bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards Resilient Residential Buildings and Neighborhoods in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic—The Scenario of Podgorica, Montenegro
Authors: Bojović Marija , Rajković Irena , Perović Svetlana K.
Published: January 2022

The COVID-19 crisis and new pandemic-oriented everyday life have emphasized the urge to reorganize the way we live and reside, additionally highlighting the already existing socio-spatial problematic that Montenegrin society has been experiencing for thirty years. Since residential space is considered to be vital for physical, mental and social wellbeing, this sudden and global paradigm shift presents an opportunity to redefine the current housing concepts towards greater long-term resilience in the context of present, pandemic and future challenges. The results of the survey of housing users in Podgorica confirmed the need to address this issue. The article discusses a possible model of resilient adaptation of residential buildings and neighborhoods in Podgorica, Montenegro. The model addresses the flexibility of the apartment units, existence of indoor and outdoor common areas for social activities within the building and immediate contact with nature, and it is applicable in the wider territorial context as well. Formulated with the aim of long-term improvement of the concept of housing, the model presents a significant framework for the planning and design of future buildings. The resilient residential model is tested by its application to specific buildings of residential area Blok 5 in Podgorica. This leads to the conclusion that the earlier concepts of housing present in theory and practice in the second half of the twentieth century in Montenegro and the region were more adequate in the context of resilience. As we believe that such improved resilient housing would consequently increase the resilience of the community regarding the challenges it faces currently due to COVID-19, we consider this a long-term contribution of this research.
Discovering the Legacy of Hispanic/Spanish and South American Landscapes through Geohistorical Sources: The Geographical and Topographical Relations of Philip II
Authors: Vallina-Rodríguez Alejandro , Aguilar-Cuesta Ángel I. , García-Juan Laura , Bernabé-Crespo Miguel B. , Bringas-Gutiérrez Miguel A. , Camarero-Bullón Concepción
Published: January 2022

Landscapes have history and memory, which are eloquent generators of testimonies and traces on the processes of the landscape that take place today, and that will take place in the future. In recent years, numerous methods of analysing land and landscape patterns have been developed and evaluated, based on the multiplicity of these type of geographic and historical data sources, which have developed the concept of the geohistorical source. The goal of these sources of information allows us to historically reconstruct landscapes. With this in mind, the basic objective of the present research is to approach a geohistorical source with a wide spatial spectrum in Europe and America: the geographical and topographical relations of Philip II. This source has been chosen for the quality, quantity, variety and systematization of the data it provides on the territory and landscape of the crown of Castile. In addition, it ended up being the model of how to obtain organized and homogeneous knowledge of a large spatial area, considering the geographical, anthropological and historical data of the different territories. This geohistorical source is reliable, because the local authorities, both secular and ecclesiastical, are questioned, as they are the ones who inhabit, use, and, at different levels, govern the territory and its people.
How Can China Resolve the NIMBY Dilemma in a Network Society? Government and Society-Negotiated Decisions Based on Evolutionary Game Analysis
Authors: Tian Cui , Han Chuanfeng
Published: January 2022

Infrastructure, such as waste incineration infrastructure, is entangled in the “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) dilemma. Consequently, the closed public decision-making model has difficulty adapting to the increasingly strong public-participation needs. Thus, a new mode of negotiated decision making is urgently required. This paper focuses on the negotiation problem, considers the government and society as game players, builds an evolutionary game model of negotiated decisions based on the bounded rationality hypothesis, and simulates the process and results of the evolution of the players’ strategy. The study concludes that the stable state of system evolution depends on the initial state of the dual populations and the comparative relationship between changes in revenue and cost, and the sufficient and unnecessary condition for the government and society to both agree on the given strategy. Taking the waste incineration projects in Yuhang and Chaonan as examples, the negotiated decision-making practice of NIMBY facilities is analysed, and it is found that it takes less time for the system to reach equilibrium in the latter. Finally, optimisation strategies for decision making regarding NIMBY facilities are systematically proposed.
Novel Application of Tagua Shell (Phytelephas aequatorialis) as Adsorbent Material for the Removal of Pb(II) Ions: Kinetics, Equilibrium, and Thermodynamics of the Process
Authors: Chávez-Prado Gino Alexander , Benavides-García Adams Brayan , Zambrano-Intriago Luis Angel , Maddela Naga Raju , Quiroz-Fernández Luis Santiago , Baquerizo-Crespo Ricardo José , Rodríguez-Díaz Joan Manuel
Published: January 2022

Tagua shell is a material generated in the handcrafted jewelry industry, which is discarded since it does not have a specific use. The present study evaluates this material as an adsorbent for the removal of lead (II) in aqueous media. The adsorbent was characterized through the point of zero charge technique, X-ray microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Tests were carried out in a static system using a lead (II) solution of 100 mg·L−1 to establish the process conditions, setting a pH of 5, an adsorbent dose of 1.8 g/100 mL, and a contact time of 60 min. The kinetic study performed showed that the experimental data had a better fit with the pseudo-second order model. The experimental equilibrium data were correlated using the Langmuir, Freundlich, Toth, Redlich–Peterson, and Sips models, of which the Langmuir and Sips models proved to be the best to represent the adsorption process due to the high coefficient of determination they presented at the different temperatures, being between 0.9629–0.9899 and 0.9819–0.9900, respectively. The maximum amount of lead adsorbed was 22.0348 mg·g−1 at a temperature of 298 K. Finally, the thermodynamics study indicated that the process is endothermic, spontaneous, and thermodynamically stable.
Student’s Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) to Solid Waste Management: A Survey towards a More Circular Economy from a Rural-Based Tertiary Institution in South Africa
Authors: Owojori Oluwatobi Mary , Mulaudzi Ratshalingwa , Edokpayi Joshua N.
Published: January 2022

Students of Higher Educational institutions (HEIs) are regarded as major stakeholders of an institution and key agents of transformation in society. Thus, the environmental knowledge of students in academic institutions is instrumental in providing a solution to the solid waste menace and other environmental problems in the community. However, there exists a wide rural–urban gap in transitioning towards sustainable development across HEIs. This informed the current study examining the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of students at a rural-based educational institution on solid waste management. It also aimed to learn about the institution’s current practices regarding solid waste management and identify steps that can be taken to move the institution closer to a circular economy goal. This study presents the KAP results from a survey of 376 students from nine schools at the University of Venda for the conceptualization of a circular economy (CE) vision for the university. The results show that the knowledge of the students on solid waste management was low and inadequate. However, students are willing to partake in recycling projects to improve the current environmental state of the institution. This study also revealed that some of the students (41%) require motivation to participate in recycling schemes through economic incentives. Increasing awareness of environmental education and initiating participatory environmental programs and strengthening 3 of the key sustainability competencies is recommended as an effective tool to transition to a circular economy in the institution. Further studies are recommended in areas of gamified learning for CE and capital generation from waste for capacity building.
Residential Electricity Load Forecasting Based on Fuzzy Cluster Analysis and LSSVM with Optimization by the Fireworks Algorithm
Authors: Zhao Xinyue , Shen Baoxing , Lin Lin , Liu Daohong , Yan Meng , Li Gengyin
Published: January 2022

As the construction of the energy internet progresses, the proportion of residential electricity consumption in end-use energy consumption is increasing, the peak load on the grid is growing year on year, and seasonal and regional peak power supply tensions, mainly for residential electricity consumption, have become common problems across the country. Accurate residential load forecasting can provide strong data support for the operation of electricity demand response and the incentive setting of the response. For the accuracy and stability of residential electricity load forecasting, a forecasting model is presented in this paper based on fuzzy cluster analysis (FC), least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM), and a fireworks algorithm (FWA). First of all, to reduce the redundancy of input data, it is necessary to reduce the dimension of data features. Then, FWA is used to optimize the arguments γ and σ2 of LSSVM, where γ is the penalty factor and σ2 denotes the kernel width. Finally, a load forecasting method of FC–FWA–LSSVM is developed. Relevant data from Beijing, China, are selected for training tests to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. The results show that the FC–FWA–LSSVM hybrid model proposed in this paper has high accuracy in residential power load forecasting, and the model has good stability and versatility.
Modelling Treated Laundry Greywater Reuse for Irrigation Using an Affordable Treatment Method and Seed Germination Test
Authors: Cardoso Camila C. A. , Bodnar Ildiko
Published: January 2022

A potential solution in areas facing water shortages is greywater (GW) reuse. GW is produced in bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens of households. With proper treatment, it can be an alternative source for the agriculture sector, which consumes approximately 70% of the world’s water. This paper represents the characterization of synthetic laundry GW fraction (LGW), its treatment and modelling of treated LGW reuse for irrigation using a seed germination test. LGW’s constant quality (pH = 8.0 ± 0.3, turbidity = 174 ± 73 NTU, BOD5 = 300 ± 60 mgL−1, TOC = 162 ± 40 mgL−1) is suitable for testing the treatment method’s efficiency. Coagulation–flocculation, applying iron(III) chloride and sand filtration as a simple treatment combination, generates good-quality irrigation water (pH = 7.27 ± 0.23, turbidity = 0.6 ± 0.4 NTU, BOD5 = 17 ± 8 mgL−1, TOC = 16 ± 6 mgL−1). Seed germination tests with different waters, and elemental analysis of water, roots, and stems of the plants were done to verify the plants’ quality. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) for the raw LGW (SAR = 4.06) was above the threshold (<3) for safe irrigation, thus it is not recommended for this purpose. Based on the elemental analysis results and SAR value of treated LGW (SAR = 2.84), it can potentially be used for irrigation purposes.
A Game-Theoretic Approach for CSR Emergency Medical Supply Chain during COVID-19 Crisis
Authors: Xie Kefan , Zhu Shufan , Gui Ping
Published: January 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused high fluctuations in the demand for medical supplies. Therefore, emergency medical supplies enterprises have faced challenges in decision making and need to consider more corporate social responsibility (CSR) in production. At the same time, the government needs to take considerable measures to support emergency medical supplies enterprises. As such, our paper researches the decision and coordination problems for emergency medical supply chain considering CSR with the government, manufacturer, and retailer. The manufacturer produces emergency medical supplies. It has additional production technological innovation efforts to improve supply efficiency and assume CSR. The retailer faces uncertain demands and is responsible for undertaking CSR to meet the demands. The government must implement a certain degree of subsidies to ease the impact of the pandemic on emergency medical supply chain enterprises. Meanwhile, our paper further explores the obligations of the economy, society, and efficiency of enterprises under the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision making of enterprises for the implementation of CSR. Based on the principle of maximizing social welfare, we discuss decentralized decision making (without government and with government) and centralized decision making, respectively. On this basis, our paper not only designs a wholesale price–cost sharing joint contract coordination mechanism but also proves that a joint contract can achieve supply chain coordination under certain conditions. Through the analysis, we observe: (1) Government subsidies can improve the enthusiasm of supply chain members to undertake CSR; (2) With the improvement of the retailer’s CSR level, the profits of supply chain members and overall performance have improved to a certain degree; (3) To improve supply efficiency and assume social responsibility, the manufacturer implements technological innovation investment. However, it will impose some burden on the manufacturer. Government subsidies allow the manufacturer to balance between social responsibility and its profit.
Global Prospects, Advance Technologies and Policies of Energy-Saving and Sustainable Building Systems: A Review
Authors: Akram Md. Washim , Mohd Zublie Muhammad Firdaus , Hasanuzzaman Md. , Rahim Nasrudin Abd
Published: January 2022

Automation, modernization, economic development and global progress depends on efficient extraction and utilization of energy. Power generation by burning fossil fuels makes various adverse impacts on the environment. Additionally, the worldwide fossil fuel reserve is limited and depleting very fast. Hence, efficient energy usage and savings are crucial to address the environmental issues to ensure sustainable development. Buildings, both commercial and residential, represent a major energy consumption sector. Approximately 40% of the total energy is reportedly consumed in the building sector. Worldwide building energy consumption, performance measuring systems and best practices, energy-saving techniques and policies are reviewed and summarized in this article. Underfloor air distribution, double-glazed windows, use of highly efficient electric motors and variable speed drives may play a great role in reducing building energy consumption. In the UK, the application of double-glazed windows in commercial buildings can save 39–53% energy. The proper maintenance of a building’s central heating system can save up to 11% energy. The automatic HVAC control system can reduce up to 20% of the building’s total heating load. Proper utilization of a VSD system in motor and building performance optimization by an ANOVA tool also proved instrumental in saving energy. Apart from this, the building codes of different countries also help to improve building performance by reducing energy consumption. This study will help building researchers and policymakers to make a framework for sustainable, green building.
Phenol Adsorption Mechanism of Organically Modified Bentonite and Its Microstructural Changes
Authors: He Haijie , Xu Erpei , Qiu Zhanhong , Wu Tao , Wang Shifang , Lu Yuhua , Chen Guannian
Published: January 2022

Bentonite was modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The organically modified bentonite (OMB) was used to remove phenol from aqueous solution, the microstructural changes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and phenol adsorption kinetic was obtained using batch adsorption test results. The results indicated that the rate of adsorption of phenol onto the OMB was positively correlated with the initial concentration, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 10.1 mg/g at the initial concentration of 150 mg/L at 25 °C and pH 10. The investigations of adsorption kinetics models showed that the adsorption kinetic was better reflected by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the properties of the OMB samples with different adsorption times were obtained by SEM and XRD. The statistic analysis revealed that the pore diameter of the OMB samples decreased with the increasing adsorption time and gradually reached equilibrium.
Using Indicators to Evaluate Cultural Heritage and the Quality of Life in Small and Medium-Sized Towns: The Study of 10 Towns from the Polish-German Borderland
Authors: Książek Sławomir , Belof Magdalena , Maleszka Wojciech , Gmur Karolina , Kukuła Marta , Knippschild Robert , Battis-Schinker Eva , Knoop Bettina , Al-Alawi Sarah
Published: January 2022

Cultural built heritage (CBH) is one of the most important cultural assets that affect the quality of life (QoL) in cities, and it is especially significant in small and medium-sized towns that lack some other advantages of larger urban centres. However, in quality of life studies, CBH is often neglected or treated superficially. This is probably due to the lack of a universal method developed to study their mutual interdependence based on a set of proven, objective indicators. This paper presents the authors’ attempt to fill this methodological gap by developing a set of indicators that would make it possible to assess the relationship between QoL and CBH. The study focused on historic small and medium-sized towns, located peripherally on the borderlands between Poland and Germany, since it was considered that especially for such towns, the architectural and urban heritage can appear as a crucial factor in improving the quality of life. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the mutual relationship between the phenomenon of QoL and CBH, a triangulation of research methods has been adopted: first, a literature review, where indicators were sought; second, semi-structured interviews and workshops with selected experts; and third, focus-group studies in 10 pilot locations. The analysis yielded quantitative and qualitative indicators in each set, allowing for the measurement of the mutual relationship between QoL and CBH. The set offered a total of 20 indicators developed specifically for small and medium-sized towns, and despite certain limitations, it can be considered universal and can also be applied to other urban centres. Furthermore, the study identified the five distinct spheres in which the relationship between QoL and CBH can be observed and analysed. This typology can be used as a background for deeper studies at specific sites, regardless of their size and location.
Food Waste Perception of Workplace Canteen Users—A Case Study
Authors: Pires Iva , Machado Jerusa , Rocha Ada , Liz Martins Margarida
Published: January 2022

Background: Food waste occurs in all stages of the food supply chain, namely in the food service sector. Understanding how much and why food is wasted and whether consumers are aware of it is essential to design effective interventions in this setting. This case study aims to compare the food waste perception by consumers and measure plate waste in a Portuguese workplace canteen in order to recognize if trained consumers can estimate his/her food waste. Methods: Data were collected from 160 users randomly selected attending a workplace canteen during one month. Plate waste was evaluated by the weighing method. Visual estimation was performed by each participant to evaluate food waste perception at the end of the meal. Consumers were also asked about reasons for wasting food. Results: Plate waste was 8.4% for soup, 9.0% for the main course, and 4.0% for dessert. These values follow the same trend of waste perceived by consumers for soup (R = 0.722; p ˂ 0.001), main course (R = 0.674; p ˂ 0.001), and dessert (R = 0.639; p ˂ 0.001), showing a high relation between self-assessment and measured plate waste. Excessive portions (46.1%), dislike of meal flavor (18.6%), cooking method (8.8%), and texture (3.9%) were identified as the main causes for plate waste. Conclusions: Canteen users showed an accurate perception of their plate waste for all meal components. Excessive portions were identified by consumers as the main reason for plate waste.
SDG-Oriented Supply Chains: Business Practices for Procurement and Distribution
Authors: Cammarano Antonello , Perano Mirko , Michelino Francesca , Del Regno Claudio , Caputo Mauro
Published: January 2022

This paper aims at analyzing sustainable practices that can be implemented within supply chains, linking them to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to show the performance achieved by SDG-oriented supply chains. Sustainable practices were collected from the repository “Business Process Framework for Sustainability” owned by the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Salerno (Italy). By using literature research and descriptive statistics, there emerges a positive relationship between sustainable development and SC performance enhancement. From the study of the practices that can be implemented for cooperation activities with upstream and downstream supply chain partners, it emerges that companies have many opportunities of both supporting the 2030 Agenda and enhancing their market and organizational performance. The research demonstrates that both procurement and distribution processes could be reengineered by implementing sustainable approaches considering all three dimensions of sustainability. Differences emerge in terms of number of opportunities, depending on motivations for implementing them, industry and supply chain processes, performance achieved, and SDGs pursued.
Exploring the Research Regarding Frugal Innovation and Business Sustainability through Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Dima Adriana , Bugheanu Alexandru-Mihai , Dinulescu Ruxandra , Potcovaru Ana-Madalina , Stefanescu Constanta Alice , Marin Irinel
Published: January 2022

Nowadays, innovation is valued as being of utmost significance when evaluating measures of sustainable development and performance constructs. The current research develops investigations into the field of frugal innovation (FI) and how this process can contribute to business sustainability. This study performs a comprehensive evaluation of scientific production through the quantitative method of bibliometric analysis to facilitate our understanding of the current structure of studies and to highlight future research paths on FI and business sustainability. The paper maps the literature by narrowing its research topics and identifying certain patterns. Using the Web of Science database (WoS) on a sample of 2072 documents, descriptive and performance analyses were conducted. The VOSviewer software was used to perform the science mapping of the conceptual, intellectual, and social structure that provides scholars with a quantified and graphic representation of the FI and business sustainability field. The trend towards the analysis of business sustainability and consumer behaviour in the context of FI is highlighted. Annual scientific production and citation analysis reveal significant growth in international interest and scientific production, indicating an increasing line of inquiry for this topic at the start of the twenty-first century. The prominent scholars in the field are of European origin, while the highly active countries in the subject of FI and business sustainability are the USA, Germany, England, the Netherlands, and India, with major collaborations across the globe. This paper covers the limits identified by previous scholars by detailing the knowledge base and by using science mapping tools to document the structure of the literature; distinguish key journals, articles, and authors; and highlight new emerging topics of research.
Livelihood Resilience and Its Influencing Factors of Worker Households in the Face of State-Owned Forest Areas Reform in China
Authors: Sun Siboyu , Geng Yude
Published: January 2022

To promote the sustainable development of state-owned forest areas, the Chinese government announced the reform of state-owned forest areas in 2015. It mainly includes the logging ban of natural forests and the separation of government and enterprises. Timely investigation of the changes in the livelihood resilience of worker households before and after the reform of state-owned forest areas is of great significance to the sustainable development of state-owned forest areas. With the application of livelihood resilience theory, we established an evaluation index system from three dimensions of buffer capacity, self-organization, and learning capacity. Taking five forest industry enterprises operating state-owned forest areas in Northeast and Inner Mongolia in China as an example, we measured worker households’ livelihood resilience, and identified the key factors of worker households’ livelihood resilience. The results showed: (1) The reform of state-owned forest areas has improved the livelihood resilience of worker households in Longjiang, Daxing’anling, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin forest industry groups, but reduced the livelihood resilience of worker households in Changbai Mountain forest industry groups. (2) With the advancement of the reform of state-owned forest areas, the gap of livelihood resilience of worker households of forest industry groups shows an expanding trend. (3) The influencing factors that affect the worker households’ livelihood resilience of various forest industry groups are similar. Among them, the education of household head, household head health, household size, work experience, and neighborhood relationships are the key factors that affect the resilience of worker households.
Pellets from Lignocellulosic Material Obtained from Pruning Guava Trees: Characterization, Energy Performance and Emissions
Authors: Ruiz-García Víctor Manuel , Huerta-Mendez Maritza Yunuen , Vázquez-Tinoco Juan Carlos , Alvarado-Flores José Juan , Berrueta-Soriano Víctor Manuel , López-Albarrán Pablo , Masera Omar , Rutiaga-Quiñones José Guadalupe
Published: January 2022

In this study, lignocellulosic material derived from guava tree pruning was used to make pellets in a laboratory machine. The following experiments were conducted to identify the properties of the biomass samples before the pelletizing process: chemical analysis, proximal analysis, elemental analysis, ash microanalysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG). The following analyses were performed on the densified material: moisture content, particle density, bulk density, impact resistance and calorific value. The guava pellets evaluated, with respect to open fires, mitigate the CO2, CO, CH4, HCNM, EC, OC and PM2.5 emissions. Emissions per unit of consumed energy were reduced by 8 times for PM2.5, almost 5 times for HCNM, 3 times for CH4, 7 times for CO, 2 times for CO2, 6 times with respect to EC and almost 30 times for OC. The results of the physical and energetic evaluation of the pellets indicate good potential for its use as a solid densified biofuel.
Impact of Biochar Application on Ammonia Volatilization from Paddy Fields under Controlled Irrigation
Authors: Qi Suting , Ding Jie , Yang Shihong , Jiang Zewei , Xu Yi
Published: January 2022

Ammonia volatilization is an important nitrogen loss pathway in the paddy field ecosystem which leads to low nitrogen-utilization efficiency and severe atmospheric pollution. To reveal the influence and the mechanism of biochar application on ammonia volatilization from paddy fields under controlled irrigation, field experiments were conducted in the Taihu Lake Basin in China. The experiment consisted of three levels of biochar application (0, 20, and 40 t·ha−1) and two types of irrigation management (controlled irrigation and flood irrigation). Increasing ammonia volatilization occurred after fertilization. Biochar application reduced the cumulative ammonia volatilization from controlled-irrigation paddy fields, compared with non-biochar treatment. The cumulative ammonia volatilization in controlled-irrigation paddy fields with 40 t·ha−1 biochar application was reduced by 12.27%. The decrease in ammonia volatilization was related to the change in soil physical and soil physical–chemical properties and soil microbial activities. The high biochar application (40 t·ha−1) increased the NH4+-N content in soil (p < 0.01) and soil solution (p <0.05), increased by 64.98% and 19.72%, respectively. The application also increased the soil urease activity (p < 0.01), and high biochar application (40 t·ha−1) increased soil urease activity by 33.70%. Ammonia volatilization from paddy fields was significantly correlated with the nitrogen concentration (p < 0.01) in the soil solution and soil urease activity (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the abundance of ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) with biochar application under controlled irrigation showed an increasing trend with rice growth. The long-term application of biochar may have a relatively strong potential to inhibit ammonia volatilization. In general, the combined application of controlled irrigation and biochar provides an eco-friendly strategy for reducing farmland N loss and improving paddy field productivity.
The Third Wave of COVID-19 versus the Residential Preferences in Poland: An Assessment of Economic Factors and Psychological Determinants
Authors: Stankowska Anna , Stankowska-Mazur Izabela
Published: January 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a reflection on our need for contact with nature. It was the result of suddenly imposed limitations of the everyday functioning of many people and confining them to the space of their own house or apartment. This paper presents the results of a study on the preferences of Polish city dwellers in terms of their need for contact with nature at their place of residence before the COVID-19 outbreak and after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to identify any relationship between preferences regarding access to nature at the place of residence prior to and during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and variables such as gender, age, background, and distance between the place of residence and any natural or urban green spaces. An online survey was used to examine urban residents’ need for access to nature. Significant gender differences in preferences, both prior to and during the pandemic, were found. Preferences also varied depending on the distance between the place of residence and natural and urban green spaces and depending on the origin of the interviewee (urban or rural). The origin was found to have a significant impact on preferences. The need for contact with nature at the place of residence, both before and after the pandemic, was found to be greater among respondents from rural areas.
Outreach and Post-Publication Impact of Soil Erosion Modelling Literature
Authors: Bezak Nejc , Borrelli Pasquale , Mikoš Matjaž , Panagos Panos
Published: January 2022

Back in the 1930s, the aphorism “publish or perish” first appeared in an academic context. Today, this phrase is becoming a harsh reality in several academic environments, and scientists are giving increasing attention to publishing and disseminating their scientific work. Soil erosion modelers make no exception. With the introduction of the bibliometric field, the evaluation of the impact of a piece of scientific work becomes more articulated. The post-publication impact of the research became an important aspect too. In this study, we analyse the outreach and the impact of the literature on soil erosion modelling using the altmetric database, i.e., Altmetric. In our analysis, we use only a small fraction (around 15%) of Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT) papers because only 257 papers out of 1697 had an Altmetric Score (AS) larger than 0. We observed that media and policy documents mentioned more frequently literature dealing with global-scale assessments and future projection studies than local-scale ones. Papers that are frequently cited by researchers do not necessarily also yield high media and policy outreach. The GASEMT papers that had an AS larger than 0 were, on average, mentioned by one policy document and five Twitter users and had 100 Mendeley readers. Only around 5% and 9% of papers with AS > 0 appeared in news articles and blogs, respectively. However, this percentage was around 45% for Twitter and policy mentions. The top GASEMT paper’s upper bound was around 1 million Twitter followers, while this number was around 10,000 for the 10th ranked GASEMT paper. The exponentially increasing trend for erosion modelling papers having an AS has been confirmed, as during the last 3 years (2014–2017), we estimated that the number of entries had doubled compared to 2011–2014 and quadrupled if we compare it with 2008–2011.
Study on Evacuation Behavior of Urban Underground Complex in Fire Emergency Based on System Dynamics
Authors: Li Xiaojuan , Chen Weibin , Wang Chen , Kassem Mukhtar A.
Published: January 2022

During a fire evacuation, long lateral evacuation distances, large crowds waiting for evacuation at the same level, and easily panicked populations are common. This research aimed to look into the large-scale evacuation behavior of urban underground complexes with limited evacuation and egress during a fire. A simplified model for large-scale group evacuation of urban subsurface complexes was constructed using system dynamics theory. The Vensim software was used for quantitative simulation. The model could represent the typical phenomenon of group evacuation behaviors, such as quick or slow, under seven operating situations with total initial numbers of 350, 400, 450, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000. The results of an analysis of critical affecting factors show “total initial number” and “panic state” during a large-scale group evacuation: a large beginning population will result in a rapid reduction in system evacuation capability, delaying the completion of the evacuation process significantly; meanwhile, if the level of panic is deficient, the system’s evacuation efficiency will remain low for an extended period, making it difficult to evacuate trapped persons promptly. According to the findings, the developed system dynamics model, which combines the advantages of a continuous model with the advantages of a discrete model, is very accurate. At the same time, we should emphasize the importance of the evacuation guide and reinforce the fire education and behavior drills for the building’s workers. This research presents a simplified model for the evacuation of large groups of people from metropolitan underground complexes. Furthermore, the findings may give theoretical support for the development of rules and safety management practices.
What Can Be Done to Change?—The Environmental and Behavioral Consequences of Interventions for Sustainable Travel
Authors: Olsson Lars E. , Sinha Rajib , Frostell Björn , Friman Margareta
Published: January 2022

We organized this Special Issue on “The Environmental and Behavioral Consequences of Interventions for Sustainable Travel” with the aim of attracting interdisciplinary perspectives on the environmental and behavioral consequences of different interventions for sustainable travel [...]
Neuroscience and CSR: Using EEG for Assessing the Effectiveness of Branded Videos Related to Environmental Issues
Authors: Janić Milan , Ćirović Marko , Dimitriadis Nikolaos , Jovanović Dimitriadis Neda , Alevizou Panayiota
Published: January 2022

The majority of studies evaluating the effectiveness of branded CSR campaigns are concentrated and base their conclusions on data collection through self-reporting questionnaires. Although such studies provide insights for evaluating the effectiveness of CSR communication methods, analysing the message that is communicated, the communication channel used and the explicit brain responses of those for whom the message is intended, they lack the ability to fully encapsulate the problem of communicating environmental messages by not taking into consideration what the recipients’ implicit brain reactions are presenting. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of CSR video communications relating to environmental issues through the lens of the recipients’ implicit self, by employing neuroscience-based assessments. For the examination of implicit brain perception, an electroencephalogram (EEG) was used, and the collected data was analysed through three indicators identified as the most influential indicators on human behaviour. These three indicators are emotional valence, the level of brain engagement and cognitive load. The study is conducted on individuals from the millennial generation in Thessaloniki, Greece, whose implicit brain responses to seven branded commercial videos are recorded. The seven videos were a part of CSR campaigns addressing environmental issues. Simultaneously, the self-reporting results from the participants were gathered for a comparison between the explicit and implicit brain responses. One of the key findings of the study is that the explicit and implicit brain responses differ to the extent that the CSR video communications’ brain friendliness has to be taken into account in the future, to ensure success. The results of the study provide an insight for the future creation process, conceptualisation, design and content of the effective CSR communication, in regard to environmental issues.
Correction: Su et al. Sociocultural Adaptation Profiles of Ethnic Minority Senior High School Students in Mainland China: A Latent Class Analysis. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6942
Authors: Su Aoxue , He Wei , Huang Taichao
Published: January 2022

The authors would like to make the following corrections to the published paper [...]
Proposing Employee Level CSR as an Enabler for Economic Performance: The Role of Work Engagement and Quality of Work-Life
Authors: Bu Xuelin , Cherian Jacob , Han Heesup , Comite Ubaldo , Hernández-Perlines Felipe , Ariza-Montes Antonio
Published: January 2022

The aim of the current research is to foster the economic performance of a hotel enterprise through employee-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities with the mediating effect of work engagement (W.E) and quality of work-life (QWL). A hypothesized model was developed for this purpose. The data were collected from the hotel employees of a developing economy (n = 396). The hypothesized relations were tested by employing the structural equation modeling technique. The current work’s statistical outcomes validated CSR’s seminal role to influence W.E and QWL perceptions of hotel employees, which eventually contribute to the economic performance of a hotel enterprise. The findings of the current analysis have different theoretical and practical implications. To the extent of theory, the current work advances the fields of enterprise management and employee wellbeing from an individual-level perspective of CSR. Practically, the current study helps the hotel management to realize that a carefully planned CSR strategy not only improves the economic performance of a hotel enterprise through employees but also helps to fulfill its social responsibility, hence leading a hotel enterprise towards a win-win situation.
A Hybrid Sailfish Whale Optimization and Deep Long Short-Term Memory (SWO-DLSTM) Model for Energy Efficient Autonomy in India by 2048
Authors: Rajamoorthy Rajasekaran , Saraswathi Hemachandira V. , Devaraj Jayanthi , Kasinathan Padmanathan , Elavarasan Rajvikram Madurai , Arunachalam Gokulalakshmi , Mostafa Tarek M. , Mihet-Popa Lucian
Published: January 2022

In order to formulate the long-term and short-term development plans to meet the energy needs, there is a great demand for accurate energy forecasting. Energy autonomy helps to decompose a large-scale grid control into a small sized decisions to attain robustness and scalability through energy independence level of a country. Most of the existing energy demand forecasting models predict the amount of energy at a regional or national scale and failed to forecast the demand for power generation for small-scale decentralized energy systems, like micro grids, buildings, and energy communities. A novel model called Sailfish Whale Optimization-based Deep Long Short- Term memory (SWO-based Deep LSTM) to forecast electricity demand in the distribution systems is proposed. The proposed SWO is designed by integrating the Sailfish Optimizer (SO) with the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). The Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC) is applied on the dataset, which is collected from the Central electricity authority, Government of India, for selecting the optimal features using the technical indicators. The proposed algorithm is implemented in MATLAB software package and the study was done using real-time data. The optimal features are trained using Deep LSTM model. The results of the proposed model in terms of install capacity prediction, village electrified prediction, length of R & D lines prediction, hydro, coal, diesel, nuclear prediction, etc. are compared with the existing models. The proposed model achieves percentage improvements of 10%, 9.5%,6%, 4% and 3% in terms of Mean Squared Error (MSE) and 26%, 21%, 16%, 12% and 6% in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for Bootstrap-based Extreme Learning Machine approach (BELM), Direct Quantile Regression (DQR), Temporally Local Gaussian Process (TLGP), Deep Echo State Network (Deep ESN) and Deep LSTM respectively. The hybrid approach using the optimization algorithm with the deep learning model leads to faster convergence rate during the training process and enables the small-scale decentralized systems to address the challenges of distributed energy resources. The time series datasets of different utilities are trained using the hybrid model and the temporal dependencies in the sequence of data are predicted with point of interval as 5 years-head. Energy autonomy of the country till the year 2048 is assessed and compared.
Energy Systems and Energy Sharing in Traditional and Sustainable Archetypes of Urban Developments
Authors: Hachem-Vermette Caroline , Singh Kuljeet
Published: January 2022

Diverse factors influence the energy profile of an urban development including density, shape of buildings and their types, energy demand, and available energy resources. A systematic investigation of the energy characteristics of urban areas, involves the determination of representative archetypes of urban developments. This study presents a comparison of energy performance and resources between two categories of traditionally built urban development building clusters (BCs) in the North American urban context, and neighborhood units (NUs) designed with various sustainable principles and considerations. The study presents a methodology to optimize the mix of energy resources of individual building clusters and neighborhoods, as well as the optimization of energy sharing among the individual urban units of each category. Optimal energy sharing is determined based on the best combination of energy deficit and energy surplus of various clusters and neighborhoods. The study shows that in general neighborhood units encompassing diverse building uses and designed to allow different amenities within a walking distance perform better than commonly built building clusters with low usage diversity. Highly diverse neighborhoods that combine large commercial areas to high density residential buildings can generate up to 84% of their annual electrical and up to 37% of their annual thermal consumption. PV generation accounts for major part of the electrical energy generation of both individual urban units (BCs and NUs) and combination of these units. This can reach up to 92% of the total energy consumption of some combinations of NUs, while the remaining energy requirement is fulfilled by wind and waste to energy (3.4% and 4.9%, respectively). On the other hand, the study shows that thermal energy is mostly supplied by alternative energy sources, since building surfaces prioritize the accommodation of PV modules.
The Places–People Exercise: Understanding Spatial Patterns and the Formation Mechanism for Urban Commercial Fitness Space in Changchun City, China
Authors: Gao Shibo , Li Chenggu , Rong Yuefang , Yan Qing , Liu Wei , Ma Zuopeng
Published: January 2022

The fitness industry is rapidly developing due to the demand for fitness activities, and a large number of commercial fitness spaces have emerged in Changchun city. The distribution of commercial fitness spaces in the city is not chaotic; different types of fitness spaces should have different spaces to choose from. The purpose of this article is to summarize the spatial distribution characteristics and laws of urban commercial fitness spaces, to help better develop commercial fitness spaces. Using Changchun (a central city in northeastern China) as an example, the article divides commercial fitness spaces into five categories. Then, GIS tools are used to analyze the distribution patterns, level distributions, and agglomeration characteristics of commercial fitness spaces. The city’s commercial fitness space distribution patterns are subjected to further study, along with the influencing factors and forming mechanisms of the pattern. Moreover, based on the research results, this study provides targeted suggestions for the development of fitness spaces. The study found that the commercial fitness space in Changchun city has formed a multi-core spatial pattern. Various types of fitness spaces show significant spatial differentiation in many aspects, such as “center-periphery” characteristics, the spatial distribution form, and the specialized characteristics of each block unit. Fitness needs, national policies, transportation accessibility, spatial agglomeration, land rent, urban population distribution, etc., are the main factors affecting the spatial distributions of fitness spaces.
Identifying World Types to Deliver Gameful Experiences for Sustainable Learning in the Metaverse
Authors: Park Sungjin , Kim Sangkyun
Published: January 2022

The metaverse is expected to turn imagination into reality through the convergence of various technologies and should be considered as a medium for sustainable education, free from the constraints of time and space. The purpose of this study was to identify world types in the metaverse to deliver a gameful experience to users. The relationship between gameful experience and learning motivation was examined by analyzing previous studies. Furthermore, the metaverse platforms were confirmed as virtual worlds using the metaverse classification. This study employed a bottom-up approach based on real cases to identify world types that can be used for metaverse-based education. Survival, maze, multi-choice, racing/jump, and escape room world types were identified. The results of this study can be used to provide equal educational opportunities to learners by creating innovative educational environments. This is expected to enable the achievement of the fourth sustainable development goal.