bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategically Unequal: How Class, Culture, and Institutional Context Shape Academic Strategies
Authors: Scherer Mary L.
Published: November 2022

When facing common setbacks like a missed due date or low assignment grade, some students take action to change the outcome while others do not. This study compares academic strategies by social class and across institutional context through interviews with working- and upper-middle-class students at a public regional and flagship university. Academic strategies are based on parentally-transmitted skills and knowledge as well as class-cultural norms of selfhood and the meaning of being a student. At the flagship, class-privileged students negotiated grades and deadlines using strategies rooted in a sense of entitlement and norms of individualism and self-exceptionalism, whereas working-class students’ norms of interdependence and compliance inhibited negotiation, reproducing existing inequalities. Institutional context mediated this effect: at the regional, both groups requested flexibility but did not (successfully) contest grades, minimizing class-privileged students’ advantage. Organizational habitus explains why academic strategies differed and were more or less likely to reproduce inequality at each university.
Perceived Freedom of Expression at New Zealand Universities
Authors: Halberstadt Jamin , Basu Arindam , Hughes Barry , Hughes Ruth , Johnston Michael , Kierstead James , Rozado David
Published: November 2022

Few topics are currently as polarizing as the appropriate limits, and perceived dangers, of free speech on university campuses. A side effect of this polarized environment is that students themselves may be reluctant to speak publicly on politically sensitive topics. Indeed, recent surveys by the Heterodox Academy (HxA) revealed that a majority of American university students thought their campus was not conducive to the free expression of ideas, and a substantial minority were personally reluctant to discuss “hot topics” like politics or sexual orientation in class. To see whether these results are uniquely American phenomena, we reran the HxA’s survey on 791 students, recruited via advertisements, enrolled in New Zealand universities. As in the original survey, participants answered questions, administered online, about their comfort sharing their opinions on issues related to gender, politics, religion, and sexual orientation, as well as their estimates of other groups’ discomfort. Despite significant sociopolitical differences between the two countries, our results, generally speaking, bear out those in the United States. In both countries, politics elicited the most reluctance to speak, followed by religion, and then gender and sexual orientation (which were equivalent), and New Zealanders were more reluctant than Americans to speak on the latter two topics. Other similarities and differences between the two data sets are discussed, but it is clear that chilled campus speech is not confined to the United States.
Political Attitudes and Participation among Young Arab Workers: A Comparison of Formal and Informal Workers in Five Arab Countries
Authors: Merouani Walid , Jawad Rana
Published: November 2022

Informal employment has long been a feature of Arab economies and as such, better understanding of the political participation of informal workers is important, especially given their involvement in social uprisings, such as during the Arab Spring in 2011. This paper tests for the first time the impact of informality of labour on political participation in five Arab countries: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. By using the European Union’s 2015–2016 SAHWA survey and logistic regression models, we are able to show evidence of an association between political participation and informality through the negative impact of the latter on four indicators of political participation: affiliation to political parties/movements; frequency of participation in political activities; frequency of speaking about politics; and voting in elections. Furthermore, the paper confirms that age, gender and education are significant predictors of political participation in the countries analysed. We argue that these findings have relevant policy implications.
Bayesian Hierarchical Copula Models with a Dirichlet–Laplace Prior
Authors: Onorati Paolo , Liseo Brunero
Published: November 2022

We discuss a Bayesian hierarchical copula model for clusters of financial time series. A similar approach has been developed in recent paper. However, the prior distributions proposed there do not always provide a proper posterior. In order to circumvent the problem, we adopt a proper global–local shrinkage prior, which is also able to account for potential dependence structures among different clusters. The performance of the proposed model is presented via simulations and a real data analysis.
Climate Change during the Third Millennium—The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
Authors: Hereher Mohamed E.
Published: November 2022

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a union occurring in the arid subtropical belt of the world. Contemporary climate change is a serious environmental issue at the regional and global levels. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the changes and trends in the regional climate in the GCC countries in terms of the land surface temperatures and surface anomalies, precipitation, and sea surface temperatures over the first two decades of this millennium. Research data exclusively relied on satellite remote sensing. Spatial, statistical, and cartographic analyses were performed to extract, manipulate, and display thematic maps reflecting the changes and trends of the regional climate. The results showed that notable climate changes were obvious and frequent throughout the GCC countries, with symptoms influencing the atmosphere, lithosphere, and the hydrosphere of the region. However, a prominent gradient in the severity of climate change occurred from north to south. Remarkably, serious impacts were observed in Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia, while the least effects were recorded in Oman. The study denotes the competence of remote sensing for monitoring regional climate change.
Feasibility Analysis of Creating Light Environment for Growing Containers with Marine Renewable Energy
Authors: Kuang Rao , Fan Nangui , Zhang Weifeng , Gan Song , Zhou Xiaomin , Huang Heyi , Shen Yijun
Published: November 2022

Offshore renewable energy is essential to reduce carbon emissions in China. However, due to the lack of application scenarios, it is difficult to use renewable energy locally near offshore power plants. To find an application scenario for offshore renewable energy, a growing container is developed and combined with offshore renewable energy for food production. Small experimental containers were tested, and their light intensities were compared to simulation results. The light intensity range and uniformity of 20-foot containers were evaluated for some short-growth cycle crops. Adding side reflectors and using LED light beads improved the energy efficiency considerably. Side reflectors improved both the light intensity U and lighting uniformity u on the irradiated surface, but the improvement decreased with increased plant height. With a plant height of 0–25 cm, U increased by 57.4–16.6% and u by 13.1–8%, compared to the case without reflectors. Considering the energy consumption of lighting, air conditioning, and ventilation, the daily power consumption of growing containers was between 50 and 79 kWh; a 5 MW wind plant could support the operation of up to 294 growing containers. Growing containers can also tolerate short-term output fluctuations in renewable power production and they can be adapted to sizeable seasonal output fluctuations by reducing the proportion of leafy vegetables and increasing the proportion of sprouts and mushrooms, which require less light.
The Effectiveness of Humble Leadership to Mitigate Employee Burnout in the Healthcare Sector: A Structural Equation Model Approach
Authors: Wu Yushan , Li Rita Yi Man , Akbar Sher , Fu Qinghua , Samad Sarminah , Comite Ubaldo
Published: November 2022

The discussion on employee burnout (BOT) has existed in academic literature for a long time. While BOT was identified as a personal issue, there is a lack of a system approach solution. In this regard, a milestone was achieved in 2019 when the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced a new definition of BOT, recognising it as an occupational phenomenon, thereby placing a greater responsibility on organisational leadership to manage it. Since then, different leadership models have been proposed by scholars to reduce the effect of BOT in an organisation. Humble leadership (HL), as a people-first approach, has recently gained importance in organisational management literature. Studies have indicated that HL significantly influences different employee outcomes. However, research on the significance of HL to mitigate BOT of employees was scarce—similarly, on the underlying mechanisms of how and why. While HL has the potential to reduce BOT in an organisation, little or no research has studied it. Acknowledging these knowledge gaps, the basic aim of this study is to enrich the existing body of knowledge by proposing HL as an effective organisational management strategy to reduce the effect of BOT in the healthcare sector. The study introduces two mediators, work engagement (WREN) and subjective wellbeing (SUBW), to explain the underlying mechanism between HL and BOT. The conditional indirect role of altruism (ALM) was also tested. The data were obtained from hospital employees by employing a survey method (questionnaire, n = 303). Structural equation model (SEM) was considered for testing the hypothesised model to study the interrelationships between variables. The results confirmed that the manifestation of HL in an organisation reduces BOT significantly, and WREN and SUBW mediate this relationship. The study also demonstrates the buffering effect of ALM in the above-proposed relationships. The empirical findings offer multiple contributions in theory and practice, among which the most important one was to realise the profound importance of HL in reducing the effect of BOT in healthcare management.
Proactive and Sustainable Transport Investment Strategies to Balance the Variance of Land Use and House Prices: A Korean Case
Authors: Cho Seongkyun , Choi Keechoo , Yi Yongju
Published: November 2022

The transport infrastructure sustaining the ascension of land values while synergizing with the industries is a condition optimized for economic sustainability. In general, although transport investment aims to create a more reliable, less congested, better-connected transport network, the secondary aim is to facilitate balanced and sustainable development by enhancing accessibility to infrastructures. Although the current investment principle in Korea more or less reflects the primary purpose, the second aim is not fully reflected and might be too strict about measuring the balanced and sustainable influence on the regional economy. Considering that the house price is an output of regional production, this research tried to establish more proactive quantitative models explaining how ‘transport accessibility to infrastructure’ raises the apartment price in South Korea while interacting with the industries. This study achieved four main results according to the model. First, most urban infrastructures raise apartment prices per square meter about ten times higher than most industries, given a percentage change. Second, the synergy between industrial sales and infrastructural accessibility was negative in most cases, showing a limit of infrastructural investment alone to facilitate sustainable development. Third, an impoverished area tends to conclude positive synergies between industries and infrastructures, justifying more infrastructural investment in those poor areas. Finally, a public service behaves as infrastructure, which re-examines public services’ functionality of the prime water. Conclusively, this research proved that accessibility to core infrastructures is essential in conjunction with land use status resulting from industrial geography to rebalance Korean apartment prices for sustainable investment in transportation sectors.
Explaining Farmers’ Income via Market Orientation and Participation: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)
Authors: Mkuna Eliaza , Wale Edilegnaw
Published: November 2022

In many sub-Saharan African nations, commercializing smallholder agriculture has recently been seen as a strategy for attaining equitable growth and eliminating poverty in a sustainable manner. Despite the distinction made between market participation and market orientation, their respective impacts on farm income have not been given enough attention in the literature. In this paper, their respective determinants are analysed and each of them is linked to smallholder farmers’ income. The survey was conducted in and around four irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a sample of 332 farmers, the study estimated the output participation index/market orientation index and employed the two-limit Tobit and OLS regression models. The findings show that socioeconomic, institutional and production factors influence market orientation and participation differently. In addition, market participation is more important in explaining farmers’ income compared to market orientation. Moreover, farmers had a higher rate of market participation index (83%) while their market orientation index was very low (38%). Market orientation is, therefore, not a pre-condition for market participation. In smallholder agriculture, market participation is a function, mainly, of marketed surplus. These realities are valid for smallholder agriculture and in sharp contrast with commercial agriculture. Engaging smallholder farmers more in market participation rather than market orientation would be a better strategy to improve their access to markets and eventually enhance their income. Market orientation will then become the unintended outcome of continuous engagement of farmers with the market.
AWS-DAIE: Incremental Ensemble Short-Term Electricity Load Forecasting Based on Sample Domain Adaptation
Authors: Li Shengzeng , Zhong Yiwen , Lin Jiaxiang
Published: November 2022

Short-term load forecasting is a prerequisite and basis for power system planning and operation and has received extensive attention from researchers. To address the problem of concept drift caused by changes in the distribution patterns of electricity load data, researchers have proposed regular or quantitative model update strategies to cope with the concept drift; however, this may involve a large number of invalid updates, which not only have limited improvement in model accuracy, but also insufficient model response timeliness to meet the requirements of power systems. Hence, this paper proposes a novel incremental ensemble model based on sample domain adaptation (AWS-DAIE) for adapting concept drift in a timely and accurate manner and solves the problem of inadequate training of the model due to the few concept drift samples. The main idea of AWS-DAIE is to detect concept drift on current electricity load data and train a new base predictor using Tradaboost based on cumulative weighted sampling and then dynamically adjust the weights of the ensemble model according to the performance of the model under current electricity load data. For the purposes of demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed AWS-DAIE algorithm, we present the experimental results of the AWS-DAIE algorithm on electricity load data from four individual households and compared with several other excellent algorithms. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed AWS-DAIE not only can adapt to the changes of the data distribution faster, but also outperforms all compared models in terms of prediction accuracy and has good practicality.
Life Cycle Analysis of Thin-Film Photovoltaic Thermal Systems for Different Tropical Regions
Authors: Rao V. Tirupati , Sekhar Y. Raja , Mahesh Hari , Muraleedharan Anantha Krishnan , Charles Derik , Aljuraide N. I. , Ibrahim Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud , Helal Mahmoud , Galal Ahmed M. , Sami Rokayya , Hu Jong Wan , Hong Seon Ki , Petkoska Anka Trajkovska
Published: November 2022

Different energy solutions are required to satisfy the energy demand of the world’s ever-growing population. Photovoltaic Thermal systems (PVT) could propose resolutions to tackle real-time issues regarding power generation. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is performed to compare the environmental impact and measure the energy across different PVT modules consisting of a-Si, CdTe, and CIS thin-film solar cells. The authors performed LCA to calculate the energy payback time (EPBT) and life-cycle CO2 emissions of residential rooftop and open-field PVT systems. The primary energy needed to produce thin-film PVT modules of 1 m2 cell area was considered in the present life cycle analysis studies operated using water as the working fluid. The annual net electrical energy savings at various Indian weather conditions, such as New Delhi, Jodhpur, and Ladakh, have been calculated. For the thin-film PVT systems, the calculated values of annual energy yield for three locations with average solar radiation levels and peak sun hours in the range of 600–1000 W/m2 and 6–8 h were reported. Results show that the CO2 emissions for rooftop installation of CdTe and CIS are around 200 and 156 kg/annually, which is lower than the open field installation of the same, where CO2 emissions were found to be 295 and 250 kg/year.
Promising Technology Analysis and Patent Roadmap Development in the Hydrogen Supply Chain
Authors: Yu Jiwon , Han Young Jae , Yang Hyewon , Lee Sugil , Kim Gildong , Lee Chulung
Published: November 2022

Hydrogen energy, one of the energy sources of the future, represents a substantial issue which affects the industries and national technologies that will develop in the future. In order to utilize hydrogen energy, a hydrogen supply chain is required so that hydrogen can be processed and transported to vehicles. It is helpful for technology and policy development to analyze technologies necessary to charge the hydrogen energy generated into vehicles through the supply chain to discover technologies with high potential for future development. The purpose of this paper is to identify promising technologies required in storing, transporting, and charging vehicles generated by the hydrogen fuel supply chain. Afterward, the promising technologies identified are expected to help researchers set a direction in researching technologies and developing related policies. Therefore, we provide technology information that can be used promisingly in the future so that researchers in the related field can utilize it effectively. In this paper, data analysis is performed using related patents and research papers for technical analysis. Promising technologies that will be the core of the hydrogen fuel supply chain in the future were identified using the published patents and research paper database (DB) in Korea, the United States, Europe, China, and Japan. A text mining technique was applied to preprocess data, and then a generic topographic map (GTM) analysis discovered promising technologies. Then, a technology roadmap was identified by analyzing the promising technology derived from patents and research papers in parallel. In this study, through the analysis of patents and research papers related to the hydrogen supply chain, the development status of hydrogen storage/transport/charging technology was analyzed, and promising technologies with high potential for future development were found. The technology roadmap derived from the analysis can help researchers in the field of hydrogen research establish policies and research technologies.
A Review of Europe’s Circular Economy in the Building Sector
Authors: Mrad Cyrine , Frölén Ribeiro Luís
Published: November 2022

This article evaluates Europe’s building sector’s circular economy (CE). This industry is responsible for 42% of energy consumption, more than 50% of extracted materials, 30% of Europe’s water and waste generation, and 35% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study focuses on peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Of the first 1750 publications, 2.9% were eligible for a full-text reading and analysis. Most of the trending studies, 92%, promote the circular economy concept through construction materials rather than analyzing the impact of the construction sector on the environment and finding solutions for better implementation, and 41% promote recycling and reuse as the only options. New Design solutions are in 12% of the studies, six-fold more than Law and Legislation, which is only 2%. Finding an optimal combination of assessing the life cycle of buildings and components and searching for different ways of managing the Construction and Demolition Waste at end-of-life is between 33% and 39%. Ultimately, CE proposed frameworks for the building industry based on 10R principles variations were evaluated. An alternative framework for a circular strategy for the building industry that focuses on Upcycling, replacing the Recover principle is presented.
Spatial–Temporal Distribution Characteristics and Correlation Analysis of Air Pollutants from Ships in Inland Ports
Authors: Tong Liang , Zhang Chunyu , Peng Zhongbo , Wang Lumeng
Published: November 2022

The ship air pollution problem has become a global issue and poses a threat to the environment as well as the health of residents in the port area. This study used Automatic Identification System (AIS) data combined with a list of air pollutant emissions from ships. The total amount of air pollutant emissions was obtained. The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of air pollutants on ships were analyzed, and the correlation of pollutant concentrations was studied on the three major ports. The three main intensive ports are Cuntan Port, Guoyuan Port, and Luoqi Port, and the Pearson correlation analysis is conducted based on the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). The results showed that: (1) The air pollutant emissions from ships in China Chongqing port region during September to December 2021 were mainly dominated by CO2 and NOX. (2) The air pollutant emissions from ships in the Yangtze River Basin were highest in October 2021 and lowest in December. (3) The correlation between PM2.5 and CO2 showed the largest in Cuntan Port and Luoqi Port, and the correlation between CO and CO2 is the largest in Guoyuan Port. It is suggested to establish deceleration zones and emission control zones in Cuntan Port and Guoyuan Port, and to use shore power for berthing in Luoqi Port. We also suggest improving fuel quality and combustion quality, post-treating ship exhaust emissions, increasing port shore power facilities to reduce ship air pollutant emissions, and providing a reference for environmental protection in inland ports.
RETRACTED: Digital Transformation and Enterprise Resilience: Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Dong , Chen Shengli
Published: November 2022

Digital transformation has become a key strategy for enterprises to enhance resilience in effectively responding to external shocks and achieving sustainable development in the context of the global spread of the epidemic and the increase of uncertainties in external environments. In this paper, the impact and mechanism of digital transformation on corporate resilience are examined based on data of listed Chinese companies from 2007 to 2020. Our research results reveal that digital transformation can significantly enhance corporate resilience. This conclusion remains unchanged after controlling for endogeneity issues and performing various robustness analyses. Digital transformation has heterogeneous effects in the dimensions of corporate property rights, industries, and regions, with state-owned enterprises, manufacturing, and eastern enterprises benefiting more. Digital transformation primarily reinforces corporate resilience through mechanisms that improve human capital, strengthen innovation capabilities, ease financing constraints, and enhance internal control. Therefore, the government must guide macro policies, pay attention to the leading role of state-owned enterprises, and narrow the regional digital divide to better enact digital transformation and promote corporate resilience. Simultaneously, in the process of digital transformation, enterprises should combine the characteristics and development stages of their industry by exploring the development requirements and strategically implementing them in stages in a targeted manner. The findings of this paper provide new empirical evidence for the economic impact of enterprise digital transformation, as well as useful inspiration for enhancing enterprise resilience and promoting high-quality development.
Research on the Use of Aerial Scanning and Gis in the Design of Sustainable Agricultural Production Extension Works in an Agritourist Farm in Romania
Authors: Călina Jenica , Călina Aurel , Iancu Tiberiu , Vangu Gheorghe Marian
Published: November 2022

The use of scanning technologies and digital photogrammetry with the help of drones in the field of agritourism activities in Romania is a topic of novelty, because all the data necessary for the implementation or development of such research can be collected very quickly and with maximum efficiency. The classic methods are cumbersome and with a high consumption of inputs, and human and financial resources. The case study presents a practical method of applying this technology in the case of the agritourist farm REMMAR, from Vâlcea county, Romania, which wants to expand its agricultural production capacity with ecological products. Graphic support was obtained by scanning or digitizing existing maps in the physical/printed format and by acquiring data of interest in the digital format by photogrammetric methods and aerial field scanning of the studied area. The original elements of the topic are: how to obtain images by using photogrammetric methods; developing the methodology of the research and the actual development, from setting the basic objectives to obtaining and presenting the final results; elaboration of the methodology of the needs analysis and designing the specific data model; designing and the practical implementation of the geographic information system in terms of structure, methods, and means of software implementation. The successful implementation of the system was achieved only under the conditions of the existence of a data model specific to the field of action, and first realizing the conceptual foundation of the applicable data model, which would allow the registration, storage, extraction, processing, and effective analysis of the data of interest. From a theoretical and practical point of view, the research has a unique character in Romania, because it presents for the first time the development of a standard methodology for the design, expansion, and promotion of agritourism farms. The built geographic information system (GIS) is an effective tool for the management and control of the quality and efficiency of works specific to sustainable agricultural production.
Evolution Features and Robustness of Global Photovoltaic Trade Network
Authors: Xiao Jianxiong , Xiong Chao , Deng Wei , Yu Guihai
Published: November 2022

Photovoltaic industry trade has become a global trade activity, and a wide range of photovoltaic trade relations have been formed between countries. In order to further strengthen and balance trade relations, this paper analyzes global photovoltaic (PV) trade from the perspective of complex networks. We employ network indicators and the cascading process of risk propagation to analyze the evolution features and the vulnerability of the PV trade network. Firstly, we establish the global PV trade networks from 2000 to 2021 based on the PV trade flow between countries. We then explore evolution features and analyze the influencing factors of the trade network structure. Finally, we simulate the cascading process of risk propagation on the trade network based on an improved bootstrap percolation model. The evolution features reveal the following three results: (1) the scale of global PV trade continues to grow, and the participation of some countries has increased significantly; (2) the global PV trade network has small-world characteristics, and the related products have high circulation efficiency; and (3) the global PV trade network has a core-periphery structure, while a few countries drive most of the trade. China, Germany, and the U.S. are the top PV traders. Some Asian countries, such as Vietnam, are gradually increasing their share of the market. The QAP regression analysis shows that the gaps in GDP and electricity access rate are the biggest facilitating and hindering factors in the global PV trade, respectively. The simulation results show that the global PV trade network is vulnerable to targeted risk and is robust to randomness risk.
Digital Villages Construction Accelerates High-Quality Economic Development in Rural China through Promoting Digital Entrepreneurship
Authors: Mei Yan , Miao Jingyi , Lu Yuhui
Published: November 2022

“Digital villages construction” and “high-quality economic development” are both key topics to the sustainable development in China. Chinese has attached great importance to agriculture and rural development in recent years, thus exploring the connections between the two topics from a rural perspective is of practical importance. This paper aims to see if there is a connection between digital village construction and high-quality economic development, and how the digital village construction accelerates the high-quality development of the rural economy. After building the index system, this paper evaluates present development level of digitalization and high-quality economy in rural areas by the Entropy Weight TOPSIS method and empirically tests the direct and indirect effect of rural digital construction on the high-quality rural economic development relatively based on the fixed effect model and the mediation effect model. To study deeply, four major regions and five influence paths are analyzed, respectively. The results show that there is a positive correlation between the construction of digital villages and the high-quality development of rural economy. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial activity of digital industries is a crucial mechanism for digital villages construction to promote the high-quality development of rural economy. This paper innovatively builds relevant index systems and analyzes the transmission mechanism of digitalization to high-quality development from a rural perspective, though it analyzes at the provincial level, which is less specific. Overall, it will be beneficial for economics researchers who study digital economy and rural development and policy makers who give counsel for economic development.
Smart Grid Cyber Security Enhancement: Challenges and Solutions—A Review
Authors: Alsuwian Turki , Shahid Butt Aiman , Amin Arslan Ahmed
Published: November 2022

The incorporation of communication technology with Smart Grid (SG) is proposed as an optimal solution to fulfill the requirements of the modern power system. A smart grid integrates multiple energy sources or microgrids and is supported by an extensive control and communication network using the Internet of Things (IoT) for a carbon-free, more reliable, and intelligent energy system. Along with many benefits, the system faces novel security challenges, data management, integration, and interoperability challenges. The advanced control and communication network in the smart grid is susceptible to cyber and cyber-physical threats. A lot of research has been done to improve the cyber security of the smart grid. This review aims to provide an overview of the types of cyber security threats present for smart grids with an insight into strategies to overcome the challenges. As the selection of techniques and technologies may vary according to the threats faced, therefore the adoption of researched methods is compared and discussed. As cyber-security is the greatest challenge in smart grid implementation, this review is beneficial during the planning and operation of smart grids for enhanced security.
The Recycling Strategy of Closed-Loop Supply Chain Considering CSR under the Government’s Reward–Penalty Policy
Authors: Song Huaixi , Li Quanxi , Liu Kailing , Li Yi
Published: November 2022

A closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) is the process of adding a reverse supply chain to the traditional forward supply chain. It has a positive effect on reducing environmental pollution, and therefore many governments have introduced relevant policies to encourage enterprises to develop CLSCs. Among them, the reward–penalty policy (RPP) for the recovery rate of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is considered better. At the corporate level, the development of CLSCs can enhance the social responsibility awareness of the enterprise and effectively enhance the corporate image. Therefore, in order to study the decision making and recycling channel selection of CLSCs that consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) under the government’s RPP, this paper constructs a two-stage CLSC, including a manufacturer, a retailer, a third-party recycler, and the government. By adopting the Stackelberg game method, we determine the optimal results of the three models and draw a series of conclusions: (1) when the manufacturer is responsible for recycling WEEE, the profit is the largest, and it shows an increasing trend as the government’s reward–penalty coefficient increases; (2) the manufacturer recycling model enables the manufacturer to obtain the maximum CSR investment level, followed by the third-party recycler recycling model, and the smallest is the retailer recycling model; and (3) the government tends to build third-party recycling agencies, which is conducive to improving the level of contribution to GDP. The conclusion of this paper has certain management inspirations for the decision making of the enterprise and the formulation of government policies.
Can Transportation Infrastructure Construction Improve the Urban Green Development Efficiency? Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Yaqin , Li Shengsheng , Jiang Yan
Published: November 2022

As an important policy tool for urban economic development, transportation infrastructure development can influence the environmental loads and economic performances of cities. Naturally, the following questions arise. In China, has the transportation infrastructure development improved the urban green development efficiency (UGDE)? Is the effect heterogeneous across cities? In this study, we constructed a theoretical model that included the residential utility and transportation infrastructure to analyze the influence path of the transportation infrastructure on the UGDE. Based on the panel data of China’s 268 prefecture-level cities covering the period 2011–2017, we adopted the all-factor nonradial directional distance function (TNDDF) method to measure the UGDE, and we then applied the panel data to investigate the impact of the transportation infrastructure on the UGDE. Overall, the increase in the traffic infrastructure remarkably enhanced the UGDE. Furthermore, the impact was heterogeneous across cities. The larger the city, the more obvious the promotion effect of the transportation infrastructure on the UGDE. The research conclusion of the study reminds us that we should make efforts on the supply side when building cities, placing transportation infrastructure construction on the same level as ecological environmental protection to achieve high-quality urban development.
An Empirical Study on the Incentive Mechanism for Public Active Involvement in Grass-Roots Social Governance Based on Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory
Authors: Huang Qin , Fan Chuanhao , Wang Jigan , Zheng Shiying , Sun Guilu
Published: November 2022

In the period of the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control, Chinese grass-roots social governance, under the guidance of the dynamic zero-COVID policy, was unique, and the experience of actively mobilizing the public to be actively involved in grass-roots social governance, represented by epidemic prevention and control, has a profound internal logic. The Chinese government has long been committed to building a social governance community, and further empirical studies are needed to motivate the public to participate in grass-roots social governance in a sustainable manner. This study uses 428 members of the public who have experience in grass-roots social governance in 20 street offices in 11 cities, including Nanjing, Wuhan and Chengdu, as a valid sample to empirically test the incentive mechanism for the public’s active involvement in grass-roots social governance, from the perspective of Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory. The empirical results show that exogenously driven organizational institutional factors will eventually positively influence the incentive effect on the public’s active involvement in grass-roots social governance through the mediating effect of the individual’s endogenous drive. By adjusting organizational institutional factors to meet the public’s inner drive for acquisition, bond, comprehension, and defense, public motivation can be mobilized and the public can be motivated to be involved in grass-roots social governance in a sustainable manner. The results of the study reveal the incentive mechanism for the public’s active involvement in grass-roots social governance, analyze the internal logic of Chinese characteristics in motivating the public’s active involvement in grass-roots governance, and expand the scope of the application of Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory in studying the incentives for the public’s active involvement in grass-roots social governance, which is important for revealing the characteristic laws in a Chinese context with empirical research.
3D-Printable Materials Made with Industrial By-Products: Formulation, Fresh and Hardened Properties
Authors: D’Haese Romain , Carpentier Olivier , Dubois Vincent , Chafei Sawsen , Wirquin Eric
Published: November 2022

Growing in the field of construction, 3D printing allows to build non-standard shapes and to optimise the use of resources. The development of printable materials requires good control of the fresh state of the material—between mixing and printing, a printable material has to evolve from fluid matter to be pumpable (extrudability) up to a matter supporting its own weight and those of superior layers (buildability). Our researches are focused on printable materials used in large printers, i.e., printers able to build structural pieces for buildings. As many pumps and printers can be used to achieve a wide range of parts, this paper presents a simple method to provide valuable guidance to users when a decision needs to be made about printable materials. In this context, our researches both try to maximise the use of industrial by-products to reduce the environmental cost of printed material and to propose tests easy to carry out in the field. Consequently, on the one hand, some printable materials that mainly include quarry washing fines have been developed and, on the other hand, Fall cone and Vicat tests have been used to determine the printability limit. By not focusing on a single formula, the novelty of this paper is to present to readers some parametric models, i.e., a methodology that can be used according to their own devices and applications. Based on a design of experiments, 20 formulas have been tested. Parameters that influence the quality of printing are highlighted. Mechanical tests results at hardened state and shrinkage measurements are also shown to demonstrate the ability of some formulas to be structural materials: compressive strengths at 28 days between 7.50 MPa and 18.40 MPa.
Utilities of Artificial Intelligence in Poverty Prediction: A Review
Authors: Usmanova Aziza , Aziz Ahmed , Rakhmonov Dilshodjon , Osamy Walid
Published: November 2022

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generating new horizons in one of the biggest challenges in the world’s society—poverty. Our goal is to investigate utilities of AI in poverty prediction via finding answers to the following research questions: (1) How many papers on utilities of AI in poverty prediction were published up until March, 2022? (2) Which approach to poverty was applied when AI was used for poverty prediction? (3) Which AI methods were applied for predicting poverty? (4) What data were used for poverty prediction via AI? (5) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the created AI models for poverty prediction? In order to answer these questions, we selected twenty-two papers using appropriate keywords and the exclusion criteria and analyzed their content. The selection process identified that, since 2016, publications on AI applications in poverty prediction began. Results of our research illustrate that, during this relatively short period, the application of AI in predicting poverty experienced a significant progress. Overall, fifty-seven AI methods were applied during the analyzed span, among which the most popular one was random forest. It was revealed that with the adoption of AI tools, the process of poverty prediction has become, from one side, quicker and more accurate and, from another side, more advanced due to the creation and possibility of using different datasets. The originality of this work is that this is the first sophisticated survey of AI applications in poverty prediction.
A Low-Cost Web Application System for Monitoring Geometrical Impacts of Surface Subsidence
Authors: Nduji Nixon N. , Madu Christian N. , Okafor Chukwuebuka C.
Published: November 2022

This paper develops a low-cost web application system for monitoring geometrical impacts of surface subsidence. In many of the developing countries, the method of extraction of minerals such as coal is often impractical and uneconomical, especially with surface mining. With global warming, rapid population growth, and fast-growing urbanization with a disregard for sustainability, the overall subsidence risk has significantly increased. Despite the maturity of Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) for timely monitoring of subsidence hazards, the potential of SAR constellations has been under-exploited, as most applications focus mainly on mapping unstable areas. The developed web application system exploits Sentinel-1 SAR constellation and Small-BAseline Subset (SBAS-DInSAR) technique, to provide new streamlines of information for monitoring solutions and improve disaster risk decision making. We illustrate the model by investigating and measuring potential surface subsidence caused by underground hard coal mining activities and exponential urban population growth within a major coalmine in Nigeria. Results of the yearly cumulative amount of horizontal and vertical deformation between 2016 and 2020 range from −25.487 mm to −50.945 mm and −24.532 mm to −57.161 mm, for high and low risks, respectively. Under the influence of external factors such as rising poverty and fast-growing urbanization, the destruction of in situ stress distributions will likely increase nonlinear deformations.
The Role of Cellulose in Microbial Diversity Changes in the Soil Contaminated with Cadmium
Authors: Wyszkowska Jadwiga , Boros-Lajszner Edyta , Borowik Agata , Kucharski Jan
Published: November 2022

Cadmium is an essential element for plant growth and development. Its accumulation in soil is more hazardous to human and animal health than to plants and microorganisms. A pot greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the usability of Sinapis alba L. and Avena sativa L. for the phytoremediation of soil contaminated with cadmium and to verify cellulose viability in the remediation of soil under cadmium pressure in doses from 4 to 16 mg Cd2+ kg−1 soil d.m. (dry matter) The effect of cadmium on soil microbiome was investigated with the culture method and the variable region sequencing method. Sinapis alba L. and Avena sativa L. were found viable in the phytoremediation of soil contaminated with Cd2+. Avena sativa L. was more potent to accumulate Cd2+ in roots than Sinapis alba L. Although the fertilization of Cd2+- contaminated soil with cellulose stimulated the proliferation of microorganisms, it failed to mitigate the adverse effects of Cd2+ on bacterial diversity. Bacteria from the Sphingomonas, Sphingobium, Achromobacter, and Pseudomonas genera represented the core microbiome of the soils sown with two plant species, contaminated with Cd2+ and fertilized with cellulose. Stimulation of the growth and development of these bacteria may boost the efficacy of phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soils with Sinapis alba L. and Avena sativa L.
Determination of Critical Factors for Success in Business Incubators and Startups in East Java
Authors: Habiburrahman  , Prasetyo Andjar , Raharjo Tri Wedha , Rinawati Herrukmi Septa , Trisnani  , Eko Bambang Riawan , Wahyudiyono  , Wulandari Sekar Nur , Fahlevi Mochammad , Aljuaid Mohammed , Heidler Petra
Published: November 2022

The reference to the success factors of incubators and startups in running their business so far has been ambiguous. The purpose of this study is to analyze the critical factors that can affect the success of incubators and startups. The quantitative research method describes the research results. The study locus is in East Java Province, Indonesia with primary data from respondents in five regions: Banyuwangi, Jember, Madiun, Malang, and Surabaya. The number of respondents was 41 from incubators and 59 from startups with identification of domicile, type of business, and business turnover. Data was collected using surveys and interviews with 100 respondents. The analysis in this study uses eleven factors that are assumed to be factors of business success that have been tested with Kaiser Meyer Olkin Measure (KMO), Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA), Bartlett’s test, and Cronbach Alpha. The critical point used for the KMO value is between 0.5 and 1, the MSA test critical point is 0.5, Bartlett’s test is less than the significance level (α = 0.05), and α cronbach ≥ 0.60. The analyzed factors are as follows: synergy products; processes; innovation management; communication; culture; experience; information technology; innovation skills; functional skills; and implementation skills. As a result, incubators and startups agree on eleven critical factors to building their business success, but there are differences in the priority scale between incubators and startups on these eleven factors.
Comparison of Environmental Loads of Fibers Used in the Manufacture of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) Mixes Using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Authors: Martinez-Soto Aner , Valdes-Vidal Gonzalo , Calabi-Floody Alejandra , Avendaño-Vera Constanza , Martínez-Toledo Camila
Published: November 2022

Several authors have demonstrated improvements in the mechanical performance of asphalt mixes by including the use of fibers. However, it has also been reported that environmental assessments must address fiber use in asphalt mixes from the point of view of sustainability. In this study, a life cycle assessment is used to compare the use of four different fibers (fiberglass, polyester fiber, aramid fiber, and cellulose fiber) commonly used in hot mix asphalt (HMA) and stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixes. Additionally, the use of textile fibers from end-of-life tires (FiTyre) is included in the comparison. The results show that in the five selected impact categories (climate change, terrestrial acidification, human toxicity, particulate matter emissions, and the exhaustion of nonrenewable fossil fuels), the use of FiTyre and cellulose fibers is more advantageous than existing traditional fibers (fiberglass, polyester fiber, and aramid fiber).