bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Iterative Min Cut Clustering Based on Graph Cuts
Authors: Liu Bowen , Liu Zhaoying , Li Yujian , Zhang Ting , Zhang Zhilin
Published: January 2021

Clustering nonlinearly separable datasets is always an important problem in unsupervised machine learning. Graph cut models provide good clustering results for nonlinearly separable datasets, but solving graph cut models is an NP hard problem. A novel graph-based clustering algorithm is proposed for nonlinearly separable datasets. The proposed method solves the min cut model by iteratively computing only one simple formula. Experimental results on synthetic and benchmark datasets indicate the potential of the proposed method, which is able to cluster nonlinearly separable datasets with less running time.
Sedating Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients with Volatile Anesthetics: Insights on the Last-Minute Potential Weapons
Authors: Suleiman Aiman , Qaswal Abdallah Barjas , Alnouti Mazen , Yousef Moh’d , Suleiman Bayan , Jarbeh Mohammad El , Alshawabkeh Ghadeer , Bsisu Isam , Santarisi Abeer , Ababneh Muaweih
Published: January 2021

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread globally with the number of cases exceeding seventy million. Although trials on potential treatments of COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) are promising, the introduction of an effective therapeutic intervention seems elusive. In this review, we explored the potential therapeutic role of volatile anesthetics during mechanical ventilation in the late stages of the disease. COVID-19 is thought to hit the human body via five major mechanisms: direct viral damage, immune overactivation, capillary thrombosis, loss of alveolar capillary membrane integrity, and decreased tissue oxygenation. The overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines will eventually lead to the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the lungs, which will lead to ARDS requiring mechanical ventilation. Respiratory failure resulting from ARDS is thought to be the most common cause of death in COVID-19. The literature suggests that these effects could be directly countered by using volatile anesthetics for sedation. These agents possess multiple properties that affect viral replication, immunity, and coagulation. They also have proven benefits at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. Based on the comprehensive understanding of the literature, short-term sedation with volatile anesthetics may be beneficial in severe stages of COVID-19 ARDS and trials to study their effects should be encouraged.
Time-Frequency Analysis of Daily Activities for Fall Detection
Authors: Huynh Quoc T. , Tran Binh Q.
Published: January 2021

Fall events in elderly populations often result in serious injury and may lead to long-term disability and/or death. While many fall detection systems have been developed using wearable sensors to distinguish falls from other daily activities, detection sensitivity and specificity decreases when exposed to more rigorous activities such as running and jumping. This research uses time-frequency analysis of accelerometer-only activity data to develop a strategy for improving fall detection accuracy. In this study, a wireless sensor system (WSS) consisting of a three-axis accelerometer, microprocessor and wireless communications module is used to collect daily activities performed following a script in the laboratory setting. Experiments were conducted on 36 healthy human subjects performing four types of falls (i.e., forward, backward, and left/right sideway falls) as well as normal movements such as standing, walking, stand-to-sit, sit-to-stand, stepping, running and jumping. In total, 1227 different activities were collected and analyzed. The developed algorithm computes the magnitude of three-axis accelerometer data to detect if a critical fall threshold is passed, then analyzes the power spectral density within a critical fall duration window (500 ms) to differentiate fall events from other rigorous activities. Fall events were observed with high energy in the 2–3.5 Hz range and distinct from other rigorous activities such as running (3.5–5.5 Hz) and jumping (1–2 Hz). Preliminary results indicate the power spectral density (PSD)-based algorithm can detect falls with high sensitivity (98.4%) and specificity (98.6%) using lab-based daily activity data. The proposed algorithm has the benefit of improved accuracy over existing time-domain only strategies and multisensor strategies.
In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Socio-Historical Case Study on Rapid Population Growth in Two Neighboring Population Centers in the Western United States
Authors: Cope Michael R. , Sanders Scott R. , Ward Carol , Young Kirk D. , June Haylie M.
Published: January 2021

US Census population estimates show that every state in the Western US reported significant population growth increases over the past two decades. Furthermore, Western population growth represents one of the largest and most significant US demographic trends in recent decades. For many Western US communities, this increase in population growth has resulted in significant changes to its residents’ day-to-day lived experience. Dramatic population growth can change the types of services available, economic opportunities, and perceived satisfaction of communities. This change in the lived experience of a community is perhaps most pronounced when small rural communities undergo a rapid increase in population size. To that end, we present a socio-historical narrative case study examining how population growth-historical and contemporary-has shaped residents’ lived experience in two neighboring population centers in the modern rural West: Utah’s Heber Valley and Park City, Utah.
Subject-Specific Self-Concept and Global Self-Esteem Mediate Risk Factors for Lower Competency in Mathematics and Reading
Authors: DeVries Jeffrey M. , Szardenings Carsten , Doebler Philipp , Gebhardt Markus
Published: January 2021

Self-concept and self-esteem are strongly tied to both academic achievement and risk factors for lower academic achievement. The German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) provides large-scale representative longitudinal data for mathematics, reasoning as well as risk factors, self-concept and self-esteem. Based on measurements in grades five to nine, this paper produces theory-based partially mediated latent growth models with multiple indicators and mediators. This includes the predictors of special education needs (SEN) status, socioeconomic status (SES), reasoning ability, gender, and school track, with both global self-esteem and subject-specific self-concept as mediators. Significant mediatory relationships are found for SEN, gender, reasoning ability, and school track on grade 5 math and reading competence, but neither direct nor mediated effects on rate of change were found. Implications for researchers and educators are discussed.
Can Digital Technology Bridge the Classroom Engagement Gap? Findings from a Qualitative Study of K-8 Classrooms in 10 Ontario School Boards
Authors: Rizk Jessica , Davies Scott
Published: January 2021

This study examined impacts of digital technology on a key component of the socioeconomic gap in education—gaps in student classroom engagement. Whereas print literacy has long been a source of such gaps, newer “digital divide” theories claim classrooms that use digital technology are perpetuating them further. However, these claims are not grounded in close empirical observation and may now already be dated. We aimed to advance understandings of the impact of digital technology on student engagement by examining robotics, tablets, and smart board usage across a range of classrooms, using a conceptual framework that blends theories of interaction ritual chains (IRC) and cultural capital (CC). Data came from observations and interviews with teachers and students in K-8 classrooms across 10 Ontario school boards. We report three major findings. First, almost all students across socioeconomic strata engaged easily and enthusiastically with digital technology. Second, technology spawned new classroom rituals and cultural valuations. Third, digital technology provided connections between school dictates and students’ peer-based and home lives. We argue that digital technology has the potential to narrow classroom engagement gaps that are generated by conventional print media. We end by discussing avenues for future research.
Sex Workers’ Access to Police Assistance in Safety Emergencies and Means of Escape from Situations of Violence and Confinement under an “End Demand” Criminalization Model: A Five City Study in Canada
Authors: Crago Anna-Louise , Bruckert Chris , Braschel Melissa , Shannon Kate
Published: January 2021

There is limited available evidence on sex workers (SW) ability to access police protection or means of escaping situations of violence and confinement under an “end demand” criminalization model. Of 200 SW in five cities in Canada, 62 (31.0%) reported being unable to call 911 if they or another SW were in a safety emergency due to fear of police detection (of themselves, their colleagues or their management). In multivariate logistic regression, police harassment–linked to social and racial profiling in the past 12 months (being carded or asked for ID documents, followed by police or detained without arrest) (Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR): 5.225, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.199–12.417), being Indigenous (AOR: 2.078, 95% CI: 0.849–5.084) or being in Ottawa (AOR: 2.317, 95% CI: 0.865–6.209) were associated with higher odds of being unable to call 911, while older age was associated with lower odds (AOR: 0.941 per year older, 95% CI: 0.901–0.982). In descriptive statistics, of 115 SW who had experienced violence or confinement at work in the past 12 months, 19 (16.52%) reported the incident to police. Other sex workers with shared expenses were the most commonly reported group to have assisted sex workers to escape situations of violence or confinement in the past 12 months (n = 13, 35.14%). One of the least commonly reported groups to have assisted sex workers to escape situations of violence or confinement in the past 12 months were police (n = 2, 5.41%). The findings of this study illustrate how the current “end demand” criminalization framework compromises sex workers’ access to assistance in safety emergencies.
The Sociology of Prayer: Dimensions and Mechanisms
Authors: Froese Paul , Jones Rory
Published: January 2021

The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to religious belief and ritual solidarity. Still, we have struggled to clearly define the parameters of prayer and the various components of this ubiquitous practice. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review of prayer research, we propose that there are four conceptually distinct dimensions of the private prayer experience which vary across religious cultures and traditions; they are (1) the quantity of prayer, (2) the style of prayer, (3) the purpose of prayer, and (4) prayer targets. Our proposed measures of these dimensions offer researchers a framework to better theorize and investigate the social mechanisms which produce variation in prayer as well as the individual and social outcomes of prayer. In particular, we discuss how each prayer dimension fits within specific theoretical framings to better test the extent to which the emotional, rational, and behavioral elements matter to prayer outcomes.
Does Cold-Water Endurance Swimming Affect Pulmonary Function in Healthy Adults?
Authors: Illidi Camilla R. , Stang Julie , Melau Jørgen , Hisdal Jonny , Stensrud Trine
Published: January 2021

The acute effects of cold-water endurance swimming on the respiratory system have received little attention. We investigated pulmonary responses to cold-water endurance swimming in healthy recreational triathletes. Pulmonary function, alveolar diffusing capacity (DLCO), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and arterial oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) were assessed in 19 healthy adults one hour before and 2.5 h after a cold-water (mean ± SD, 10 ± 0.9 °C) swim trial (62 ± 27 min). In addition, 12 out of the 19 participants measured pulmonary function, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 3, 10, 20 and 45 min post-swim by maximal expiratory flow volume loops and DLCO by the single breath technique. FVC and FEV1 were significantly reduced 3 min post-swim (p = 0.02) (p = 0.04), respectively, and five of 12 participants (42%) experienced exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), defined as a ≥ 10% drop in FEV1. No significant changes were observed in pulmonary function 2.5 h post-swim. However, mean FENO and DLCO were significantly reduced by 7.1% and 8.1% (p = 0.01) and (p < 0.001), respectively, 2.5 h post-swim, accompanied by a 2.5% drop (p < 0.001) in SpO2. The absolute change in DLCO correlated significantly with the absolute decline in core temperature (r = 0.52; p = 0.02). Conclusion: Cold-water endurance swimming may affect the lungs in healthy recreational triathletes lasting up to 2.5 h post-swim. Some individuals appear to be more susceptible to pulmonary impairments than others, although these mechanisms need to be studied further.
The Role of Social Enterprise Hybrid Business Models in Inclusive Value Chain Development
Authors: Doherty Bob , Kittipanya-Ngam Pichawadee
Published: January 2021

This study contributes to the growing interest in hybrid organisations, sustainable business models and inclusive value chain development (IVCD). Recent work has identified that of some 570 million farmers in the world, more than 475 million farmers are smallholders in low-middle-income countries experiencing increasing food insecurity and rural poverty. Research argues that there is a lack of research that provides work on appropriate solutions for smallholders. This paper answers this call by a qualitative study of ten case studies, which draws on hybrid organising, sustainable business model and IVCD research to identify the novel business model characteristics that hybrid organisations use to create and manage more inclusive value chains for smallholders. These hybrid organisations are designed to create a value proposition that delivers sustainability upgrading for smallholders via both product, process and governance upgrades, empowers smallholders to achieve development goals and creates multiple value for social impact. We therefore identify the important characteristics of the hybrid business model to provide appropriate solutions for smallholders and overcome the challenges identified in the inclusive value chain development literature.
Clustering of European Smart Cities to Understand the Cities’ Sustainability Strategies
Authors: Cantuarias-Villessuzanne Carmen , Weigel Romain , Blain Jeffrey
Published: January 2021

This paper analyzes the smart strategies of European cities through the dynamic capabilities approach. We develop a clustering of smart cities based on the activities implemented by the cities. Our methodology considers three steps. First, we establish an empirical assessment of the smart dimensions for 40 European cities. Then, we categorize and interpret core capabilities via a principal component analysis. Finally, we highlight a hierarchical ascending classification identifying three relevant groups of cities. As a result, the first cluster represents cities with emerging smart strategies. The second cluster regroups international metropolises, which have technology-oriented strategies to deal with specific challenges. The third cluster stands for middle-sized European cities with a good quality of life. Our outcomes show that there is not just one smart city but several smart cities emerging according to the cities’ environment. These findings enrich the analysis of smart cities’ dynamic capabilities and point out how these strategies make cities sustainable.
HEI Efficiency and Quality of Life: Seeding the Pro-Sustainability Efficiency
Authors: Pedro Eugénia de Matos , Leitão João , Alves Helena
Published: January 2021

This study assesses the efficiency of higher education institutions (HEIs), considering the social, environmental and cultural factors (pro-sustainability), and at the same time examines how this efficiency can influence regional quality of life (QoL). The study adopts a two-step methodology. In the first step, the standard Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to estimate the efficiency scores of 23 Portuguese public HEIs; and in the second step, a multivariate logit regression is performed to assess the role played by the HEIs’ pro-sustainability efficiency in regional QoL. The main findings reveal that the HEIs located in the Greater Lisbon area have a higher pro-sustainability efficiency, but that efficiency is more significant regarding social factors. Concerning the contribution of pro-sustainability efficiency to the region’s QoL, this is significant for all the components, with the environmental and cultural aspects contributing positively to this significance.
Good Status in the Changing Climate?—Climate Proofing Law on Water Management in the EU
Authors: Puharinen Suvi-Tuuli
Published: January 2021

Climate change impacts constitute a major risk to the attainment of water policy objectives. This article analyses the resilience of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the light of the challenges that climate change brings to achieving the Directive’s objectives, no-deterioration and good status of surface waters and groundwater. The WFD includes mechanisms to adapt the water management objectives to climate change impacts, including redefining good status and application of exemptions. However, more harmonised efforts at the EU level would be needed to ensure an equal level of ambition and continuity in the water management objectives capacity to steer towards sustainable regime shifts.
Cultural Tourism Resource Perceptions: Analyses Based on Tourists’ Online Travel Notes
Authors: Liang Feng , Pan Yu , Gu Meilong , Guan Weihua , Tsai Fusheng
Published: January 2021

Tourism culture is the key resource by which the tourism industry of a region survives. This study analyzed the cultural perception image of Wuxi among tourists by using content analysis techniques, such as word frequency analysis, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis based on the tourist reviews on major tourism websites. The results showed that tourists’ perceptions of local tourism culture in Wuxi are mainly focused on religious culture, landscape and garden culture, and historical culture. Further analysis revealed an obvious structural mismatch between the tourists’ perceptions and the supply of local cultural tourism resources. The findings suggest that the focus should be on the clustered development of tourism culture in Wuxi, the branding of Wu Culture, and the strengthening of the association between scenic spots in the future.
The Nexus of CSR and Co-Creation: A Roadmap towards Consumer Loyalty
Authors: Ahmad Naveed , Scholz Miklas , Ullah Zia , Arshad Muhammad Zulqarnain , Sabir Raja Irfan , Khan Waris Ali
Published: January 2021

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is regarded as an effort to be undertaken by the businesses to contribute towards society at large positively. The idea behind the concept of CSR is that businesses are required to pursue the notion of pro-social objectives along with economic objectives. Research has long established that corporate social responsibility, along with its philanthropic nature, can also produce extraordinary marketing results for businesses. The relationship between CSR and consumer loyalty is well acknowledged in extant literature. Likewise, involving consumers through co-creation in the product/service development process may provide an exciting experience to consumers, which is likely to influence their loyalty. With these arguments, the present research investigates the impact of CSR on consumer loyalty with the mediating role of co-creation in the banking sector of an emerging economy such as Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used for data analysis in the present study. The results validate that CSR improves consumer loyalty, and co-creation partially mediates this relationship. The results of the current survey will help banking institutions to identify how they can develop core strategic considerations based on CSR and co-creation.
Trends and Opportunities of Tertiary Education in Safety Engineering Moving towards Safety 4.0
Authors: Laciok Vendula , Sikorova Katerina , Fabiano Bruno , Bernatik Ales
Published: January 2021

Industry and related work and workplaces are constantly changing as a result of the implementation of new technologies, substances and work processes, changes in the composition of the workforce and the labor market, and new forms of employment and work organization. The implementation of new technologies represents certain ambivalence. Next to the positive impact on workers’ health, new risks and challenges can arise in the area of process and occupational safety and health of people at work. On these bases, it follows the need for predicting and handling the new risks, in order to ensure safe and healthy workplaces in the future. The aim of most forecasting studies is not only to identify new emerging risks, but also to foresee changes that could affect occupational safety and health. However, a number of questions still require proper investigation, i.e., “What impact do new emerging risks have on tertiary education in the area of Safety engineering? Has tertiary education already reacted to progress in science and research and does it have these innovations in its syllabus? How are tertiary graduates prepared for the real world of new technologies?” This paper represents a first attempt in the literature to provide answers to the raised questions, by a survey approach involving academics, Health Safety and Environment (HSE) industrial experts and university students in the Czech Republic. Even if statistical evaluation is limited to a single Country and to a small sample size, the obtained results allow suggesting practical recommendations that can contribute to ensuring new challenges in the area of education by addressing relevant culture issues needed to support new workplace realities according to the newly defined Safety 4.0.
Identifying Water Crossings in Rural Liberia and Rwanda Using Remote and Field-Based Methods
Authors: Shirley Kyle , Noriega Abbie , Levin Davey , Barstow Christina
Published: January 2021

Safe and consistent access to essential services is critical for poverty alleviation in rural communities, but even significant physical transportation barriers, such as pedestrian water crossings, are poorly mapped, leaving the scope of need for rural trailbridges largely unknown. Field-based efforts to catalogue those barriers can be effective but are costly and time-consuming. The study described here details field-based methods for identifying pedestrian water crossings in rural Liberia and Rwanda, as well as remote methods, to evaluate their effectiveness and potential application for assessing future rural infrastructure networks. The work highlights challenges, addresses components of the field-based method that limit scalability on a global level, and outlines a way forward for future endeavors to identify pedestrian water crossings. Overall, the most effective remote method applied in this study identified 16 percent of the crossings identified using field-based methods in the same area of interest in Liberia, and 72 percent of the crossings identified using field-based methods in the same area of interest in Rwanda. The field-based method remains the most effective method for bridge site identification, though the significant resources required for an effective field study underscore the need for greater investment in remote methods. Additionally, as neither method alone yields results that fully encapsulate bridge need, the authors recommend a blended approach that incorporates a more sophisticated remote method with streamlined field-based methods that leverage existing local knowledge and expertise.
The Assessment of the Sewage and Sludge Contamination by Phthalate Acid Esters (PAEs) in Eastern Europe Countries
Authors: Anne Olga , Paulauskiene Tatjana
Published: January 2021

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are widely used as raw materials for industries that are well known for their environmental contamination and toxicological effects as “endocrine disruptors”. The determining of PAE contamination was based on analysis of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dipropyl phthalate (DPP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in wastewater and sediment samples collected from city sewer systems of Lithuania and Poland, and Denmark for comparison. The potential PAE sources as well as their concentrations in the wastewater were analyzed and discussed. The intention of the study was to determine the level and key sources of pollution by phthalates in some Eastern European countries and to reveal the successful managerial actions to minimize PAEs taken by Denmark. Water and sludge samples were collected in 2019–2020 and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The highest contamination with phthalates in Lithuania can be attributed to DEHP: up to 63% of total PAEs in water samples and up to 94% of total PAEs in sludge samples, which are primarily used as additive compounds to plastics but do not react with them and are gradually released into the environment. However, in water samples in Poland, the highest concentration belonged to DMP—up to 210 μg/L, while the share of DEHP reached 15 μg/L. The concentrations of priority phthalate esters in the water samples reached up to 159 μg/L (DEHP) in Lithuania and up to 1.2 μg/L (DEHP) in Denmark. The biggest DEHP concentrations obtained in the sediment samples were 95 mg/kg in Lithuania and up to 6.6 mg/kg in Denmark. The dominant compounds of PAEs in water samples of Lithuania were DEHP > DEP > DiBP > DBP > DMP. DPP and DCHP concentrations were less than 0.05 μg/L. However, the distribution of PAEs in the water samples from Poland was as follows: DMP > DEHP > DEP > DBP, and DiBP, as well as DPP and DCHP, concentrations were less than 0.05 μg/L. Further studies are recommended for adequate monitoring of phthalates in wastewater and sludge in order to reduce or/and predict phthalates’ potential risk to hydrobiots and human health.
Design and Development of Sustainable Product Service Systems Based on Design-Centric Complexity
Authors: Zhang Peng , Jing Shaohua , Nie Zifeng , Zhao Boyuan , Tan Runhua
Published: January 2021

Product-service system (PSS) complexity is rapidly increasing in order to meet complex user requirements. Increased complexity leads to PSSs failing to meet sustainability requirements in their initial design. To enhance PSS sustainability and support social benefits, this paper proposes a sustainable PSS development framework based on design-centric complexity (DCC) theory. In the early design stage of a PSS, DCC theory is used to analyze the complexity of the system. Determination of the types of complexity in the system and the corresponding problems is then performed. By combining the sub-field model of TRIZ, the problems can be converted and solved, and the functional periodicity may be established to reduce system complexity. By using this development framework, the conflicts and potential problems of design attributes can be reduced and the possibility of achieving PSSs functional requirements (FRs) can be enhanced. This will maintain the long-term operation stability for the system and enhance the sustainability of the PSS. Finally, the feasibility of the development framework is verified here through the case analysis of a bicycle sharing service and management system.
Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies
Authors: Egidi Gianluca , Salvati Luca , Falcone Andrea , Quaranta Giovanni , Salvia Rosanna , Vcelakova Renata , Giménez-Morera Antonio
Published: January 2021

The linkage between land-use change and demographic transitions in advanced countries has becoming increasingly complex because of the mutual interplay of environmental and socioeconomic spheres influencing the degree of sustainability of both regional and local developmental processes. The relationship between urbanization and economic development has been relatively well investigated by clarifying the consequent impacts on population dynamics. In the early phases of urbanization and economic development, population grew at a particularly high rate, declining (more or less rapidly) in the subsequent time interval. Improving income and education opportunities in urban settings resulted in further urbanization, leading to progressively lower fertility. At the same time, a more general view on the relationship between land-use change and demographic transition focusing on a broader spectrum of landscape processes (including farmland abandonment and forest expansion) at larger spatial scales (from regional to country and continental scale) is increasingly required. The present study provides an integrated view of the relationship between land-use change, urbanization, and demographic transitions with specific focus on Europe. Considering divergent processes of landscape transformations in a unified socioeconomic view may evidence the intimate linkage with recent population trends in both urban and rural areas.
An Experimental Study on the Melting Solidification of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash
Authors: Gao Jing , Wang Tao , Zhao Jie , Hu Xiaoying , Dong Changqing
Published: January 2021

Melting solidification experiments of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash were carried out in a high-temperature tube furnace device. An ash fusion temperature (AFT) test, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were applied in order to gain insight into the ash fusibility, the transformation during the melting process, and the leaching behavior of heavy metals in slag. The results showed that oxide minerals transformed into gehlenite as temperature increased. When the temperature increased to 1300 °C, 89 °C higher than the flow temperature (FT), all of the crystals transformed into molten slag. When the heating temperatures were higher than the FT, the volatilization of the Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu decreased, which may have been influenced by the formation of liquid slag. In addition, the formation of liquid slag at a high temperature also improved the stability of heavy metals in heated slag.
Long-Term Sustainability Approach in Road Traffic Noise Wall Design
Authors: Ahac Maja , Ahac Saša , Lakušić Stjepan
Published: January 2021

Despite the long-term experience in the application of noise walls, the uncertainty in wall panel service life efficiency is almost equal between panels built from established and new materials, which are—because of the desire to increase the sustainability of noise walls—developing at an ever-faster pace. The presented meta-analysis of data collected during a systematic review of concrete, metal, and wood panels’ acoustic and non-acoustic characteristics, long term performance, and cradle-to-gate sustainability aims to reduce this uncertainty and support the process of noise wall design and management by shifting the emphasis in decision making from construction costs to the long-term sustainability of the road traffic noise mitigation project. The multi-criterial analysis showed that when choosing a panel, preference should be given to those using lightweight concrete materials. A further comprehensive cradle-to-grave assessment of lightweight concrete panels with expanded clay and recycled tire rubber aggregates, which was performed to fill a knowledge gap observed in the literature and identify opportunities for the improvement of lightweight concrete sustainability, showed that the main environmental impacts of these panels are due to their production processes and that the way to reduce such impacts is to use panels made with aggregates from secondary raw materials.
In Pursuit of Sustainable Mobile Policy: A Study of Consumer Tariff Preferences under Uncertainty
Authors: Han Seunghee , Jun Jooyong , Yeo Eunjung
Published: January 2021

Literature suggests that consumers expect disutility not only from payment uncertainties but also from reference uncertainties embedded in mobile plans. This paper develops a model of mobile plan choice incorporating both reference and payment uncertainties and uses this model to derive testable implications. The paper argues that consumer choice reflects those uncertainties more than could be justified by rational choice theory. Such patterns, the paper hypothesizes, would be more salient in the choice of data plan than voice plan because consumers tend to perceive data usage to be less controllable than voice usage, thus preferring the plan that reduces uncertainty. The paper tests the predictions with data from a laboratory study analyzing a series of choices between plans with different tariff structures—flat-rate, two-part, and three-part tariffs. As predicted, the results suggest that payment and reference uncertainties create significant disutility for consumers, especially when they perceive high uncertainty about their usage. Such understanding of consumer preference and underlying psychological biases is important in the sense that it provides an essential basis for the development of sustainable mobile policy.
Preferences of Construction Managers Regarding the Quality and Optimization Criteria of Project Schedules
Authors: Tomczak Michał , Jaśkowski Piotr
Published: January 2021

In the literature on the scheduling of construction projects it is difficult to find a justification for adopting the criteria for evaluating work schedules based explicitly on the preferences of those who develop them. This article tries to fill this gap and provide information on the preferences of construction site managers for sustainable scheduling and organization of construction projects. The publication focuses on the views and needs of construction site engineering staff regarding methods of work organization, the need to reduce downtimes in the work of crews, the deadline for project realization and the selection of crews for tasks. This information was obtained on the basis of surveys conducted among managerial staff of various levels (74 people). The authors hope that the information provided in this publication will allow the creation of more reliable tools to support construction managers better adapted to their preferences and needs, and therefore more likely to be applied in practice.
Area Social Plans and Local Governance of Interorganizational Collaborations
Authors: Previtali Pietro , Salvati Eugenio
Published: January 2021

Recent advances in the literature regarding local government and governance are demonstrating that models of intermunicipal cooperation are becoming widespread and having an impact on both the organizational dimension and the policy making/service planning side. The success of these arrangements can vary according to several variables such as the regional context, and the services on which is focused the cooperation and the presence/absence of normative constrains that promote these models of cooperation. The aim of this article is to develop a better understanding of a new regional policy focused on area social plans which requires a change in the governance of interorganizational collaborations. This article addresses the gap in the literature on local governance of interorganizational collaborations and area social plans. An empirical study was conducted of four emblematic case studies in one of the most important Italian regions. The results confirm that the new governance of interorganizational collaborations must be characterized by positive interaction between structures, processes, and actors. The results also showed that the presence of certain circumstances such as close ties, many pre-existing relations among the municipalities, and a high level of trust among political parts and administrative offices, appears to smooth the path to success of intermunicipal coordination.
The Human Dimensions of Coastal Adaptation Strategies
Authors: McGuire Chad J.
Published: January 2021

Not only are humans responsible for the anthropogenic causes of currently observed climate change, but we are also responsible for our responses to climate change. How we choose to respond provides important insights into our ability to collectively act in the face of threats with the unique characteristics of climate change. This communication attempts to provide an overview of some of the difficulties in forging new policy directions along our coastlines in an era of climate change. It is meant as a referential framing for the research presented in this Special Issue. As this communication is being written, the world is gripped by a global pandemic caused by a variant of the coronavirus. There are important corollaries between the underlying characteristics of the coronavirus and the causes and effects of climate change. Seeing how the global citizenry is responding to the current epidemic provides some insight into the difficulties in fostering collective action towards climate change. As with the pandemic, the issue is not really one of understanding the problem, but rather the varying human responses to the problem. We can expect the same difficulties as we continue to confront the ever-growing problem of climate change.
The Relationship between Human Well-Being and Carbon Emissions
Authors: Li Qin , Chen Hongmin
Published: January 2021

Governments around the world are actively exploring strategies to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. In addition to technological progress, promoting a transformation of residents’ behaviors to a low carbon mode is also a solution. Many people are concerned about how to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring human well-being. Starting from the comparative analysis of two main theories of human well-being, this paper sorted out existing well-being measurement methods from the perspectives of “top-down” and “bottom-up” and further sorted out research on the relationship between human well-being and energy carbon emissions. While “top-down” research is conducive to the layout of macro policies, “bottom-up” research can better help to promote the transformation of society to a low carbon life by estimating the energy consumption and carbon emissions contained in human needs. Current research discusses human well-being, human needs, energy use and carbon emissions, respectively, but they are not systematically integrated. Furthermore, this paper proposes a framework combining these aspects to analyze the relationship between human well-being and carbon emissions. In addition, this paper suggests future research directions.
An Insight into Reverse Logistics with a Focus on Collection Systems
Authors: Alkahtani Mohammed , Ziout Aiman , Salah Bashir , Alatefi Moath , Abd Elgawad Abd Elatty E. , Badwelan Ahmed , Syarif Umar
Published: January 2021

Sustainable development is now the focus of researchers and organizations worldwide. Several concepts, such as reverse logistics (RLs) and closed-loop supply chains, have been introduced to encourage sustainability in supply chains. RLs refers to the set of activities needed by consumers to collect the product used for reuse, repair, remanufacturing, recycling, or disposal of the used product. There are various processes involved in RL, and one of them is collection systems. Collection refers to a company obtaining custody of specific items. We review the literature on RLs collection systems. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to provide better insight into the field and establish any trends. Firstly, we present the classification methods used in the field, based on available review papers. Secondly, we evaluate literature from several fields that are related to either the problem setting or the technical features. Different perspectives are presented and classified. This method facilitates the identification of manuscripts related to the reader’s specific interests. Throughout the literature review, trends in measuring the performance of collection systems are identified, and directions for future research are identified and presented.
Avoidance of Food Waste from a Grocery Retail Store Owner’s Perspective
Authors: Horoś Izabela Karolina , Ruppenthal Tonia
Published: January 2021

The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of food waste and potential prevention strategies from a grocery retail store owner’s perspective. We therefore conducted a case study in a German region through semi-structured expert interviews with grocery retail store owners. From the collected responses, we applied a qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that store owners try to avoid food waste as this incurs a financial loss for them that directly affects them personally, as opposed to store managers of supermarket chains who receive a fixed salary. The main causes of food waste in the grocery retail stores in the region surveyed are expiration dates, spoilage, consumer purchasing behavior, and over-ordering of food products. The most appropriate food waste prevention strategies developed by store owners are those based on store owners’ experience and their own management style, such as the optimization of sales and management strategies, including precise planning, accurate ordering, and timely price reductions on soon-to-be-expiring food products. The redistribution of food surpluses as donations to food banks, employees, and as animal feed further helps to reduce the amount of food waste, but not the financial loss. This study enhances the literature by revealing that grocery retail store owners have the ability and are willing to successfully implement and enforce food prevention strategies in their stores.
Identifying Riparian Areas of Free Flowing Rivers for Legal Protection: Model Region Mongolia
Authors: Surenkhorloo Purevdorj , Buyanaa Chimeddorj , Dolgorjav Sanjmyatav , Bazarsad Chimed-Ochir , Zamba Batjargal , Bayarsaikhan Sainbuyan , Heiner Michael
Published: January 2021

Mongolia has globally significant biodiversity and pastoral traditions, and scarce water resources on which wildlife and people depend. Rapid growth of the mining sector is a threat to water resources and specifically river riparian zones. Mongolia has passed progressive laws for water and habitat conservation, including establishment of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and river basin governance organizations, and laws protecting the river riparian zone, but implementation has been hindered by limited technical capacity and data-scarcity, specifically because consistent, accurate maps of the riparian zone did not exist. To address this gap, WWF-Mongolia and partners developed a national delineation of riparian areas based on a spatial model, then validated this with local river basin authorities and provincial governments to designate legal protection zones. As a result, 8.2 million hectares of water protection zones including riparian areas have been legally protected from mining and industrial development in the globally significant landscapes and riverscapes of the Amur, Yenisey, and Ob Rivers headwaters, the Altai Sayan ecoregion, and the Gobi-Steppe ecosystem. These findings demonstrate a pathway for implementing broad-scale, durable legal protection of riverine wetlands through a data-driven, participatory process.
Benefits and Trade-Offs of Smallholder Sweet Potato Cultivation as a Pathway toward Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Afzal Nouman , Afionis Stavros , Stringer Lindsay C. , Favretto Nicola , Sakai Marco , Sakai Paola
Published: January 2021

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will shape national development plans up to 2030. SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger) and 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) are particularly crucial for the poor, given they target the basic human needs for development and fundamental human rights. The majority of poor and malnourished people in the developing world live in rural areas and engage in farming as a key part of their livelihoods, with food and agriculture at the heart of their development concerns. Crops that can provide both food and energy without detrimental impacts on soil or water resources can be particularly beneficial for local development and smallholder farmers. Sweet potato, in particular, is starting to attract growing attention from researchers and policymakers as it has the potential to address these global problems and promote a sustainable society. We systematically review the literature to assess how sweet potato can support smallholder farmers to make progress towards the SDGs. We find that sweet potato has important untapped potential to advance progress, particularly linked to its versatility as a crop and its multiple end-uses. However, further research is paramount in order to better recognise and harness its potential to address the issues of food, nutrition and energy security in the context of a changing global climate. Further investigation is also needed into the trade-offs that occur in the use of sweet potato to support progress towards the SDGs.
Use of Iron and Steel Slags in Concrete: State of the Art and Future Perspectives
Authors: Piemonti Alan , Conforti Antonio , Cominoli Luca , Sorlini Sabrina , Luciano Antonella , Plizzari Giovanni
Published: January 2021

In the two last decades, world production of pig iron and steel has undergone a significant increase. In 2018, 1252.87 and 1806.46 million tons of pig iron and steel, respectively, were produced as compared to the 575.78 and 809.94 million tons of 2000. Consequently, the amount of the different types of slags deriving from these production processes has also increased considerably. In relation to the principles of sustainability and circular economy, the available literature suggests several possible reuses for these slags (bituminous conglomerates, hydraulic engineering, metallurgy, fertilizers, etc.). This paper aims to provide an overview of the iron and steel slags production and their reuse in concrete (for example as replacement of cement, fine or coarse aggregates). The characteristics of slags are analyzed in terms of chemical, physical, and mechanical properties. Mechanical and durability tests (both from material and structures point of view) carried out in the different studies and research are shown as well. Particular attention was devoted to electric arc furnace slags (EAF) since they are the most produced in Italy. Based on this deep literature review, the gaps that still require further studies have been identified and discussed.