluate the economic impact of adopting SBR-resistant cultivars as follows: One without SBR infection, two with serious production losses due to SBR in the south and southeast regions and all the states of Brazil, and two with the adoption of SBR-resistant cultivars in the south and south-east regions and all the states of Brazil. Our simulations suggest that adopting SBR-resistant cultivars reduces the cost of controlling SBR by approximately half and is essential for sustainable soybean production and a stable global soybean market.
A Review of Performance-Oriented Architectural Design and Optimization in the Context of Sustainability: Dividends and Challenges
Authors: Li Shaoxiong , Liu Le , Peng Changhai
Published: February 2020

As most countries have widespread and growing concerns about the sustainable development of society, the requirement to continuously reduce energy consumption poses challenges for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Performance-oriented architectural design and optimization, as a novel design philosophy and comprehensive evolution technology, has been accepted by architects, engineers, and stakeholders for a period of time. Performance in the context of architecture is a widely discussed definition that has long shown a correlation with visual and cultural attributes. Shifting the paradigm of sustainable development while ensuring that the function and aesthetics of the building are not overlooked has been the focus of public attention. Considering the core design elements that affect energy conservation and style performance, the design and optimization of building envelopes, form, and shading systems were selected as research materials. From the perspective of epistemology and methodology, a systematic review of 99 papers was conducted to promulgate the latest development status of energy-efficiency design. This paper manifests a detailed analysis of the design patterns, research features, optimization objectives, and techniques of current approaches. The review found that performance-oriented design optimization can benefit the entire industry from the heuristic knowledge base and the expansion of the design space while maintaining sustainability. In contrast, challenges such as tools, skills, collaboration frameworks, and calibration models are highlighted.
The Determinants of Carbon Emissions in the Chinese Construction Industry: A Spatial Analysis
Authors: Lu Na , Feng Shuyi , Liu Ziming , Wang Weidong , Lu Hualiang , Wang Miao
Published: February 2020

As the largest carbon emitter in the world, China is confronted with great challenges of mitigating carbon emissions, especially from its construction industry. Yet, the understanding of carbon emissions in the construction industry remains limited. As one of the first few attempts, this paper contributes to the literature by identifying the determinants of carbon emissions in the Chinese construction industry from the perspective of spatial spillover effects. A panel dataset of 30 provinces or municipalities from 2005 to 2015 was used for the analysis. We found that there is a significant and positive spatial autocorrelation of carbon emissions. The local Moran’s I showed local agglomeration characteristics of H-H (high-high) and L-L (low-low). The indicators of population density, economic growth, energy structure, and industrial structure had either direct or indirect effects on carbon emissions. In particular, we found that low-carbon technology innovation significantly reduces carbon emissions, both in local and neighboring regions. We also found that the industry agglomeration significantly increases carbon emissions in the local regions. Our results imply that the Chinese government can reduce carbon emissions by encouraging low-carbon technology innovations. Meanwhile, our results also highlight the negative environmental impacts of the current policies to promote industry agglomeration.
Sustainable Development in the Service Industry: Managerial Learning and Management Improvement of Chinese Retailers
Authors: Zhang Nana , Mei Liang
Published: February 2020

Research in sustainability has focused on the productive industry and other polluting sectors, leaving aside the sustainable development of the service industry such as retail. Increasingly, retail companies are facing substantial sustainability problems such as pressure from resource limitations, fierce competition, the variability of customer needs, and the development of technology. Adopting best practices through managerial learning is the key to achieving sustainable development for retailers. However, there is a lack of discussion of the micro mechanism of sustainable development in the existing sustainable research field. From the perspective of internal sustainable development, taking Chinese retailers as the sample, this study explores the effect of the managerial learning mechanism on sustainable development on the basis of empirical research. First, this study measures the management efficiency of Chinese retailers, which is the micro basis of sustainable development. Second, the effects of two types of managerial learning mechanisms (government-driven and professional organization driven) on management efficiency are tested. The results show that management efficiency contributes to the growth of the total factor productivity in Chinese retailers, and firms should attach importance to the improvement of management efficiency. Specifically, retailers can strengthen management efficiency by establishing managerial learning platforms with professional institutions, and thus prevent the substitution role of absorptive capacity.
R&D in Europe: Sector Decomposition of Sources of (in)Efficiency
Authors: Škrinjarić Tihana
Published: February 2020

Measuring the efficiency of research and development (R&D) expenditure and innovation policy has gained attention in recent years. This research examines the efficiency of 29 selected European countries for the period ranging from 2007 to 2017 in achieving and obtaining R&D goals. The methodology applied is the data envelopment analysis approach with the inclusion of the missing data approach. The contributions of this research include the following: dynamic analysis is conducted to track changes of (in)efficiencies over time; the decomposition of the efficiency is done by separating the main variables of interest into the private, higher education, and government sectors; and the robustness of the results is evaluated, which is often ignored in the literature. The results of the analysis are discussed with possible directions for inefficient countries. The rankings provided in the empirical part of the study confirm previous findings on disparities between the European countries with respect to innovation and the R&D sector.
Performance Problem of Current Differential Protection of Lines Emanating from Photovoltaic Power Plants
Authors: Liang Yingyu , Li Wulin , Xu Guanjun
Published: February 2020

The amplitude and phase angle of the fault current in photovoltaic power plants (PVPPs) are significantly influenced by the control system of the grid-connected inverters, unlike in a conventional synchronous source. Hence, PVPPs may adversely affect the performance of the current differential protection designed for synchronous sources-based power grids. In order to study the performance problem of current differential protection on AC transmission lines, an analytical expression of the fault current in the PVPPs was deduced, and the fault current characteristic was extensively analyzed. Based on this analysis, the ratio of differential current over restraint current was initially derived in this study; this ratio is observed to be affected by the control system parameters, power grid system parameters, fault resistance, and fault types. Moreover, the dynamic characteristics of this ratio can be clearly observed based on a three-dimensional diagram. Furthermore, the operating performance of the current differential protection was analyzed under different influencing factors. The mathematical analysis presents that the amplitude ratio of the fault current on both sides of the line is larger than nine and that current differential protection will operate reliably in any case. Meanwhile, the theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the current phase angle difference may become an obtuse angle in case of an ungrounded fault, which will cause inaccurate operation of the current differential protection. The results of this study will provide guidance for the engineering application of current differential protection in case the PVPPs are connected to a power grid.
Investigating the Effects of City Logistics Measures on the Economy of the City
Authors: Russo Francesco , Comi Antonio
Published: February 2020

The paper deals with economic effects due to city logistics implementations. An analysis framework is proposed and the results of a survey, consisting of interviews with experts in city logistics, are presented. The survey was carried out to point out the level of benefits or costs expected by city logistics measure implementation. The results show that city users are expected to receive more benefits from environment-friendly vehicle measures, while transport and logistics operators can averagely obtain considerable benefits from demand management and public–private collaboration solutions.
Testing a Framework to Co-Construct Social Innovation Actions: Insights from Seven Marginalized Rural Areas
Authors: Marini Govigli Valentino , Alkhaled Sophie , Arnesen Tor , Barlagne Carla , Bjerck Mari , Burlando Catie , Melnykovych Mariana , Rodríguez Fernandez-Blanco Carmen , Sfeir Patricia , Górriz-Mifsud Elena
Published: February 2020

Innovation actions within European Horizon 2020 (H2020) projects aim at testing research results in practice. When supporting social innovations in rural areas, such testing requires the alignment of several rural actors in order to entail behavioral changes beyond the individual level. Recently, social innovation has been recognized as an important tool for rural areas, developing new solutions to respond to wicked problems for improving local living conditions at the grassroots level. In this study, we analyzed the use of an operational framework to support the early governance of social innovation actions. This framework was applied to co-construct seven innovation actions across Europe and the Mediterranean basin applied to forestry, agriculture, and rural development. Our results showed that supporting social innovators and local actors at the early stage of social innovation processes is key for efficiently addressing and tackling challenges and opportunities. Additionally, we showed that the process of defining a social innovation is complex and requires recursive engagement, which might lead to evolution through time, especially in the first phases of the process. Lastly, conducting the feasibility assessment enabled strategic thinking on crucial dimensions for designing a promising social innovation action, such as social networks management, financial sustainability, and know-how. Such findings helped us to draw general lessons for the development and governance of social innovation actions in rural areas, potentially applicable to any rural sector.
The Impact of Global Protectionism on Port Logistics Demand
Authors: Cho Jungran , Hong Emma Kyoungseo , Yoo Jeongho , Cheong Inkyo
Published: February 2020

Various risks and uncertainties are strengthening the downside of the global economy. This paper aims to estimate the impact of the US–China conflict and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body’s shutdown on global logistics demand and to show the seriousness of the situation. Existing literature studies on protectionism or the US–China trade conflict were considered, with a focus on the effects of specific issues or impact on bilateral relations. No research has quantitatively considered the adverse effects of the Appellate Body’s shutdown. In this situation, questions can be raised whether the current global shipping logistics system can be sustainable or not. This paper attempts to estimate the shrinking demand for shipping logistics due to global protectionism. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model and trade-cargo-container conversion methodology, which differentiates this paper from previous studies, the paper suggests that the combination of tariffs and NTBs can severely reduce international trade and the demand for maritime logistics services. Depending on the scenario, port cargo is expected to decrease by 3.95 to 6.9 trillion tons, which can be half of the global cargo. Based on these estimates, this paper suggests that a catastrophe could occur in global trade order as well as global maritime logistics. Finally, underlining that the international trade order should not be severely damaged, this paper proposes that countries around the world should seriously discuss this issue at the 12th WTO Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Kazakhstan in June 2020.
Visitor-Sensing: Involving the Crowd in Cultural Heritage Organizations
Authors: Cappa Francesco , Rosso Federica , Capaldo Antonio
Published: February 2020

As organizations are increasingly involving individuals across their boundaries in the generation of new knowledge, crowd involvement can also be beneficial to cultural heritage organizations. We argue that in an “Open Innovation in Science” approach, visitors can contribute to generate new scientific knowledge concerning their behavior and preferences, by which museum managers can re-design the cultural offerings of their institutions in ways that generate major economic and social impacts. Accordingly, we advance visitor-sensing as a novel framework in which museum managers leverage digital technologies to collect visitors’ ideas, preferences, and feedback in order to improve path design and the organization of artwork in exhibitions, and to shape a more satisfying museum experience for visitors. We contend that visitor-sensing has the potential to yield higher numbers of visitors, with positive impacts in terms of increased revenues and increased literacy of the general public, thus benefiting the economic and social sustainability of cultural organizations towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the Agenda 2030.
Financial Deepening, Spatial Spillover, and Urban–Rural Income Disparity: Evidence from China
Authors: Ran Maosheng , Chen Liang , Li Wanli
Published: February 2020

Financial development is one of the main sources of economic growth, whether financial deepening can lower the income inequality between urban and rural areas has been the focus of policy makers and researchers. Using data from 31 provinces in China, from 2002 to 2013, this paper examines the impact of financial deepening on income inequality between urban and rural areas. These empirical results show that financial deepening is significantly negatively associated with urban–rural income disparity, that is, for every 1% increase in financial deepening urban–rural income disparity can be reduced by about 0.5%. Further research has investigated that the influence of financial deepening on income disparity has a selective effect. From the decomposition effect of financial deepening, we also find that the proximity effect of the Eastern and Central regions is higher than that of the local effect, while the local effect of the Western region is higher than that of the Eastern and Central regions, but the proximity effect is not significant. The conclusion of this paper is of great significance to further deepen financial reform, improve the quality of financial development, and achieve sustainable development of economy.
Flood Risk Assessment Based on Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Method in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Area, China
Authors: Wang Guangpeng , Liu Yong , Hu Ziying , Lyu Yanli , Zhang Guoming , Liu Jifu , Liu Yun , Gu Yu , Huang Xichen , Zheng Hao , Zhang Qingyan , Tong Zongze , Hong Chang , Liu Lianyou
Published: February 2020

Flooding is one of the most devastating natural events and leads to enormous and recurring loss of life, properties, and resources around the globe. With climate change and accelerating urbanization, flood disasters in China have increasingly affected the sustainable development of metropolitan areas. Risk assessment is an essential step in flood management and disaster mitigation, which provide a quantitative measure of flood risk. However, the difficulty of flood risk zoning is dealing with the uncertainty of the evaluation process and the complicated non-linear relationship between indicators and risk levels. To address this issue, a fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) method based on combined weight (CW) was utilized in this paper to generate flood risk maps at a grid-scale (1 × 1 km). For the case study in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area (BTH) in China, fourteen indicators were selected to construct the flood risk assessment model based on the FSE approach integrated with ArcGIS. The research demonstrates that moderate, high, and very high risk zones are distributed in the southeast fluvial plain of the BTH area, accounting for 31.36% of the total land area. Meanwhile, low and very-low risk zones occupy 68.64% of the total land area, and are primarily located in the high plateau and mountain regions in the northwest. We analyzed the risk level of each county and proposed risk mitigation measures based on field investigations. The verified risk assessment results were spatially consistent with the historical flood disaster records and loss positions, indicating the accuracy and reliability of the risk assessment map using the FSE approach. Compared with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) TAR (Third Assessment Report) and AR5 (Fifth Assessment Report) methods, FSE has significant advantages in handling uncertainty, complexity, and the non-linear relationship between indices and risk grades. This study provides a novel quantitative method for flood risk assessment in metropolitan areas and practical implications for urban flood management.
Assessing Socioeconomic Vulnerability after a Hurricane: A Combined Use of an Index-Based approach and Principal Components Analysis
Authors: Medina Neiler , Abebe Yared Abayneh , Sanchez Arlex , Vojinovic Zoran
Published: February 2020

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are vulnerable to sea-level rise and hydro-meteorological hazards. In addition to the efforts to reduce the hazards, a holistic strategy that also addresses the vulnerability and exposure of residents and their assets is essential to mitigate the impacts of such hazards. Evaluating the socioeconomic vulnerability of SIDS can serve the purpose of identification of the root drivers of risk. In this paper, we present a methodology to assess and map socioeconomic vulnerability at a neighbourhood scale using an index-based approach and principal component analysis (PCA). The index-based vulnerability assessment approach has a modular and hierarchical structure with three components: susceptibility, lack of coping capacities and lack of adaptation, which are further composed of factors and variables. To compute the index, we use census data in combination with data coming from a survey we performed in the aftermath of Irma. PCA is used to screen the variables, to identify the most important variables that drive vulnerability and to cluster neighbourhoods based on the common factors. The methods are applied to the case study of Sint Maarten in the context of the disaster caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Applying the combined analysis of index-based approach with PCA allows us to identify the critical neighbourhoods on the island and to identify the main variables or drivers of vulnerability. Results show that the lack of coping capacities is the most influential component of vulnerability in Sint Maarten. From this component, the “immediate action” and the “economic coverage” are the most critical factors. Such analysis also enables decision-makers to focus their (often limited) resources more efficiently and have a more significant impact concerning disaster risk reduction.
Evaluating the Impact of Air Pollution on China’s Inbound Tourism: A Gravity Model Approach
Authors: Xu Boyang , Dong Daxin
Published: February 2020

China’s inbound tourism grew very slowly in recent years. This study modelled China’s inbound tourism based on a gravity model with province-level inbound tourist arrivals data from 13 countries of origin between 2010 and 2016. It was found that air pollution in tourist destinations and origin regions both had significant negative impacts on China’s inbound tourism. On average, if the concentration of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM 2.5 ) in China and foreign countries increased by 1 μ g/m 3 , inbound tourist arrivals would decline by approximately 1.7% and 3.8%, respectively. The effect of pollution in destination regions is explained by the importance of clean air as a favored characteristic of tourist attractions. The effect of pollution in tourist origin countries is explained by more awareness of and concern about air pollution by potential tourists if they live in more polluted countries. Further analysis showed that the impact of air pollution in destination regions was larger for tourists coming from more polluted and Asian countries, and visiting less polluted and more popular destinations. This study has a clear policy implication: improving air quality can be considered as a straightforward and effective way to promote inbound tourism in China. If air quality in China can be substantially improved in the future, inbound tourist arrivals have the potential to rise by at least tens of millions of person-times.
Digitalization: An Opportunity for Contributing to Sustainability From Knowledge Creation
Authors: Ordieres-Meré Joaquín , Prieto Remón Tomás , Rubio Jesús
Published: February 2020

This paper aims at exploring the perspective of sustainability when digital transformation is adopted by one organization, although it was not the first goal targeted. Two different cases are analyzed, covering manufacturing and service industries. In those cases different factors will be analyzed, mainly focused on the positive effects of knowledge creation facilitated by direct or indirect application of digitalization. Specific analysis of different cases were carried out to identify different initiatives and the impact on environmental performance. The positive effects of the institutional dimension were also assessed.
A Conceptual Reference Framework for Enterprise Resilience Enhancement
Authors: Sanchis Raquel , Canetta Luca , Poler Raúl
Published: February 2020

Enterprise resilience is a key capacity to guarantee enterprises’ long-term continuity. This paper proposes the enterprise resilience Conceptual Reference Framework to characterize enterprise resilience capacity. The framework is composed of 71 disruptive events that enterprises consider as endangerments to their continuity. The framework also comprises constituent capabilities of enterprise resilience in terms of preparedness and recovery capabilities and elements that support the transition from the AS IS situation to the TO BE one, which are preventive actions (for preparedness capability) and knowledge registration actions (for recovery capability). From the preparedness perspective, 403 preventive actions are currently defined. Each preventive action is specific for every disruptive event. However, it is worth noting that a preventive action can also be applied to different disruptive events. From the recovery perspective, the proposed framework indicates knowledge registration related to (i) the occurrence of disruptive events; (ii) the recovery actions performed to re-establish the normal enterprise operation level. Further research lines are addressed to develop quantitative methods and tools to assess the extent of enterprises’ resilience following the foundations of the proposed conceptual framework.
The State of Air Pollution as a Factor Determining the Assessment of a City’s Tourist Attractiveness—Based on the Opinions of Polish Respondents
Authors: Łapko Aleksandra , Panasiuk Aleksander , Strulak-Wójcikiewicz Roma , Landowski Marek
Published: February 2020

Cities are multifunctional by definition, and an increasingly significant function is the tourist function. City tourism is one of the most dynamically developing forms of tourism. Tourists’ decisions regarding choosing a destination are influenced by a number of factors determining the subjective assessment of the tourist attractiveness of a given city, and one of them may be the state of air pollution, as it can have a negative impact on the health of both city dwellers and tourists. This article is an attempt to determine whether potential tourists consider information about the level of a city’s air quality in the assessment of its tourist attractiveness and the impact of this information on their travel decisions. The article presents the results of surveys conducted among a group of 509 respondents from Poland. On this basis, an assessment was made of the extent to which information on the condition of air quality in a given city is relevant for persons planning a tourist trip. In the conducted research, decisions regarding both business and private trips were evaluated. In addition, information on factors that could increase the respondents’ interest in the condition of air quality in the city of the intended trip (e.g., trip with children, trip length) was collected. Due to the fact that tourism is a significant source of income for many cities, the research results presented in the article may be of significant importance for entities creating the urban tourist product and responsible for its management. The article also draws attention to the fact that reducing pollution in cities can contribute to increases in their tourist attractiveness.
Is Private Entrepreneurs’ Religiosity Conducive to Environmental Investment? Evidence from China
Authors: Yao Sheng , Zhang Weiwei
Published: February 2020

With data from the 2010 Chinese Private Enterprises Survey (CPES), we provide direct and robust evidence that private entrepreneurs’ religiosity is conducive to firm environmental investment, and that the presence of elder or male private entrepreneurs tends to strengthen this improvement effect significantly. Further evidence shows that private entrepreneurs adhering to one of the Asian religions has a more significant influence on the increase of environmental investment. Our results could help to improve firm environmental investment and regional environmental quality.