bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Viscoelastic Behavior Variation of Glass Mat Thermoplastics (GMT) in Compression Molding
Authors: Huang Chao-Tsai , Chen Ling-Jue , Chien Tse-Yu
Published: February 2019

Compression molding is a lightweight technology that allows to preserve fiber length and retain better mechanical properties compared to injection molding. In compression molding development, a suitable material such as glass fiber mat thermoplastics (GMT) is often used. However, because of the complicated micro-structure of the fibers and the fiber–resin matrix interactions, it is still quite challenging to understand the mechanism of compression molding and it is very difficult to obtain a uniformly compressed GMT product. In this study, we propose a method to measure the rheological properties of GMT through a compression system. Specifically, we utilized a compression molding system to record the relation between the loading force and the displacement. This quantitative information was used to estimate the power-law index and viscoelastic parameters and predict viscosity. Moreover, the estimated viscoelastic parameters of GMT were implemented into Moldex3D to evaluate the flow behavior under compression. The results showed that the trend of the loading force variation was consistent in numerical simulation and experiments. However, at the final stage of compression molding, the experimental loading force was much higher than that estimated by simulation. To find out the mechanism causing this deviation, a series of studies were performed. Through TGA measurement, we found that the fiber content of the center portion of the compressed part increased from 63% to 85% during compression. This was expected, as a result of the fiber–polymer matrix separation effect. This fiber–polymer matrix separation effect influenced the power-law index and rheological parameters of GMT, making them fluctuate. Specifically, the power-law index changed from 1.0 to 0.62. These internal changes of the rheological properties further induced a much higher loading force in the real experimental GMT system. We further verified the rheological properties variation using pure polyamide (PA) and found that since there is no fiber–polymer matrix interactions the power-law index and curve-fitting rheological parameters were almost constant. The mechanism causing the deviation was therefore validated.
Distilling Robust Design Principles of Biocircuits Using Mixed Integer Dynamic Optimization
Authors: Otero-Muras Irene , Banga Julio R.
Published: February 2019

A major challenge in model-based design of synthetic biochemical circuits is how to address uncertainty in the parameters. A circuit whose behavior is robust to variations in the parameters will have more chances to behave as predicted when implemented in practice, and also to function reliably in presence of fluctuations and noise. Here, we extend our recent work on automated-design based on mixed-integer multi-criteria dynamic optimization to take into account parametric uncertainty. We exploit the intensive sampling of the design space performed by a global optimization algorithm to obtain the robustness of the topologies without significant additional computational effort. Our procedure provides automatically topologies that best trade-off performance and robustness against parameter fluctuations. We illustrate our approach considering the automated design of gene circuits achieving adaptation.
Cogeneration Process Technical Viability for an Apartment Building: Case Study in Mexico
Authors: Valdés Hugo , Leon Gabriel
Published: February 2019

The objective of this paper is to evaluate and to simulate the cogeneration process applied to an apartment building in the Polanco area (Mexico). Considering the building’s electric, thermal demand and consumption data, the cogeneration process model was simulated using Thermoflow© software (Thermoflow Inc., Jacksonville, FL, USA), in order to cover 1.1 MW of electric demand and to supply the thermal needs of hot water, heating, air conditioning and heating pool. As a result of analyzing various schemes of cogeneration, the most efficient scheme consists of the use of a gas turbine (Siemens model SGT-100-1S), achieving a cycle with efficiency of 84.4% and a heat rate of 14,901 kJ/kWh. The economic results of this evaluation show that it is possible to implement the cogeneration in the building with a natural gas price below US$0.014/kWh. The use of financing schemes makes the economic results more attractive. Furthermore, the percentage of the turbine load effect on the turbine load net power, cogeneration efficiency, chimney flue gas temperature, CO2 emission, net heat ratio, turbine fuel flow and after burner fuel flow was also studied.
Correction: Baucum II, Anthony J. et al. Proteomic Analysis of the Spinophilin Interactome in Rodent Striatum Following Psychostimulant Sensitization. Proteomes 2018, 6, 53
Authors: Watkins Darryl , True Jason , Mosley Amber , Baucum Anthony
Published: February 2019

The author wishes to make the following corrections to the methods section of their paper [...]
Analysis of Sustainability in Hospital Laundry: The Social, Environmental, and Economic (Cost) Risks
Authors: Lopes Catia Milena , Scavarda Annibal José , de Carvalho Mauricio Nunes Macedo , Vaccaro Guilherme , Korzenowski André Luis
Published: February 2019

Personal and physical injuries are two of the most relevant costs to hospitals. Hospital laundries are sources of these costs due to the physical and health risks present in the clothes and the activities performed. Energy and environmental risk and infrastructure issues also incur operational costs to these organizations and to the health system. This research analyzes the social, environmental, and economic risk in the hospital laundry process, through a multiple-case-study design. Data collection methods include interviews regarding three hospital laundry services in Brazil. The processes of these laundry services have a high consumption of resources (water and energy) and a substantial generation of solid and liquid wastes. Cost reduction actions include pooled laundry services and material substitution. There are also social and environmental risks, the most frequent being ergonomic, biological, and chemical hazards, and injures from sharp devices inadequately disposed. Hospital laundries need more sustainable operations, not only in the infrastructure, but also mostly in the awareness of leaders and teams about the importance of their engagements to resource management and waste reduction in laundry. It is opportune to convince professionals and users about changing habits that do not prioritize sustainability, especially its social and environmental aspects.
Impact of Soil Moisture Data Characteristics on the Sensitivity to Crop Yields Under Drought and Excess Moisture Conditions
Authors: Champagne Catherine , White Jenelle , Berg Aaron , Belair Stephane , Carrera Marco
Published: February 2019

Soil moisture is often considered a direct way of quantifying agricultural drought since it is a measure of the availability of water to support crop growth. Measurements of soil moisture at regional scales have traditionally been sparse, but advances in land surface modelling and the development of satellite technology to indirectly measure surface soil moisture has led to the emergence of a number of national and global soil moisture data sets that can provide insight into the dynamics of agricultural drought. Droughts are often defined by normal conditions for a given time and place; as a result, data sets used to quantify drought need a representative baseline of conditions in order to accurately establish a normal. This presents a challenge when working with earth observation data sets which often have very short baselines for a single instrument. This study assessed three soil moisture data sets: a surface satellite soil moisture data set from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission operating since 2010; a blended surface satellite soil moisture data set from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) that has a long history and a surface and root zone soil moisture data set from the Canadian Meteorology Centre (CMC)’s Regional Deterministic Prediction System (RDPS). An iterative chi-squared statistical routine was used to evaluate each data set’s sensitivity to canola yields in Saskatchewan, Canada. The surface soil moisture from all three data sets showed a similar temporal trend related to crop yields, showing a negative impact on canola yields when soil moisture exceeded a threshold in May and June. The strength and timing of this relationship varied with the accuracy and statistical properties of the data set, with the SMOS data set showing the strongest relationship (peak X2 = 170 for Day of Year 145), followed by the ESA-CCI (peak X2 = 89 on Day of Year 129) and then the RDPS (peak X2 = 65 on Day of Year 129). Using short baseline soil moisture data sets can produce consistent results compared to using a longer data set, but the characteristics of the years used for the baseline are important. Soil moisture baselines of 18–20 years or more are needed to reliably estimate the relationship between high soil moisture and high yielding years. For the relationship between low soil moisture and low yielding years, a shorter baseline can be used, with reliable results obtained when 10–15 years of data are available, but with reasonably consistent results obtained with as few as 7 years of data. This suggests that the negative impacts of drought on agriculture may be reliably estimated with a relatively short baseline of data.
Combining Electrical Resistivity Tomography and Satellite Images for Improving Evapotranspiration Estimates of Citrus Orchards
Authors: Vanella Daniela , Ramírez-Cuesta Juan Miguel , Intrigliolo Diego S. , Consoli Simona
Published: February 2019

An adjusted satellite-based model was proposed with the aim of improving spatially distributed evapotranspiration (ET) estimates under plant water stress conditions. Remote sensing data and near surface geophysics information, using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), were used in a revised version of the original dual crop coefficient (Kc) FAO-56 approach. Sentinel 2-A imagery were used to compute vegetation indices (VIs) required for spatially estimating ET. The potentiality of the ERT technique was exploited for tracking the soil wetting distribution patterns during and after irrigation phases. The ERT-derived information helped to accurately estimate the wet exposed fraction (few) and therefore the water evaporated from the soil surface into the dual Kc FAO-56 approach. Results, validated by site-specific ET measurements (ETEC) obtained using the eddy covariance (EC) technique, showed that ERT-adjusted ET estimates (ETERT) were considerably reduced (15%) when compared with the original dual Kc FAO-56 approach (ETFAO), soil evaporation overestimation being the main reason for these discrepancies. Nevertheless, ETFAO and ETERT showed overestimations of 64% and 40% compared to ETEC. This is because both approaches determine ET under standard conditions without water limitation, whereas EC is able to determine ET even under soil water deficit conditions. From the comparison between ETEC and ETERT, the water stress coefficient was experimentally derived, reaching a mean value for the irrigation season of 0.74. The obtained results highlight how new technologies for soil water status monitoring can be incorporated for improving ET estimations, particularly under drip irrigation conditions.
Estimation of Poverty Using Random Forest Regression with Multi-Source Data: A Case Study in Bangladesh
Authors: Zhao Xizhi , Yu Bailang , Liu Yan , Chen Zuoqi , Li Qiaoxuan , Wang Congxiao , Wu Jianping
Published: February 2019

Spatially explicit and reliable data on poverty is critical for both policy makers and researchers. However, such data remain scarce particularly in developing countries. Current research is limited in using environmental data from different sources in isolation to estimate poverty despite the fact that poverty is a complex phenomenon which cannot be quantified either theoretically or practically by one single data type. This study proposes a random forest regression (RFR) model to estimate poverty at 10 km × 10 km spatial resolution by combining features extracted from multiple data sources, including the National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) nighttime light (NTL) data, Google satellite imagery, land cover map, road map and division headquarter location data. The household wealth index (WI) drawn from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program was used to reflect poverty level. We trained the RFR model using data in Bangladesh and applied the model to both Bangladesh and Nepal to evaluate the model’s accuracy. The results show that the R2 between the actual and estimated WI in Bangladesh is 0.70, indicating a good predictive power of our model in WI estimation. The R2 between actual and estimated WI of 0.61 in Nepal also indicates a good generalization ability of the model. Furthermore, a negative correlation is observed between the district average WI and the poverty head count ratio (HCR) in Bangladesh with the Pearson Correlation Coefficient of -0.6. Using Gini importance, we identify that proximity to urban areas is the most important variable to explain poverty which contribute to 37.9% of the explanatory power. Compared to the study that used NTL and Google satellite imagery in isolation to estimate poverty, our method increases the accuracy of estimation. Given that the data we use are globally and publicly available, the methodology reported in this study would also be applicable in other countries or regions to estimate the extent of poverty.
Analog Integrated Current Drivers for Bioimpedance Applications: A Review
Authors: Neshatvar Nazanin , Langlois Peter , Bayford Richard , Demosthenous Andreas
Published: February 2019

An important component in bioimpedance measurements is the current driver, which can operate over a wide range of impedance and frequency. This paper provides a review of integrated circuit analog current drivers which have been developed in the last 10 years. Important features for current drivers are high output impedance, low phase delay, and low harmonic distortion. In this paper, the analog current drivers are grouped into two categories based on open loop or closed loop designs. The characteristics of each design are identified.
Eddy Current Sensor System for Blade Tip Clearance Measurement Based on a Speed Adjustment Model
Authors: Wu Jiang , Wen Bin , Zhou Yu , Zhang Qi , Ding Shuiting , Du Farong , Zhang Shuguang
Published: February 2019

Blade tip clearance (BTC) measurement and active clearance control (ACC) are becoming crucial technologies in aero-engine health monitoring so as to improve the efficiency and reliability as well as to ensure timely maintenance. Eddy current sensor (ECS) offers an attractive option for BTC measurement due to its robustness, whereas current approaches have not considered two issues sufficiently. One is that BTC affects the response time of a measurement loop, the other is that ECS signal decays with increasing speed. This paper proposes a speed adjustment model (SAM) to deal with these issues in detail. SAM is trained using a nonlinear regression method from a dynamic training data set obtained by an experiment. The Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm is used to estimate SAM characteristic parameters. The quantitative relationship between the response time of ECS measurement loop and BTC, as well as the output signal and speed are obtained. A BTC measurement method (BTCMM) based on the SAM is proposed and a geometric constraint equation is constructed to assess the accuracy of BTC measurement. Experiment on a real-time BTC measurement during the running process for a micro turbojet engine is conducted to validate the BTCMM. It is desirable and significative to effectively improve BTC measurement accuracy and expand the range of applicable engine speed.
Smart Aging System: Uncovering the Hidden Wellness Parameter for Well-Being Monitoring and Anomaly Detection
Authors: Ghayvat Hemant , Awais Muhammad , Pandya Sharnil , Ren Hao , Akbarzadeh Saeed , Chandra Mukhopadhyay Subhas , Chen Chen , Gope Prosanta , Chouhan Arpita , Chen Wei
Published: February 2019

Background: Ambiguities and anomalies in the Activity of Daily Living (ADL) patterns indicate deviations from Wellness. The monitoring of lifestyles could facilitate remote physicians or caregivers to give insight into symptoms of the disease and provide health improvement advice to residents; Objective: This research work aims to apply lifestyle monitoring in an ambient assisted living (AAL) system by diagnosing conduct and distinguishing variation from the norm with the slightest conceivable fake alert. In pursuing this aim, the main objective is to fill the knowledge gap of two contextual observations (i.e., day and time) in the frequent behavior modeling for an individual in AAL. Each sensing category has its advantages and restrictions. Only a single type of sensing unit may not manage composite states in practice and lose the activity of daily living. To boost the efficiency of the system, we offer an exceptional sensor data fusion technique through different sensing modalities; Methods: As behaviors may also change according to other contextual observations, including seasonal, weather (or temperature), and social interaction, we propose the design of a novel activity learning model by adding behavioral observations, which we name as the Wellness indices analysis model; Results: The ground-truth data are collected from four elderly houses, including daily activities, with a sample size of three hundred days plus sensor activation. The investigation results validate the success of our method. The new feature set from sensor data fusion enhances the system accuracy to (98.17% ± 0.95) from (80.81% ± 0.68). The performance evaluation parameters of the proposed model for ADL recognition are recorded for the 14 selected activities. These parameters are Sensitivity (0.9852), Specificity (0.9988), Accuracy (0.9974), F1 score (0.9851), False Negative Rate (0.0130).
Trace Voltammetric Determination of Lead at a Recycled Battery Carbon Rod Electrode
Authors: Honeychurch Kevin
Published: February 2019

Carbon rod electrodes (CREs) were obtained from recycled zinc–carbon batteries and were used without further modification for the measurement of trace concentrations of lead (Pb). The electrochemical behavior of Pb at these electrodes in a variety of supporting electrolytes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The anodic peaks obtained on the reverse scans were indicative of Pb being deposited as a thin layer on the electrode surface. The greatest signal–to–noise ratios were obtained in organic acids compared to mineral acids, and acetic acid was selected as the supporting electrolyte for further studies. Conditions were optimized, and it was possible to determine trace concentrations of Pb by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. A supporting electrolyte of 4% v/v acetic acid, with a deposition potential of −1.5 V (vs. SCE) and a deposition time of 1100 s, was found to be optimum. A linear range of 2.8 µg/L to 110 µg/L was obtained, with an associated detection limit (3σ) of 2.8 µg/L. A mean recovery of 95.6% (CV=3.9%) was obtained for a tap water sample fortified with 21.3 µg/L.
Introduction of New Food Products in China: Is There a Trend towards Healthier and Safer Products?
Authors: Costa-Font Montserrat , Revoredo-Giha Cesar
Published: February 2019

The Chinese society has undergone an important transformation in the last 20 years, with changes in lifestyles due to increasing urbanization and rising income levels. The emergence of modern supermarkets, convenience stores, and hypermarkets has run alongside the changes in consumers’ lifestyles, revolutionizing the Chinese food system and the nature of its food supply. Changes in food consumption patterns have also accompanied these shifts. One of the distinguishing aspects of this modern food sector is the continuous introduction of new foods and beverages to the market, and the communication of their associated attributes through labels, in-store displays, and advertising. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there have been any trends towards the introduction of products with greater health, nutrition, and food safety attributes to help consumers attain healthier diets making trade-offs between purchase options. Results show that there has been a rise in the number of new products in the Chinese food retail sector, particularly branded products introduced mainly by Chinese companies making food safety claims. It is clear, however, that the new food and drink products follow the consumption trends highlighted in the literature, and, therefore, there are low chances that they will positively influence the Chinese diet to an important degree, as they are mainly reinforcing the observed dietary trends.
Penal and Custodial Control of Female Criminality in Spain from a Gender Perspective
Authors: Acale Sánchez María
Published: February 2019

Gender is a uniquely important factor in women’s lives and female criminality alike: A study of statistics on female criminality worldwide shows that several gender-related factors may determine a woman’s commission of an offence, her life in prison, and perhaps even her future. Reflecting on this problem based solely on official statistics is difficult because some variables remain invisible from this perspective. Consequently, it is necessary to study the problem by applying criminological methods and examining past judgements. Whether it be an analysis of offences predominantly associated with women in the statistics (drug trafficking), or of other crimes that are not (terrorism, white/pink-collar crime), it is possible to identify gender patterns that in micro-criminological terms serve to elucidate the reasons why these women have committed an offence. It may even be possible to prevent female criminality by tackling the gender stereotypes that are present in all these crimes.
Summertime Soil-Atmosphere Ammonia Exchange in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range Pine Forest
Authors: Hrdina Amy , Moravek Alexander , Schwartz-Narbonne Heather , Murphy Jennifer
Published: February 2019

Understanding the NH3 exchange between forest ecosystems and the atmosphere is important due to its role in the nitrogen cycle. However, NH3 exchange is dynamic and difficult to measure. The goal of this study was to characterize this exchange by measuring the atmosphere, soil, and vegetation. Compensation point modeling was used to evaluate the direction and magnitude of surface-atmosphere exchange. Measurements were performed at the Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory (MEFO) site in the Colorado Front Range by continuous online monitoring of gas and particle phase NH3-NH4+ with an ambient ion monitoring system coupled with ion chromatographs (AIM-IC), direct measurements of [NH4+] and pH in soil extracts to determine ground emission potential (Γg), and measurements of [NH4+]bulk in pine needles to derive leaf emission potential (Γst). Two different soil types were measured multiple times throughout the study, in which Γg ranged from 5 to 2122. Γst values ranged from 29 to 54. Inferred fluxes (Fg) from each soil type predicted intervals of emission and deposition. By accounting for the total [NH4+] pool in each compartment, the lifetime of NH3 with respect to the surface-atmosphere exchange in the soil is on the order of years compared to much faster naturally occurring processes, i.e., mineralization and nitrification.
Creating a Sustainable Policy Framework for Cross-Border E-Commerce in China
Authors: Su Weihua , Wang Yuying , Qian Lan , Zeng Shouzhen , Baležentis Tomas , Streimikiene Dalia
Published: February 2019

This paper aims to adapt the social network analysis method to explore the characteristics of 59 cross-border e-commerce policies promulgated by the Chinese government from January 2013 to July 2018. On this basis, the paper quantitatively analyzes the internal structure and dynamic layout characteristics of sustainable cross-border e-commerce policy documents focusing on three dimensions: policy service contents, policy regulatory targets, and policy measures. The results suggest that policies involving service contents lack long-term strategic planning, especially those related to taxation and warehousing. In addition, policies regarding service system construction and demonstration construction follow an upward trend, whereas policies related to international cooperation and risk monitoring are less prevalent. Finally, it is suggested that the government pays attention to the supervision of payments, transactions, and goods in the early stage of development, but began conducting comprehensive supervision over all aspects of the cross-border e-commerce supply chain in 2015. Thus, there has been a relatively mature regulatory system established in China with particular attention to the aspects of quality and safety.
Analyzing the Stability of Underground Mines Using 3D Point Cloud Data and Discontinuum Numerical Analysis
Authors: Lee Seung-Joong , Choi Sung-Oong
Published: February 2019

This study describes a precise numerical analysis process by adopting the real image of mine openings obtained by light detection and ranging (LiDAR), which can produce a point cloud data by measuring the target surface numerically. The analysis target was a section of an underground limestone mine, to which a hybrid room-and-pillar mining method that was developed to improve ore recovery was applied. It is important that the center axis and the volume of the vertical safety pillar in the lower parts match those in the upper parts. The 3D survey of the target section verified that the center axis of the vertical safety pillar in the lower parts had deviated in a north-westerly direction. In particular, the area of the lower part of the vertical safety pillar was approximately 34 m2 lower than the designed cross-sectional area, which was 100 m2. In order to analyze the stability of the vertical safety pillar, a discontinuum numerical analysis and safety factor analysis were conducted using 3D surveying results. The analysis verified that instability was caused by the joints distributed around the vertical safety pillar. In conclusion, investigation of the 3D survey and 3D numerical analysis techniques performed in this study are expected to provide higher reliability than the current techniques used for establishing whether mining plans require new mining methods or safety measures.
The Importance of a Dedicated Monitoring Solution and Communication Strategy for an Effective Management of Complex Active Landslides in Urbanized Areas
Authors: Giordan Daniele , Wrzesniak Aleksandra , Allasia Paolo
Published: February 2019

Over the last decades, technological development has strongly increased the number of instruments suitable for landslide monitoring. For large landslides, monitoring systems are organized in complex and multi-instrumental networks aimed at controlling several representative physical variables. The management of these networks is often a complicated task that must consider technological aspects, data-sets processing, and results publication. We developed a new hybrid system focused on capturing and elaborating data-sets from monitored sites and on disseminating monitoring results to support decision makers. With respect to other available monitoring solutions, we emphasized the importance of technological aspects and a correct communication strategy, which represents the last fundamental step for a correct use of collected data. Monitoring results are often published in a difficult and not user-friendly way because they are intended for technicians with adequate background. Such an approach may be inefficient, especially during emergencies, when also non-expert people are involved. Additionally, this system consists of early warning application, which integrates a threshold-based approach and a failure forecasting modeling. The presented approach represents a possible improvement for a more sustainable management of active landslides that could have a strong impact on population and infrastructures in particular in highly urbanized areas.
How Do Destinations Frame Cultural Heritage? Content Analysis of Portugal’s Municipal Websites
Authors: Piñeiro-Naval Valeriano , Serra Paulo
Published: February 2019

In the current media context, heavily influenced by information and communication technologies, tourism destinations have a need to promote the most outstanding aspects of their cultures to attract the visitors who stimulate their economies. Websites are one of the tools available to carry out this task and they must be designed to communicate the destinations’ heritages persuasively to a worldwide audience. Taking these premises into consideration, the objective of this research is to analyze the cultural heritage content on Portugal’s municipal websites. The specific goals are to classify the most recurrent heritage elements and detect how they frame identity based on the ‘local-global dialectic’. The results show that the heritage discourse is built on the selection of certain aspects—namely, culinary and architectural assets—which are emphasized through the combined use of local and national frames that strengthen the municipalities’ particular values but also the fact that they are integrated into a broader and unified whole: Portugal.
A Comprehensive and Integrated Stochastic-Fuzzy Method for Sustainability Assessment in the Malaysian Food Manufacturing Industry
Authors: Ahmad Shamraiz , Wong Kuan Yew , Zaman Babar
Published: February 2019

Manufacturing activities carry significant burdens for all three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., environment, economy and society. However, most of the available sustainability assessment methods for manufacturing are based on environmental concerns only. Moreover, it is hard to find a sustainability assessment method that considers both stochastic and fuzzy uncertainties concurrently and a comprehensive set of weighted and applicable indicators. Thus, the main purpose of this paper was to develop and test an integrated sustainability assessment method that included both stochastic and fuzzy uncertainties. Both quantitative and qualitative, and weighted sustainability indicators for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry needed to be considered, with reliable assessment results. In order to achieve the objective, the Monte Carlo simulation and fuzzy logic approaches were employed. An overall unit-less sustainability index was calculated to evaluate the current sustainability level. This method was demonstrated using a real-world case study of a Malaysian food manufacturing company. The results highlighted and traced the company-wide major low and high performing areas for all three dimensions of sustainability. The results unveiled that the case company could improve its sustainability performance more effectively by decreasing the amount of air emissions, polluted wastewater, etc., and improving the working conditions. This would enable the practitioners and decision-makers to allocate resources accordingly and more efficiently. Finally, the developed method was validated and the implications and conclusions of the research were presented.
How Knowledge Sharing Culture Can Become a Facilitator of the Sustainable Development in the Agrifood Sector
Authors: Maizza Amedeo , Fait Monica , Scorrano Paola , Iazzi Antonio
Published: February 2019

This article proposes a managerial vision of the sustainability planning of a territory. The main assumption is that the sustainable development policies of a territory oriented to the agrifood sector cannot be separated from the participation in the decision-making process of the stakeholders as well as the sharing of objectives and development paths. The paper offers an innovative perspective because it proposes a model in which sustainable development can be improved not only through the attention to the production process, but also through the Knowledge Sharing Culture, which allows the inclusion of social innovation. This model was tested on the companies participating in the Italian Agri-food Protection Consortia as they represent an example of a managerial vision of the territory use and also because they integrate the protection of specific agricultural and food production with the commitment of entrepreneurs and families who share a common growth path. The empirical results show that Knowledge Sharing Culture can become a facilitator of the sustainable development of the territory when it is activated along specific “determinants” and related “operative activities” that transform the Knowledge Sharing Culture into a driver of social innovation oriented to the sustainability of businesses and their territory.
Biased Technical Change, Factor Substitution, and Carbon Emissions Efficiency in China
Authors: Zhong Jingdong
Published: February 2019

This paper investigates the effect of biased technical change on total factor carbon emissions efficiency in China using provincial panel data from 2001–2014. It evaluates each province’s total factor carbon emissions efficiency by a two-stage super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, and measures technical change bias in the framework of time-varying elasticity production function. Then, the impact of technical change’s capital–energy bias on carbon emissions efficiency is estimated by the fixed-effect panel and dynamic panel model. This study has the following findings: First, China’s total factor carbon emissions efficiency still has a long way to go. Carbon emissions efficiency varies a lot across regions. The eastern area boasts the highest carbon emissions efficiency. Second, China’s current technical change is energy-biased, and the marginal production growth rate presents energy>capital>labor, but the gap between energy and capital is diminishing. Third, technical change’s increasing capital bias helps to improve China’s carbon emissions efficiency substantially. The mechanism behind this is the changing factor substitution elasticity in the industry upgrade process.
Sustainability Assessment of Natural Capital Based on the 3D Ecological Footprint Model: A Case Study of the Shennongjia National Park Pilot
Authors: Wang Yisong , Huang Jincheng , Fang Shiming
Published: February 2019

The sustainability assessment of natural capital (SANC) is one of the key elements in the field of national park protection. Assessing the impact of socioeconomic development on the Shennongjia National Park Pilot (SNPP), a typical national park in China, would be extremely conducive to the sustainable management of its natural capital. To this end, a natural capital account system encompassing transportation, accommodation, food, and waste for both locals and tourists was developed. Throughout the period from 2007 to 2016, a SANC was conducted in SNPP based on the 3D ecological footprint (EF3D) model to measure stock consumption as well as flow occupancy. The main conclusions were as follows: First, the ecological footprint (EF) size of the SNPP increased yearly from 2007 to 2014, although it decreased in 2015, when the government started preparing for the SNPP. Second, rapid tourism-related developments brought about an increase in the EF of built-up land, and the increasing medicinal planting also enlarged the EF of arable land. Third, the cumulative EF of tourism was 2.82 times that of locals over the past decade. This gap has been expanding. Overall, the results show relatively steady sustainability in terms of natural capital in the SNPP. More precisely, the preceding stock consumption did not severely constrain the function of the current regeneration of flow capital, whereas tourism and planting have become potential threats to the sustainability of the natural capital.
Experiences and Challenges in Fatality Reduction on Polish Roads
Authors: Jamroz Kazimierz , Budzyński Marcin , Romanowska Aleksandra , Żukowska Joanna , Oskarbski Jacek , Kustra Wojciech
Published: February 2019

According to the UN, road safety is the key to achieving sustainable development goals, yet the complexity of how road accidents happen makes this a difficult challenge leaving many countries struggling with the problem. For years, Poland has infamously been one of the EU’s top countries for road-accident fatality rates. Despite that, it has made significant progress in the last thirty years with a fatality reduction of more than 60%. A number of factors have contributed to this result: improving the socioeconomic situation, improving road safety measures, changing road user behaviour and changing national road safety programmes. This article presents Poland’s approach to road safety and, in particular, Vision Zero, adopted in 2005. Poland’s road safety changed over the years as the country learned from its successes and failures. Tools for forecasting fatalities were developed and used to identify the main factors that have helped to reduce deaths. An assessment was conducted on how Poland could implement Vision Zero until 2050 under different road safety scenarios. It was found that in order to achieve the EU’s goal for 2030, Poland must reduce fatalities to 1200. While it is an ambitious goal, it is also an important step towards zero fatalities in 2050.
Destination Service Encounter Modeling and Relationships with Tourist Satisfaction
Authors: Zhou Meijing , Wang Fuyuan , Wang Kaiyong
Published: February 2019

Tourists are in contact with two types of services at destinations: enterprise services offered by tourism enterprises (e.g., hotels, shops, restaurants, etc.) and public services (public transportation, public information, public safety, etc.) provided by the local government. Following Churchill’s (1979) procedures, a model of destination service encounters (DSEs), including four dimensions (i.e.,enterprise personal interaction encounters (EPIEs), enterprise physical environment encounters (EPEEs), public personal interaction encounters (PPIEs), public physical environment encounters (PPEEs), and 10 subdimensions, was constructed. Then, the effects of DSEs on tourist satisfaction (TS) were tested with data collected in Shaoshan Township, China. The results revealed that EPIEs, PPIEs, and PPEEs had significant positive effects on TS. This model promotes the application of service encounter (SE) theory in destination management, and it offers implications for the synergy management of public and private sectors at destinations to improve tourist experiences.
Towards a Fair and More Transparent Rule-Based Valuation of Travel Time Savings
Authors: Adjenughwure Kingsley , Papadopoulos Basil
Published: February 2019

The value of travel time savings (VOTTS) is one of the most important variables for calculating the benefits of transportation projects. However, the way it is currently calculated (usually via discrete choice models) is complex, tedious and subject to a reasonable level of uncertainty. Furthermore, the method is not easily understood by government officials who use the VOTTS for appraisal and the citizens are not fully aware how such values are calculated. This lack of understanding and transparency in methodology may lead to misuse of the VOTTS during transport project appraisals which in turn can result in unfair transport decisions for citizens, government and the environment. To solve these problems, a fuzzy logic rule-based approach is proposed. With this approach, the rules can be made based on economic and behavioral theories by experts, government officials and citizens (via surveys). This approach makes it understandable to everyone how values are calculated. To test the applicability of the approach, a simple numerical example is presented by estimating the VOTTS of various countries using their gross domestic product-purchasing power parity (GDP-PPP) and the traffic congestion level. Results are then compared to values obtained from a recent metanalysis on VOTTS in Europe and some official VOTTS.
A Strategic Approach to Sustainable Tourism Development Using the A’WOT Hybrid Method: A Case Study of Zonguldak, Turkey
Authors: Kişi Nermin
Published: February 2019

Nowadays, tourism-led economic growth has become a major outcome of the public policy. Researchers have recently begun to address the development of tourism from a perspective that is based on economic, cultural, social, and environmental sustainability. This paper aims at presenting a strategic approach that can help to develop sustainable tourism at touristic destinations. In order to pursue our aim, the A’WOT (AHP-SWOT) hybrid method, developed in combination with SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method, was used. SWOT analysis was used to determine the significant strategic factors, and the AHP method was applied to prioritize these factors. The province of Zonguldak, located in Northwest Turkey, was chosen as the research area to suggest tourism strategies that can be sustainable by means of the application of the A’WOT method. Proposed strategies for the research area are related to product diversification and event management, the image of the destination, a sustainable visitor management system, promotion and branding strategies, partnerships, and cooperation. The results illustrate that the dependent economic structure may be broken down with the development of the tourism industry and, therefore, that some strategic initiatives are required to achieve sustainable tourism in the province.
Urban Commons for the Edible City—First Insights for Future Sustainable Urban Food Systems from Berlin, Germany
Authors: Scharf Nadine , Wachtel Thomas , Reddy Suhana E. , Säumel Ina
Published: February 2019

Urban planning is facing multi-layered challenges to manage the transformation towards a more sustainable and inclusive society. The recently evolved concept of an “urban commons” responds to the crucial need to re-situate residents as key actors. Urban food commons summarize all initiatives that are food-related (e.g., cultivation, harvest, and distribution), aiming at a visualization and utilization of value chains and the commons-based linkage between them. We explored first insights of food commons in Berlin based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Urban food commons strengthen identification, participation, self-organization, and social resilience, are steered by bottom-up processes, and can be a powerful tool for a transformation towards urban sustainability. However, a viable political integration of existing initiatives lacks due to structural implementation problems. Respondents recommend a pooling of all initiatives in a strong network and a mediation interface to coordinate between food commons and city administration and politics. A combined approach of commons and edible cities will be helpful for the development of future prove food systems.
The Impact of Eco-Label on the Young Chinese Generation: The Mediation Role of Environmental Awareness and Product Attributes in Green Purchase
Authors: Song Yao , Qin Zhenzhen , Yuan Qi
Published: February 2019

Environmental surroundings are highly shaped by consumer choice. Eco-label has been discussed as an effective tool for promoting such environmental product information from the producer to the consumer in relevant literature; however, the young generation has seldom been examined in previous research. Additionally, studies on the structural process of eco-label’s impact on green purchase remain limited, especially the mediation effects within the process. Regarding this research gap, the current study empirically tested the effects of eco-label on product attributes, environmental attitude, environmental concern and consequent purchase behavior from the young Chinese generation perspective. The intermediary role of product attribute is first investigated in the labeling-driven purchase, and the environmental attitude and concern are tested respectively to better understand the young generation’s awareness, compared to previous relevant studies. Based on the appropriate sample collection (N = 699), a structural equation model (SEM) was used, and results statistically showed the impact of eco-label mediated by product attributes on environmental attitude and environmental concern, and how green purchase behavior was influenced through this process significantly. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also discussed in this study.
Multidisciplinarity in Research of Extreme Solar Energy Influences on Natural Disasters
Authors: Nina Aleksandra , Srećković Vladimir A. , Radovanović Milan
Published: February 2019

The atmosphere is a very sensitive medium to extraterrestrial forces, most importantly, solar electromagnetic radiation and energetic particle intrusion. This released intense solar activity can cause sudden disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere and further create ground telecommunication interferences, blackouts, transportation problems, water supply problems, potential health effects, as well as natural disasters, such as forest fires. These extreme events can cause billions of dollars of damage and impact individuals, families, communities, and societies. For this reason, it is of crucial importance to investigate the connections between this extreme activity and natural disasters, and further develop ways to prevent, prepare against, and respond to them. The aim of this special issue is to engage a wide community of scientists to de-fragment broaden and improve our knowledge in this field. We invite researchers from all relevant fields to publish their recent investigations in this special issue.
Combining Artificial Neural Networks and GIS Fundamentals for Coastal Erosion Prediction Modeling
Authors: Peponi Angeliki , Morgado Paulo , Trindade Jorge
Published: February 2019

The complexities of coupled environmental and human systems across the space and time of fragile systems challenge new data-driven methodologies. Combining geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) allows us to design a model that forecasts the erosion changes in Costa da Caparica, Lisbon, Portugal, for 2021, with a high accuracy level. The GIS–ANN model proves to be a powerful tool, as it analyzes and provides the “where” and the “why” dynamics that have happened or will happen in the future. According to the literature, ANNs present noteworthy advantages compared to the other methods that are used for prediction and decision making in urban coastal areas. In order to conduct a sensitivity analysis on natural and social forces, as well as dynamic relations in the dune–beach system of the study area, two types of ANNs were tested on a GIS environment: radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). The GIS–ANN model helps to understand the factors that impact coastal erosion changes, and the importance of having an intelligent environmental decision support system to address these risks. This quantitative knowledge of the erosion changes and the analytical map-based frame are essential for an integrated management of the area and the establishment of pro-sustainability policies.