bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Critical Factors on the Effectiveness of Online Learning
Authors: Roy Rumpa , Al-Absy Mujeeb Saif Mohsen
Published: October 2022

Higher education institutions went through a radical transition from face to face to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition and success of online learning depends on various factors. This research aims to measure the impact of critical factors on the effectiveness of online learning. The theoretical framework of the study considers eight factors namely, IT infrastructure, learning platform, students’ characteristics, faculty support, active learning, course design, development and delivery, evaluation and assessment, and institutional support. The study is quantitative; a well-structured survey questionnaire was deployed to collect data from participants selected based on a purposive sampling technique. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents perceived online learning as effective, which is reflected by the average score of 4 on a Likert scale. A model summary of the multiple regression analysis illustrates that 39.2% influence on dependent variable ‘effectiveness of online learning’ is due to the above-mentioned eight independent variables. The coefficients of the model show that active learning and institutional support have significant positive impact on the effectiveness of online learning. The findings provide direction to educators in strengthening the pedagogy of active learning across courses and institutional support in terms of IT infrastructure, IT support and services, faculty development program, and management vision towards digitalization. The theoretical framework of the study has been confirmed by the results as reflected by the perception of the staff and students who participated in the survey. This guides university management in designing strategies to ensure effectiveness of online learning.
Standardized Reading of Sustainable Tourism Indicators for Ultraperipheral Regions
Authors: Leite Eduardo , Mota Luís , Lousada Sérgio , Leite Ana
Published: October 2022

Sustainable development raises various challenges in terms of UPR for putting public policies into effect, and the concept, namely about the definition of metrics, is adapted to small parcels of territory. The objective of the present study is to introduce an alphanumeric reading scale for the tourism sustainability indicators in UPR, to be precise, Madeira and the Azores to allow a better interpretation and understanding. A total of 25 indicators were compared in the last 5 years and with the COVID-19 pandemic, although there are positive performances, a lack of data was observed for some indicators, and some lack of information in the last 2 years or more. During the last 5 years, the pillar of environmental sustainability has maintained its ideal form, but in comparison with the last 2 years, it has moved to critical status, which is in part a consequence of the lack of recorded data. There are indicators that are not registered on the UPR and some data from Turismo de Portugal refer only to the mainland zone. The major implication is raised in terms of the existing indicator systems, which are not all provided periodically, influencing the interpretation of the indicators of Portuguese UPR. Consequently, assertive, sustainable decisions are difficult to be taken based on non-existent or insufficient data.
Using a Mixed-Methods Needs Analysis to Ensure the Sustainability and Success of English for Nursing Communication Courses: Improving Nurse-Patient Engagement Practices in Globalized Health Care
Authors: Huang Qing , Pun Jack , Huang Shuping
Published: October 2022

To better engage with patients, nurses need employ various communication skills, particularly “engagement strategies” that enable them to understand, elicit or empathize with patients’ concerns. Such engagement is essential to delivering good patient-centered care. This paper describes one part of a mixed-methods needs analysis: the aim was to find and analyze illustrative examples of actual nursing communication in English that showed engagement with between nurses and patients within an intercultural/international context in mainland China, where nurses are increasingly needing to interact with patients in English due to globalization. To confirm and concretely illustrate previously established engagement strategies found in the literature, direct observations were made of a nurse’s authentic interactions with a non-Chinese patient, which were then complemented by a post-observation interview. A detailed linguistic analysis of the data yielded a rich qualitative description of how engagement was practiced, along with quantitative data on the typical distribution and variety of communication strategies in everyday nurse-patient interactions. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this paper details how various strategies for different speech functions were used within the different discourse moves of the interactions, and argues for a more central focus on the teaching of these useful engagement strategies and their patterns of use. The pedagogical benefits and clinical implications of this study will be apparent to practitioners of English for specific purposes (ESP) and nurse educators around the world who are involved in teaching nursing communication in English-medium or international contexts.
Effects of Dynamic Changes of Soil Moisture and Salinity on Plant Community in the Bosten Lake Basin
Authors: Hou Jiawen , Ye Mao
Published: October 2022

To estimate the potential risks of plant diversity reduction and soil salinization in the Bosten Lake Basin, the dynamic changes in the plant community and species diversity affected by soil moisture and salinity were analyzed from 2000 to 2020 based on remote sensing technology and field experiments. A model for simulating soil moisture, salinity, and the productivity of the plant communities was proposed. The results demonstrated that: (1) The soil moisture index (SMI) increased but the soil salinity index (SSI) decreased from 2000 to 2020 in the study areas. Accordingly, the plant community productivity indices, including the vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and ratio vegetation index (RVI), exhibited an increasing trend. It was found that the Alpine meadow, Alpine steppe, and temperate steppe desert were the main types of plant communities in the study areas, accounting for 69% of its total area. (2) With increasing SMI or decreasing SSI, the vegetation productivity such as NDVI, RVI, and EVI all exhibited an increasing trend. With the increment of SMI, the species diversity indices of the Simpson, Shannon–Wiener, and Margalef exhibited a distinctly increasing trend. However, the indices of the Simpson, Shannon–Wiener, and Alatalo increased with the decreasing SSI. (3) The study discovered from the SVM model that the species diversity index was optimal when the soil salinity was 0–15 g/kg and the soil moisture was 12–30% in the study areas. It was found that soil moisture, not soil salinity, controls the plant species diversity change in the study areas. (4) A multiple linear regression model was established for simulating the effect of soil water-salinity on the vegetation productivity index at the watershed scale. The model indicated that higher salinity would reduce vegetation productivity and higher soil moisture would promote vegetation growth (except for RVI). The SSI had a higher impact on NDVI and EVI than the SMI in the study areas. This study would support decision-making on grassland ecosystem restoration and management in the other arid areas.
Research on Green Total Factor Productivity Enhancement Path from the Configurational Perspective—Based on the TOE Theoretical Framework
Authors: Wang Shuying , Gao Yifei , Zhou Hongchang
Published: October 2022

Increasing Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) is the strategy to overcome resource and environmental limitations and achieve green and sustainable regional economic development. This study introduces the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) theoretical framework and the Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method into the study of GTFP. We use the fsQCA method to empirically explore the linkage matching patterns of multiple conditions such as technology, organization, and environment in the TOE framework for influencing GTFP from a configurational perspective using 30 Chinese provinces and cities as case studies. This study provides new concepts and methodologies for GTFP-related research. The study’s findings indicate that: (1) There are two paths to generating high GTFP: the type of organizational management and the type of technical support. The two paths produce non-high GTFP, namely, a type of organizational management deficit and environmental support deficiency and a type of organizational management imbalance and technological support deficiency, respectively. This research verifies the existence of causal asymmetry in the GTFP phenomena. (2) In addition, there are substitutes between combinations of organizational conditions and technical conditions and between technical conditions and environmental conditions under specific circumstances. This discovery broadens the scope of how the TOE framework can be used to explain “causal complexity” and, in some ways, resolves the theoretical conundrum it now faces. (3) According to the sub-regional study, GTFP improvement tactics have substantial spatial distribution characteristics, with China’s eastern and central regions achieving them through organizational management and technical support strategies. Only the organizational management type is prevalent in the western region. This study is useful for the local planning of GTFP enhancement paths in each Chinese province to achieve a win–win situation between economic development and environmental conservation, as well as to provide empirical evidence for nations in a similar situation to China.
Inheritors’ Happiness and Its Relevant Factors in Intangible Cultural Heritage
Authors: Gao Yang , Li Mengmeng , Li Qingning , Huang Keji , Shen Shiwei
Published: October 2022

In recent years, more and more ICH (intangible cultural heritage) has been introduced into scenic areas. As the creators and disseminators of ICH, inheritors are invited to teach ICH skills in these areas. According to the PERMA model (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement), we conducted several interviews with the inheritors of ICH in scenic areas to explore their authentic happiness in terms of the modes by which they inherited and propagated ICH (as individuals, in studios or in companies) and the factors influencing authentic happiness. The findings show that: (1) in general, ICH inheritors reported high levels of authentic happiness in all five dimensions of the PERMA model; (2), for engagement with work, interpersonal relationships, perception of meaning and sense of achievement, the ways in which the inheritors experienced these four dimensions differed greatly depending on the inheritance mode; (3) the main factors affecting the authentic happiness of the inheritors were personal feelings, social attention, policy benefits and economic benefits. (4) inheritors, intangible culture heritage and tourism form an inseparable system, they promote and interact with each other. This paper provides a new perspective for the further development of both ICH inheritors and cultural heritage tourism.
Do Rating Change Announcements Transfer Effective Information? Test on the Effectiveness and Sustainability of Credit Rating in China
Authors: Sun Ke
Published: October 2022

China is commonly viewed as a country with weak legal institutions and disclosure regulations. The validity and effectiveness of credit rating in China are controversial topics. Bond ratings provide information about the quality and marketability of bond issues. This paper studies the effects of rating change announcements on the price of fixed-income enterprise bonds to test the effectiveness and sustainability of credit rating in China. The results show that upgrade and downgrade announcements have an asymmetric effect on bond prices. Downgrade announcements have transferred new information to the market, resulting in statistically significant negative effects, yet upgrade announcements do not have statistically obvious effects on bond prices. That the average cumulative abnormal returns two days before and on the day of the announcement are statistically insignificant implies that the rating information might not be leaked out before the announcement. The results indicate that the pricing function of credit rating has taken effect, and the effectiveness of the market has been improved over the years. The strengthening of regulations and supervision of the Chinese government toward the credit rating industry may help reinforce the sustainability of the industry and the bond market. The cross-sectional results suggest the market responses are more intense to unpredicted changes of ratings, and investors and portfolio managers should pay more attention to the bonds that have been downgraded for several levels from initial ratings.
Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Land Surface Temperature over Cachar Region, Northeast India—A Case Study
Authors: Ashwini Kumar , Sil Briti Sundar
Published: October 2022

The promptness of industrialisation and expanding urbanisation to achieve targets of economics are resulting in the transfiguration of permeable surfaces into impervious ones through LULC adaptation, leaving a herculean footprint on the ecosystem. The LULC escalates land surface temperature (LST), which further stimulates urban heat islands (UHIs), ultimately remaining in tune with high levels of air pollution, energy use, and corresponding health hazards. The present evaluation first used Landsat TM/OLI satellite data to identify the labyrinth of the LULC rotation and, secondly, gauged its effects on the LST in the Cachar district of Assam, India, for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. It embraces Cellular Automata (CA) and GIS methodologies to pull out the urbanization pattern and its ramifications in various LULC brackets of Cachar, India. It also embraces spatiotemporal LULC monitoring (1990–2020) and urban growth modelling (2030–2040). From the period 1990 to 2020, satellite-based LULC showed a net urban expansion of 269.43 km2 (7.13% increase). Some correlations were developed to show the relationship between spatial indices such as NDVI, NDBI, and NDWI with Land Surface Temperature (LST). Resultantly, a positive relation exists between LST and NDBI, but a negative correlation prevails between LST and NDVI, as well as NDWI. This evaluation will be of service to urban and environmental planners, providing them with detailed knowledge on how land cover is changing uniquely in northeast India.
Digitalization as an Enabler to SMEs Implementing Lean-Green? A Systematic Review through the Topic Modelling Approach
Authors: Queiroz Geandra Alves , Alves Junior Paulo Nocera , Costa Melo Isotilia
Published: October 2022

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a fundamental role in the global economy. However, SMEs usually have different characteristics from larger enterprises, e.g., essential resource restrictions, lower performance, and higher environmental impacts. This requires them to search for strategies to be more competitive and sustainable. A possible solution relies on introducing Lean-Green practices. Previous research indicated that digitalization could be an enabler of Lean. Lean can also help to achieve increased environmental performance using the Lean-Green approach. In this study, this important yet under-studied area is investigated as we consider digitalization as an enabler for implementing lean in SMEs, with a focus on Lean-Green practices. A systematic literature review is executed, following a new framework based on topic modelling for extracting the papers. The topic modelling is executed through latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) which is a machine learning technique. In methodological means, this paper represents an example of the frontier of digitalization for research activities. Regarding the investigated focus, the main findings revealed that digitalization is an enabler to Lean and to Lean-Green. As digitalization supports information sharing, it consequently fosters performance measurement systems, improvements, and value chain integration.
Understanding the Motivation Complexity of Grassroots Ecopreneurs at the Base of the Pyramid
Authors: Juma Norma , Olabisi Joy , Griffin-EL Eliada
Published: October 2022

This qualitative study focuses on the factors that motivate grassroots ecopreneurship at the base of the pyramid (BoP). Our study is anchored by the research question, “How are grassroots ecopreneurs at the BoP of Kenya motivated?” The participants were mainly drawn from beneficiaries of a multinational Non-Governmental Organization. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted 12 qualitative case studies, 10 focus groups and 2 interviews, recording 61 participants. We triangulated data sources through data collected from primary and secondary sources, such as archival documents and archival interviews. Extant research suggests that grassroots ecopreneurs (GEs) at the BoP primarily engage in necessity-driven ventures. However, this study demonstrates that GEs’ motives to launch new ventures appear to be multifaceted and simultaneous (not linear or sequential). We also observed an interlinkage of environmental and economic motives in GEs who diversified their investments into related and unrelated areas. Our findings also indicate that GEs at the BoP developed socio-ethical motives-the GEs’ concerns toward other members of the community-and a desire to create social value beyond private value. All these motives contributed to the GEs establishing and sustaining viable businesses.
One-Kilometer Walking Limit during COVID-19: Evaluating Accessibility to Residential Public Open Spaces in a Major Saudi City
Authors: Habibullah Amer , Alhajaj Nawaf , Fallatah Ahmad
Published: October 2022

Considering the significance of physical activities in maintaining physical and mental well-being, several nations made exceptions during the COVID-19 lockdowns and allowed residents to walk outdoors, but with time and distance restrictions that varied across countries. This study aimed to identify if such regulations provided residents with equal access to public open spaces (POS) to engage in physical activity during the lockdown. Using a mixed research method (secondary descriptive data, field observations, and spatial analysis), we assessed the one-kilometer walking limit imposed on six typical existing neighborhoods in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. We find that the imposed one-kilometer limit was effective in providing accessibility, and the four urban factors ensured the effectiveness of the imposed walking distance: the small scale of residential districts in comparison to the long-imposed walking distance; the presence of neighborhood parks near main local streets; the distribution of neighborhood parks throughout the districts; and the absence of major highways that physically isolated residential districts. Notably, regulations related to walking distances during future pandemics should not be generalized to all cities; instead, they should be based on the existing availability of relatively good POS provisions with easy and equal access to all community members to enhance social sustainability.
Flexible Multifunctional Self-Expanding Electrospun Polyacrylic Acid Covalently Cross-Linked Polyamide 66 Nanocomposite Fiber Membrane with Excellent Oil/Water Separation and High pH Stability Performances
Authors: Yan Jiangyi , Nie Lihong , Li Guiliang , Wu Wenxin , Gao Ming , Zhu Yuanlu , Wu Weixing , Wang Beifu
Published: October 2022

In this paper, we report for the first time the successful formation of a covalent cross-linking structure between polyacrylic acid and polyamide 66 in an electrospun nanofiber membrane by the facilitated amidation reaction using N-Hydroxy-succinimide (NHS) and N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N’-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). The structure and properties of the fiber membrane are characterized using scanning electron microscopy, wide field X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that the presence of the cross-linked structure not only affects the construction of the nanofiber network framework but also influences the pore size distribution and size of the fiber membrane surface, which in turn affects its retention of contaminants and water absorption performance. After modification, the cross-linked membranes exhibited a significant retention performance of up to 77% for methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) with a reduced pure water flux. Furthermore, after crosslinking, the fiber membrane has been strongly enhanced with more stable pH response behavior.
Path Optimization of Low-Carbon Container Multimodal Transport under Uncertain Conditions
Authors: Li Meiyan , Sun Xiaoni
Published: October 2022

The development of multimodal transport has had a significant impact on China’s transportation industry. Due to the variability of the market environment, in this study, based on the context of the official launch of the national carbon emission trading market, the uncertainty of the demand and the randomness of carbon trading prices were considered. Taking minimum total transportation cost as the objective function, a robust stochastic optimization model of container multimodal transport was constructed, and a hybrid fireworks algorithm with gravitational search operator (FAGSO) was designed to solve and verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. Using a 35-node multimodal transportation network as an example, the multimodal transportation costs and schemes under three different modes were compared and analyzed, and the influence of parameter uncertainty was determined. The results show that the randomness of carbon trading prices will lead to an increase or decrease in the total transport cost, while robust optimization with uncertain demand will be affected by the regret value constraint, resulting in an increase in the total transport cost. Multimodal carriers can reduce transportation costs, reduce carbon emissions, and improve the transportation efficiency of multimodal transportation by comprehensively weighing the randomness of carbon trading prices, the nondeterminism of demand, and the relationship between the selection of maximum regret values and transportation costs.
A Crop Harvest Time Prediction Model for Better Sustainability, Integrating Feature Selection and Artificial Intelligence Methods
Authors: Liu Shu-Chu , Jian Quan-Ying , Wen Hsien-Yin , Chung Chih-Hung
Published: October 2022

Making an accurate crop harvest time prediction is a challenge for agricultural management. Previous studies of crop harvest time prediction were mainly based on statistical methods, and the features (variables) affecting it were determined by experience, resulting in its inaccuracy. To overcome these drawbacks, the objective of this paper is to develop a novel crop harvest time prediction model integrating feature selection and artificial intelligence (long short-term memory) methods based on real production and climate-related data in order to accurately predict harvest time and reduce resource waste for better sustainability. The model integrates a hybrid search for feature selection to identify features (variables) that can effectively represent input features (variables) first. Then, a long short-term memory model taking the selected features (variables) as input is used for harvest time prediction. A practical case (a large fruit and vegetable cooperative) is used to validate the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method (root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.199, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) = 4.84%) is better than long short-term memory (RMSE = 0.565; MAPE = 15.92%) and recurrent neural networks (RMSE = 1.327; MAPE = 28.89%). Moreover, the nearer the harvest time, the better the prediction accuracy. The RMSE values for the prediction times of one week to harvesting period, two weeks to harvesting period, three weeks to harvesting period, and four weeks to harvesting period are 0.165, 0.185, 0.205, and 0.222, respectively. Compared with other existing studies, the proposed crop harvest time prediction model, LSTMFS, proves to be an effective method.
Agricultural Economic Resilience in the Context of International Food Price Fluctuation—An Empirical Analysis on the Main Grain–Producing Areas in Northeast China
Authors: Yang Qifeng , Zhang Pingyu , Ma Zuopeng , Liu Daqian , Guo Yongjia
Published: October 2022

In the context of international food price fluctuations, agricultural economic development is usually subject to large shocks, which also leads to clear spatial–temporal differentiation in regional agricultural economic resilience. However, there is a paucity of retrievable studies on the evolutionary process of agricultural economic resilience and its impact mechanisms. Taking the impact of and disturbance caused by international food price fluctuations on the agricultural economy from 2005 to 2021 as the research background, this paper adopts the economic resilience analysis framework and selects gross agricultural output value indicators to measure the agricultural economic resilience of 12 cities in the main grain-producing areas in Northeast China–Sanjiang Plain and Songnen Plain. At the same time, the regression model is used to further analyze the spatial and temporal changes of agricultural economic resilience and the main influencing factors. Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that: ① international food prices exert different degrees of influence on agricultural economic resilience at different stages. From 2005 to 2013, the agricultural economic resilience of the two plains changed less, and the resilience capacity performed better in both the period of falling and rising international food prices, while from 2014 to 2021, the agricultural economic resilience of the two plains changed more due to the great impact of international food price fluctuations, with a steep decline in resilience capacity in the period of falling international food prices from 2014 to 2017, followed by a rapid rebound between 2018 and 2021. ② There are differences in the resilience capacity of the agricultural economy in the main maize- and rice-producing areas. Although it is a fact that agricultural economic development in the two major plains is faster than the national average in most periods, the comparison reveals that the main corn-producing area (Songnen Plain) is more volatile and its resilience capacity is relatively weak in both periods of falling and rising food prices, while the main rice-producing area (Sanjiang Plain) is less volatile, indicating its relatively strong agricultural economic resilience capacity. ③ Factors affecting agricultural economic resilience behave differently over the three cycles. During the period of rising international food prices, indicators reflecting agricultural production capacity have a greater impact on agricultural economic resilience, while during the period of falling international food prices, indicators reflecting agricultural input intensity and agricultural support capacity have a greater impact on agricultural economic resilience.
How Does Financial Literacy Affect Digital Entrepreneurship Willingness and Behavior—Evidence from Chinese Villagers’ Participation in Entrepreneurship
Authors: Xiao Xiaohong , Yu Mei , Liu Hai , Zhao Qing
Published: October 2022

How financial literacy (FL) can contribute to both digital entrepreneurship (DE) willingness and behavior has become a widely concerned and controversial topic among scholars and practitioners, one that is particularly relevant for bottom of pyramid (BOP) entrepreneurs. However, existing literature has not established a systematic theoretical framework for this issue, and its internal mechanism has not been thoroughly revealed. Hence, based on behavioral finance theory and digital business-related literature, we construct a multi-layer linear and mediated-moderation model that relates latent variables of FL, financial inclusion (FI), digital literacy (DL), and DE. A total of 664 villagers carrying out DE are the sample from China, and the empirical results mainly reveal the following: FL significantly improves the DE willingness and behavior, and the sense of FI plays a partial mediating role between FL and DE willingness and behavior. DL is a crucial influencing factor that moderates a positive effect between FL and DE willingness and behavior. Moreover, DL plays a mediated-moderating role. By contrast, FL in poverty-stricken counties (PSC) has a more substantial influence on DE than that in non-poverty-stricken counties (NPSC). If the family background (social capital) is superior (excellent), and the resources are abundant, then the influence of FL on DE will be stronger. This research contributes to the theories and practices related to FL, DE, FI, and DL.
Modified State-Dependent Queuing Model for the Capacity Analysis of Metro Rail Transit Station Corridor during COVID-19
Authors: Khattak Afaq , Almujibah Hamad , Chen Feng , Alyami Hussain S.
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic policies have had a significant impact on the daily commuter flow at the metro rail transit stations. In this study, we propose a modified state-dependent M(n)/G(n)/C/C queuing model for the analysis of commuter flow in the corridor of metro rail transit stations in the COVID-19 situation in order to ensure safe social distance. The proposed model is a finite capacity queuing system with state-dependent commuter arrivals and state-dependent service rates based on the flow–density relationship. First, a mathematical queuing model is developed by using the birth–death process (BDP) and the expected number of commuters, and average area occupied per commuter and blocking probabilities are computed. Then, the accuracy of the proposed model is verified by a discrete-event simulation (DES) framework. (1) The proposed model’s results are compared to those of the existing M/G(n)/C/C model. The proposed modified model’s sensitivity analysis revealed that the anticipated number of commuters in the corridor remains smaller when the arrival rate is state-dependent. (2) In accordance with COVID-19 protocol, when the facility is congested, commuters are discouraged from entering and a safe social distance is maintained between them. (3) No commuters are impeded, and adequate throughput is ensured from the corridor. The proposed model will assist the metro rail transit station operators in making intelligent decisions regarding the operations in the COVID-19 situation.
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routines of Higher Education Institutions: A Global Perspective
Authors: Leal Filho Walter , Lange Salvia Amanda , Abubakar Ismaila Rimi , Mifsud Mark , Azadi Hossein , Sharifi Ayyoob , LeVasseur Todd , Luetz Johannes M. , Velazquez Luis , Singh Priyatma , Pretorius Rudi , Akib Noor Adelyna Mohammed , Savelyeva Tamara , Brandli Luciana , Muthu Nandhivarman , Lombardi Patrizia
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disturbances in the work of hundreds of millions of people around the world. One of the groups affected is the academic staff at higher education institutions, whose original business model, i.e., presence teaching, suddenly changed to online learning. This has, in turn, exacerbated pre-existing problems such as shortage of time, busy schedules, and challenges to a work-life balance. Since academic staff plays a key role in respect of teaching and research, often acting as leaders in their fields, it is important to reflect on the influences of the lockdowns on their work routines. In order to address this research need, this paper reports on a study that examined the impacts of the lockdowns on the work of academic staff at universities. Using a bibliometric analysis and investigation of a set of case studies, the study sheds light on the difficulties encountered and the means deployed to address them. Our study did not identify a one-size-fits-all response to manage the manifold changes brought on HEIs by the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected arising priorities include creating a culture of educational resilience through a container of complementary measures.
A New Hybrid Model for Mapping Spatial Accessibility to Healthcare Services Using Machine Learning Methods
Authors: Khosravi Kazazi Ali , Amiri Fariba , Rahmani Yaser , Samouei Raheleh , Rabiei-Dastjerdi Hamidreza
Published: October 2022

The unequal distribution of healthcare services is the main obstacle to achieving health equity and sustainable development goals. Spatial accessibility to healthcare services is an area of interest for health planners and policymakers. In this study, we focus on the spatial accessibility to four different types of healthcare services, including hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and medical laboratories at Isfahan’s census blocks level, in a multivariate study. Regarding the nature of spatial accessibility, machine learning unsupervised clustering methods are utilized to analyze the spatial accessibility in the city. Initially, the study area was grouped into five clusters using three unsupervised clustering methods: K-Means, agglomerative, and bisecting K-Means. Then, the intersection of the results of the methods is considered to be conclusive evidence. Finally, using the conclusive evidence, a supervised clustering method, KNN, was applied to generate the map of the spatial accessibility situation in the study area. The findings of this study show that 47%, 22%, and 31% of city blocks in the study area have rich, medium, and poor spatial accessibility, respectively. Additionally, according to the study results, the healthcare services development is structured in a linear pattern along a historical avenue, Chaharbagh. Although the scope of this study was limited in terms of the supply and demand rates, this work gives more information and spatial insights for researchers, planners, and policymakers aiming to improve accessibility to healthcare and sustainable urban development. As a recommendation for further research work, it is suggested that other influencing factors, such as the demand and supply rates, should be integrated into the method.
Investigating the Effect of Spherical Aluminum Particles on the Photothermal Performance of a Solar Air Collector
Authors: Li Chunbo , Dong Yuwei , Fu Xuelong , Wang Yanzong , Zhang Qunyong
Published: October 2022

Recently, radiation-absorbing phase change material (PCM) for thermal storage that can discharge thermal energy on demand when no radiation is present has been developed and tested indoors. Organic materials with limited thermal conductivity slow down the thermal response processes when charging and discharging. For various industrial applications, much research is devoted to the introduction of solar collectors with the best possible integration of solar thermal collector and PCM in terms of both shape and material. In this study, the performance of a solar collector is examined in relation to the additive effects of aluminum particles in spherical capsules. For the transfer fluid temperature with the behavior of the heat storage, a mathematical model of the solar collector was created. The integrated system consists of two primary steps: a first phase that involves an isolated duct covered in glass, and a second step that involves an array of spherical capsules used as storage. The solar air collector is 1.32 m in width and 2.450 m in length. The PCM unit has a 7.7 cm diameter, 0.15 cm thickness, and is filled with a paraffin wax with concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5 weight of nanoparticle aluminum powder. The air mass flow rate varies from 0.03 kg/s up to 0.09 kg/s, while the temperature varied from 30 to 35 °C. The results obtained from experiments agreed with the predicted results. The reduction in charging time was approximately 70% as the cooling rate increased. The improvement of efficiency of thermal storage reached 76.8% and 71%, at mass flow rates 0.07 kg/s and 0.05 kg/s for pure paraffin wax. The overall thermal storage performance for the system was enhanced from 21.7% to 78.9%.
Fiscal Decentralization, Government Environmental Preference and Industrial Green Transformation
Authors: Wang Erhong , Cao Qun , Ding Yongqiang , Sun Huaping
Published: October 2022

Based on the theory of fiscal decentralization and sustainable development, and the mechanism analysis about fiscal decentralization and government environmental preference to promote industrial green transformation, using China’s provincial panel data from 2006 to 2019, this paper empirically tests the effect of fiscal decentralization and government environmental preference on industrial green transformation by stepwise regression, threshold effect analysis, and the panel simultaneous equation. Results show that fiscal decentralization promotes industrial green transformation, but it also has a certain inhibitory effect on the government’s environmental preference, which results in an insufficient government role in the process of industrial green transformation. In the long run, the influence of fiscal decentralization and government environmental preference has a threshold effect; also, regional heterogeneity exists, as with regional economic level improvement, the influence became stronger. According to the regional survey, fiscal decentralization has a positive effect on industrial green transformation in the eastern region, while it has no significant effect in the central region and a negative effect in the western region. Therefore, countermeasures are put forward, from aspects such as fiscal decentralization and environmental power structure reform, to optimizing the performance evaluation mechanism for improving the government’s environmental preference, so as to have a positive effect on the green transformation of industries.
Determinants of Omnichannel Shopping Intention for Sporting Goods
Authors: Jayasingh Sudarsan , Girija T. , Arunkumar Sivakumar
Published: October 2022

Omnichannel retailing is a revolutionary business strategy of recent years which allows customers to engage with retailers using multiple channels and touchpoints to make their shopping experiences better. The main purpose of the current research is to identify the determinants of omnichannel shopping intention for sporting goods. This research applied the UTAUT2 model to study the determinants of omnichannel shopping intention of 406 Indian respondents and tested the relationship using the structural equation model. Responses were collected from December 2021 to January 2022. The empirical result of the research shows the influence of performance expectancy, social influence, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, habit, and perceived value on omnichannel shopping intention for sporting goods. Among the seven constructs, performance expectancy emerged as the major contributor, followed by hedonic motivation, habit, perceived value, effort expectancy, and social influence of the omnichannel shopping intention. This paper also presented the analysis of the moderating effect of gender and found that performance expectancy, habit, perceived compatibility, and hedonic motivation have significantly different effects on omnichannel shopping intention. These findings provide several important implications for both researchers and sporting goods retailers in developing marketing strategies.
Carbon Reduction Effect of Green Technology Innovation from the Perspective of Energy Consumption and Efficiency
Authors: Li Wenchao , Xu Lingyu , Xu Jian , Dragana Ostic
Published: October 2022

Consumption-oriented or efficiency-oriented, it is a hard choice for the green technology innovation pathway. This paper uses the intermediary model to empirically analyze the panel data from 250 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019. The conclusions show that: 1. At present, energy consumption-oriented green technology innovation at the national level in China shows a completely intermediary effect, which has a more obvious emission reduction effect; compared with energy consumption, energy efficiency-oriented green technology innovation only has a very weak intermediary effect of 6.58%. 2. Only the Eastern non-resource cities and the Midwest resource cities’ green technology innovation have the effect of energy efficiency-oriented emission reduction, accounting for 8.11% and 9.02%, respectively. 3. Both the Eastern resource cities and the Midwest non-resource cities have no intermediary effect on energy efficiency, so carbon emission reduction is more difficult than in other cities.
Exploring the Sustainable Usage Intention of BOPS: A Perspective of Channel Integration Quality
Authors: Chai Limeng , Wang Yicheng
Published: October 2022

BOPS (Buy Online, Pick up in Store) is a popular channel strategy that plays an important role in promoting the sustainable development of omni-channel retailing. Focusing on consumer’s sustainable usage intention of BOPS service, this paper uses a Technology Acceptance Mode (TAM) framework to investigate how the channel integration quality influences the willingness to adopt BOPS service from four dimensions: channel service transparency, channel choice breadth, content consistency, and process consistency. Our findings support previous research in the TAM field, as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use strongly affect consumer’s favorable attitude towards BOPS service. The pivotal roles of channel service transparency and process consistency in the formation of BOPS using intention is verified, as they both have positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. However, channel choice breadth indirectly affects the sustainable usage intention of BOPS through perceived usefulness but has no significant effect on perceived usefulness. In addition, content consistency positively affects perceived ease of use, but the diversity of channels does not necessarily make consumers find BOPS more useful. On this basis, the implications of BOPS service management are discussed.
A TRIZ-Adopted Development of a Compact Experimental Board for the Teaching and Learning of Operational Amplifier with Multiple Circuit Configurations
Authors: Chong Peng Lean , Ganesan Silvia , Ng Poh Kiat , Kong Feng Yuan
Published: October 2022

Operational amplifiers (op-amps) are generally used for actualizing simple and complex electronic circuits in the subject of analogue electronics. In an effort to improve the teaching of op-amps in electronics engineering curricula, op-amp circuits in various configurations are often used for experiments in laboratory sessions so that students can acquire certain psychomotor and cognitive skills by constructing circuit connections and analyzing input–output waveforms. As a result, multiple configurations of operational amplifier circuits are often needed, requiring multiple sets of experimental boards or circuits for each experiment. This is usually not cost effective, requires more consumable electronic components, requires more maintenance and storage space in facilities, and is less user friendly for the students. Therefore, the aim of this research is to design a single, compact, and easy-to-replicate experimental board that can be converted into multiple configurations of the LM741 operational amplifier, comprising an inverting amplifier, a noninverting amplifier, a voltage follower, a summing amplifier, a differential amplifier, a differentiator, and an integrator, with minimal electronic components at a cost lower than EUR 10. The experimental board was tested with a constant input voltage of 1.0 V AC and a switching frequency of 1.0 kHz. It is capable of producing an output voltage corresponding to the individual operational amplifier configurations and can thus be used as a facilitating module for teaching and learning activities in the field of analogue electronics.
Enhancing Sustainable Cosmetics Brand Purchase: A Comprehensive Approach Based on the SOR Model and the Triple Bottom Line
Authors: Grădinaru Camelia , Obadă Daniel-Rareș , Grădinaru Ioan-Alexandru , Dabija Dan-Cristian
Published: October 2022

Profitable and dynamic, the cosmetics industry strives to conform to the environmental ideals and practices of the 21st century. For years, NGOs, the media, and consumers have accused cosmetics brands of pollution, environmental disasters, and safety concerns. These allegations can spread faster in the online environment and cause genuine brand crises. Many cosmetic company managers continue to assess the necessity of accelerating their business toward sustainability initiatives and being more consumer centric. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the impact of economic, social, and environmental sustainability on brand attachment and brand attractiveness, which may result in a positive WOM, enhance purchase intention, and finally lead to the intention to join online brand communities. To implement the research scope, the authors developed a conceptual model based on the triple bottom line (TBL) and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) approach. To assess the conceptual model, the authors have conducted quantitative research, through an online questionnaire, with data being collected from consumers via an online survey platform. The snowball sample comprised 1632 valid responses from consumers of sustainable cosmetics brands. Further on, the conceptual model was assessed employing structural equations modelling via SmartPLS. The results confirm the impact of the three pillars of TBL (i.e., economic, social, and environmental sustainability) (stimuli) on brand attachment and brand attractiveness (organism), which finally generates positive WOM, triggers purchase intention, and enhances consumers’ intention to join an online brand community (response). From a theoretical perspective, our research contributes to extending knowledge based on the SOR approach and TBL applied to sustainable cosmetics brands. Considering the significant effects of economic, social, and environmental sustainability on consumer perception and intention, the study also pinpoints some major management implications for the cosmetic industry.
Impact of Sustainable Development Goals on Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia: Role of Education and Training
Authors: Singh Harman Preet , Singh Ajay , Alam Fakhre , Agrawal Vikas
Published: October 2022

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are intended to be attained as a balanced whole. However, significant interactions (the synergies and trade-offs) between the SDGs have caused the need, especially in developing economies, to identify and pursue them in line with their particular developmental needs. The research intends to empirically investigate the relationship between selected UN SDGs and GDP growth rate as a proxy for economic well-being in Saudi Arabia. We also investigate the role of education and training in achieving SDGs in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030, which places emphasis on the knowledge economy. This research employs multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between the SDG variables and the GDP. The results show that education and training, gender equity/women’s empowerment, greenhouse gas emissions, and decent employment are positively and significantly related to the GDP growth, whereas poverty, hunger, and health appear to be negatively related. The research indicates that education and training can promote economic, socioeconomic, and health goals without compromising environmental goals. Consequently, the Saudi government should invest more in education and training to maximize synergies and minimize tradeoffs between the SDGs. This will help to promote sustainable employment generation, build human capital, improve socioeconomic empowerment through technology, and boost economic growth.