bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Snow Cover Phenology Change and Response to Climate in China during 2000–2020
Authors: Zhao Qin , Hao Xiaohua , Wang Jian , Luo Siqiong , Shao Donghang , Li Hongyi , Feng Tianwen , Zhao Hongyu
Published: August 2022

Snow cover phenology (SCP) is critical to the climate system. China has the most comprehensive snow cover distribution in the middle and low latitudes and has shown dramatic changes over the past few decades. However, the spatiotemporal characteristics of SCP parameters and their sensitivity to meteorological factors (temperature and precipitation) under different conditions (altitude, snow cover classification, or season) in China are insufficiently studied. Therefore, using improved daily MODIS cloud-gap-filled (CGF) snow-cover-extent (SCE) products, the spatiotemporal characteristics (distribution and variation) and respond to climate of snow cover area (SCA), snow cover start (SCS), snow cover melt (SCM), and snow cover days (SCD) are explored from 2000 to 2020. The results show that in the past 20 years, snow cover in China has demonstrated a trend of decreasing SCA, decreasing SCD, advancing SCS, and advancing SCM, with SCM advancing faster than SCS. The greatest snowfall occurs in January, mainly in northeastern China, northern Xinjiang, and the Tibet Plateau. Spatially, the slope of SCP was mainly within ±0.5 day/year (d/y) Statistics indicated that the area proportion where SCD is significantly reduced is greater than increased; SCD, SCS, and SCM are shortened or advanced in three snow-covered area classifications. Moreover, compared with precipitation, the significantly correlated regions (6–47.2% more than precipitation) and correlation degree (1.23–8.33 times precipitation in significantly correlated snow cover classification) between temperature and SCP in different seasons are larger. For stable snow-covered areas (SSA), SCD are mainly affected by spring temperature below 1500 m and mainly by autumn temperature above 1500 m; the precipitation is more affected in autumn. The correlation of SCP with temperature and precipitation has obvious spatial and seasonal differences and shows characteristic variation with altitude. These results can provide important data support for climate prediction, hydrological research, and disaster warning.
Increasing Atmospheric Aridity Moderates the Accelerated Rate of Vegetation Green-Up Induced by Rising CO2 and Warming
Authors: Gong Haibo , Cao Li , Jiao Fusheng , Liu Huiyu , Zhang Mingyang , Yi Jialin , Xu Xiaojuan
Published: August 2022

The rate of vegetation green-up (RVG) indicates the ability of vegetation to respond to changes in climatic conditions. Understanding long-term RVG trends can clarify the changes in how quickly the vegetation grows from dormancy to maturity with time. However, how RVG trends respond to environmental variables and variable interactions remains unknown. We examined the long-term RVG trends (1981–2018) over the northern extratropics and determined the influence of environment variables and interactions between variables on the RVG trends based on the Global Land Surface Satellite leaf area index and a multivariable regression considering interactions between variables (MRCI). Our results showed a persistent increase in RVG at 0.020% (8-day)−1 year−1 over the entire region. Except for shrublands (−0.032% (8-day)−1 year−1), RVG trends increased significantly, particularly in woody savannas (0.095% (8-day)−1 year−1) and mixed forests (0.076% (8-day)−1 year−1). The relative importance of interactive effects (RIIAE) to the RVG trends is roughly 30%. Rising CO2, enhanced vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and warming are the primary factors affecting the RVG trends, both at the pixel and the biome scales. The accelerated RVG is triggered by both rising CO2 and warming but is partially offset by increased VPD. Our findings shed light on the relative contribution of variable interactions and assessed the relationship between environmental factors and RVG trends across different biomes, hence strengthening our knowledge of vegetation spring green-up in response to global change.
Analysis of Regional and Residual Gravity Disturbance of Major Fault Belts in the Tarim Basin, Western China
Authors: Wu Yunlong , Liang Feng , Yan Jianguo , Pei Junling , Zhang Yi
Published: August 2022

Large fault belts often influence the paleo-geomorphic changes in basins and control hydrocarbon accumulation and distribution in basins. Based on the gravity field model European Improved Gravity model of the Earth via New techniques (EIGEN)-6C4, this study calculated the residual Bouguer gravity disturbance of the Tarim Basin by using the minimum curvature method and analyzed gravitational characteristics of major fault belts of the Tarim Basin. The residual Bouguer disturbance exhibits linear residual Bouguer disturbance zones in the Tianshan Mountains, West Kunlun, and the Altyn region, which is consistent with the spatial distribution of their related fault belts. The regional Bouguer disturbance is related to crust–mantle boundary depth, which can be used to roughly estimate crust thickness. Thus, we suggest that the crust–mantle boundary depth order of major faults from deep to shallow is the Altyn region, West Kunlun, and Tianshan Mountains. There is a discontinuity in the residual Bouguer disturbance of West Kunlun, which compares well with the fault belt of West Kunlun. Furthermore, the residual Bouguer disturbance of the Tarim Basin has a series of elliptical areas with a central positive disturbance located within the Bachu uplift and other uplift structures. The residual Bouguer disturbance also reflects the position and distribution of the major fault belts and the boundary of the Tarim Basin, which can provide guidance for dynamic evolution analysis of large basins.
Spatio-Temporal Changes in Vegetation in the Last Two Decades (2001–2020) in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region
Authors: Zou Yuan , Chen Wei , Li Siliang , Wang Tiejun , Yu Le , Xu Min , Singh Ramesh P. , Liu Cong-Qiang
Published: August 2022

In terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation is sensitive to climate change and human activities. Its spatial-temporal changes also affect the ecological and social environment. In this paper, we considered the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region to study the spatio-temporal vegetation patterns. The detailed analysis of a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data were carried out through the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Our results show a slow and tortuous upward trend in the average leaf area index (LAI) in the study region for the periods 2001–2020. Specifically, Beijing had the highest LAI value, with an average of 1.64 over twenty years, followed by Hebei (1.30) and Tianjin (1.04). Among different vegetation types, forests had the highest normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) with the range of 0.62–0.78, followed by shrubland (0.58–0.75), grassland (0.34–0.66), and cropland (0.38–0.54) over the years. Spatially, compared to the whole study area, index value in the northwestern part of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region increased greatly in many areas, such as northwest Beijing, Chengde, and Zhangjiakou, indicating a significant ecological optimization. Meanwhile, there was ecological degradation in the middle and southeast regions, from Tangshan southeastward to Handan, crossing Tianjin, Langfang, the east part of Baoding, Shijiazhuang, and the west part of Cangzhou. Air temperature and precipitation were positively and significantly correlated with net primary production (NPP) and precipitation stood out as a key driver. Additionally, an intensification of the urbanization rate will negatively impact the vegetation NPP, with the shrubland and forest being affected most relative to the cropland.
Physical Activity and Healthy Habits Influence Mood Profile Clusters in a Lithuanian Population
Authors: Terry Peter C. , Parsons-Smith Renée L. , Skurvydas Albertas , Lisinskienė Aušra , Majauskienė Daiva , Valančienė Dovilė , Cooper Sydney , Lochbaum Marc
Published: August 2022

Moods have been investigated previously in a range of cultural contexts. In our study, we investigated if six mood profiles previously identified, termed the iceberg, inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, shark fin, submerged, and surface profiles, were also evident among a Lithuanian sample. A Lithuanian translation of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS-LTU) was completed by a sample of 746 participants (male = 199, female = 547) aged from 17–78 years (M = 41.8 years, SD = 11.4 year). Seeded k-means cluster analysis clearly identified the six hypothesized mood profiles, the prevalence of which reflected previous findings. Cluster prevalence varied significantly by sex, age, exercise and smoking status, frequency of overeating, and self-rated health of participants. Male participants and older adults were under-represented for the inverse Everest profile and over-represented for the iceberg profile. Those who reported more healthy habits (i.e., exerciser, non-smoker, rarely overeat) and those reporting better self-rated health were over-represented for the iceberg profile and under-represented for negative mood profiles; namely, the inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, and shark fin profiles. Findings supported the cross-cultural invariance of the mood profile clusters and confirmed the link between unhealthy habits and negative mood profiles.
Non-Financial Information in Hotel Companies
Authors: Vlašić Dubravka , Poldrugovac Katarina
Published: August 2022

The enactment of EU Directive 2014/95/EU and EU Guidelines 2017/C215/01 for large European public interest entities with more than 500 employees recognised the importance of non-financial information and made its disclosure mandatory. The importance of disclosing non-financial information for the hospitality industry is significant, as it is an industry that is highly sensitive and connected to the environment and social interactions. The aim of this paper is to investigate the content of non-financial information disclosed by Croatian hotel companies that list their shares on the financial market since this became mandatory. For this reason, the following research questions were posed: Is the non-financial information presented in the reports of Croatian hotel companies sufficient? If this information is insufficient, how can its content be improved? To answer these research questions, a content analysis of non-financial information in relation to general information, emissions and pollution prevention, sustainability, other environmental information, and EU Directive requirements from publicly available sources of hotel companies was conducted. The research results show that Croatian hotel companies mainly publish satisfactory levels of non-financial information related to waste management and recycling, as well as energy and water consumption, while the content of other non-financial information should be improved. The research results will be used in defining and improving the content of non-financial information for hotel companies as guidelines for publishing non-financial information specifically tailored to the hospitality industry.
Analysis of Accidents of Mobile Hazardous Sources on Expressways from 2018 to 2021
Authors: Fan Ruiwen , Dai Zhangyin , Xue Qing , Tian Shixiang
Published: August 2022

A total of 523 accident cases during 2018–2021 in China were studied in terms of accident year, region, road section, and time to reduce the probability of expressways mobile hazardous source transportation accidents. The characteristics and causes of accidents of moving hazardous sources on expressways are analyzed, and preventive measures are put forward. The results indicated that the number of expressways mobile hazardous source transportation accidents fluctuated less in the past four years. Provinces with a higher degree of industrialization are more prone to accidents, with 80.02% of accidents occurring on normal road sections. Summer is the high accident season and accidents are prone to occur at 7:00 and 8:00 every day. External factors cause 47.99% of accidents, liquid class mobile hazards quickly cause accidents, leakage accidents account for the heaviest proportion, and explosive accidents have the highest chance of causing secondary accidents. In order to reduce the probability of accidents, a comprehensive management framework suitable for the mobile hazard sources of expressways is proposed.
Diurnal Impact of Below-Cloud Evaporation on Isotope Compositions of Precipitation on the Southern Slope of the Altai Mountains, Central Asia
Authors: Wang Shengjie , Duan Lihong , Xia Yijie , Qu Deye , She Yuanyang
Published: August 2022

Precipitation is an important natural resource relating to regional sustainability in arid central Asia, and the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes provide useful tracers to understand precipitation processes. In this study, we collected the hourly meteorological data at several stations on the southern slope of the Altai Mountains in arid central Asia, from March 2017 to June 2022, and examined the diurnal impact of below-cloud evaporation on stable isotope compositions of precipitation. During nighttime, the changes in isotope compositions below cloud base are generally weak. The enhanced impact of below-cloud evaporation can be found after around 15:00, and the impact is relatively strong in the afternoon, especially from 18:00 to 22:00. Summer and spring usually have a larger impact of below-cloud evaporation than autumn, and the winter precipitation is generally not influenced by below-cloud evaporation. On an annual basis, the differences in evaporation-led isotope changes between daytime and nighttime are 1.1‰ for stable oxygen isotope compositions, 4.0‰ for stable hydrogen isotope compositions and 4.7‰ for deuterium excess. The period from 2:00 to 10:00 shows relatively low sensitivity to relative humidity, and from 14:00 to 22:00 the impacts are sensitive. Considering the fluctuations of precipitation isotope compositions, the impact of below-cloud evaporation does not greatly modify the seasonal environmental signals.
Residency, Site Fidelity, and Regional Movement of Tiger Sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) at a Pupping Location in the Bahamas
Authors: Smukall Matthew J. , Seitz Andrew C. , Dhellemmes Félicie , van Zinnicq Bergmann Maurits P. M. , Heim Vital , Gruber Samuel H. , Guttridge Tristan L.
Published: August 2022

Understanding space use and movement behavior can benefit conservation and management of species by identifying areas of high importance. However, this can be challenging for highly mobile species, especially those which use a wide range of habitats across ontogeny. The Bahamas is hypothesized to be an important area for tiger sharks, but the utility of the area for this species within the broader western North Atlantic is not fully understood. Therefore, we assessed (1) whether the area near Bimini serves as an important pupping location for tiger sharks, (2) their level of residency and site fidelity to the area, and (3) regional dispersal across ontogeny. Frequent captures of young-of-year tiger sharks, as well as ultrasonography showing near-term and recently postpartum females supports the hypothesis that pupping occurs in the area. However, small juveniles had low overall recapture rates and sparse acoustic detections near Bimini, indicating they do not reside in the area for long or may suffer high natural mortality. Large juvenile and sexually mature tiger sharks had higher overall local residency, which increased during cooler water winter months. The probability of dispersal from Bimini increased for larger individuals. Repeated, long-term site fidelity was displayed by some mature females, with several returning to Bimini across multiple years. Satellite tracking showed that tiger sharks extensively used areas outside of The Bahamas, including traveling more than 12,000 km. Together, these results show that Bimini is an important area for tiger sharks, serving as a pupping ground, rather than a nursery ground, a finding which could be incorporated into future conservation and management efforts.
Financing Organic Plant Breeding—New Economic Models for Seed as a Commons
Authors: Kotschi Johannes , Schrimpf Berthold , Waters-Bayer Ann , Horneburg Bernd
Published: August 2022

Organic seed is vital for organic agriculture. However, organic plant breeding is not keeping pace with the increasing organic production, mainly because of a lack of sufficient financial resources. Therefore, the questions arose: what are the obstacles, and how can they be removed? An analysis of the situation in Europe revealed that royalties from intellectual property rights (IPRs) such as plant variety protection are inappropriate for organic seed. New additional financing strategies were developed based on the concept of seed as a commons, and the attitude of stakeholders in the food value chain towards an open source strategy was assessed. The conclusion is that dealing with seed as a commons is an indispensable feature of organic plant breeding. New financing strategies for this offer promising potential for organic plant breeding and an alternative to IPRs-based funding. It is essential to involve stakeholders along the entire value chain, including food consumers, in financing plant breeding. The successful introduction of a food label “open source and organic” could boost commons-based organic plant breeding financing. Generally, there is no single solution; the different strategies identified are complementary. Their validation requires further practical research and development.
A Patch-Based CNN Built on the VGG-16 Architecture for Real-Time Facial Liveness Detection
Authors: Muhtasim Dewan Ahmed , Pavel Monirul Islam , Tan Siok Yee
Published: August 2022

Facial recognition is a prevalent method for biometric authentication that is utilized in a variety of software applications. This technique is susceptible to spoofing attacks, in which an imposter gains access to a system by presenting the image of a legitimate user to the sensor, hence increasing the risks to social security. Consequently, facial liveness detection has become an essential step in the authentication process prior to granting access to users. In this study, we developed a patch-based convolutional neural network (CNN) with a deep component for facial liveness detection for security enhancement, which was based on the VGG-16 architecture. The approach was tested using two datasets: REPLAY-ATTACK and CASIA-FASD. According to the results, our approach produced the best results for the CASIA-FASD dataset, with reduced HTER and EER scores of 0.71% and 0.67%, respectively. The proposed approach also produced consistent results for the REPLAY-ATTACK dataset while maintaining balanced and low HTER and EER values of 1.52% and 0.30%, respectively. By adopting the suggested enhanced liveness detection, architecture that is based on artificial intelligence could make current biometric-based security systems more secure and sustainable while also reducing the risks to social security.
Study of Periodical Temperature Change Induced Deformation of an Inclined Steel Arch Bridge Exposed to Actual Environment Based on Synchronous Multi-Member Thermal Simulation
Authors: Yang Huizhu , Zhao Xinying , Fu Lilei , Ruan Xin , Li Yue , Chen Dixin
Published: August 2022

Structures exposed to the environment are affected by periodically changing temperature, and will undergo reciprocating deformation under the action of actual temperature. Steel structures are sensitive to temperature, and the effects on structure induced by changing temperatures are even more significant. The accurate calculation of temperature effects is very important to enable engineers to understand the state of a structure. However, the value of the temperature load in the current specification is set as constant, which can neither reflect the real state of the temperature field, nor its time-dependence in the actual environment. In this paper, an inclined steel arch bridge is chosen as an engineering example in order to analyze the actual temperature field of the structure in different seasons, and its deformation under the action of temperature, and the effects are compared with results based on other specifications. The comparison results show the synchronization of thermal deformation among different components and indicate the conservation of the specification. In order to further determine the most unfavorable situation under the effect of temperature changes, the deformation of multiple examples are compared, according to a standard load combination method, which verifies the feasibility of the load combination method in the calculation of temperature effects. It is found that the result can reflect, to a certain extent, the combined effect of the temperature changes of different components.
Scheduling Optimization of Offshore Oil Spill Cleaning Materials Considering Multiple Accident Sites and Multiple Oil Types
Authors: Li Kai , Yu Hongliang , Xu Yiqun , Luo Xiaoqing
Published: August 2022

Coastal governments have been preventing and controlling pollution in the marine environment by enhancing the construction of hardware and software facilities. The dispatch of offshore oil spill cleaning materials must be upgraded and optimized to cope with repeated offshore oil leak incidents while simultaneously improving cleaning efficiency and the ability to resist oil spill hazards. Accordingly, we set up a multiobjective optimization model with time window constraints to solve the scheduling optimization problem of offshore oil spill accidents with multiple locations and oil types. This model integrates the minimal sum of fixed costs, fuel consumption costs, maximum load violation costs, and time window penalty costs to solve the scheduling optimization problem of an offshore oil spill accident. An improved genetic algorithm is designed to solve the proposed mathematical model effectively and to make a scientific decontaminated decision-scheduling scheme. The practicality of the model and algorithm is validated by using a specific instance, demonstrating that the suggested method can effectively solve the schedule optimization problem for cleaning materials.
A Mass-Customization-Based Remanufacturing Scheme Design Method for Used Products
Authors: Zhou Wei , Ke Chao
Published: August 2022

Remanufacturing scheme design (RSD) is an essential step in the restoration and upgrading of used products. However, the quantity of remanufactured products is growing rapidly, and customers have personalized demands for remanufactured products that lead to shorter design cycles. In addition, the used products are scrapped due to their own defects, such as performance failure and functional degradation, which correspond to the inherent remanufacturing demand (IRD) of used products. Faced with large quantities of used products, how to quickly develop reasonable remanufacturing schemes for satisfying customers’ individual demands and the IRD is an urgent problem to be solved. To address these issues, a mass customization-based RSD method is proposed. First, remanufacturing demand comprising customer demand and the IRD is analyzed to determine the RSD targets and remanufacturing types. Then, the RSD methods are intelligently selected based on the remanufacturing types, which include restorative remanufacturing, upgrade remanufacturing and hybrid remanufacturing, while the hybrid contains restorative remanufacturing and upgrade remanufacturing. Moreover, the restorative remanufacturing scheme is generated to satisfy the restorative remanufacturing targets based on reverse engineering (RE) and the tool contact point path section line (TCPPSL) method. After used products are restored, case-based reasoning (CBR) is used to retrieve the case that best matches the upgrade remanufacturing targets, while the grey relational analysis (GRA) algorithm is applied to calculate the similarity between cases. Finally, the feasibility of this method is verified by considering the RSD of a used lathe. The results indicated that the proposed approach can rapidly help designers to obtain remanufacturing solutions for satisfying the customer demand and IRD.
Smart Cities as Hybrid Spaces of Governance: Beyond the Hard/Soft Dichotomy in Cyber-Urbanization
Authors: Golubchikov Oleg , Thornbush Mary J.
Published: August 2022

This paper problematizes the dichotomy of hard (technocratic) and soft (societal) approaches to the smart city. Smart cities are reviewed as hybrid spaces that transcend the sum of the social and the technical. By providing platforms for enabling, monitoring, digitalizing, formalizing, and amassing information about collective and personal experiences and behaviors, smart cities accelerate the customization of existing urban services and establish new spaces of socialization, accumulation and regulation, including in hitherto hard-to-reach realms of everyday and personal life. These experiences signify the emergence of cyber-physical-social spaces, featuring the hybridization of the digital, governance, and sociocultural domains. The production of such hybrid spaces of governance is reviewed through 50 urban-level strategies for smart cities in different countries across the world. The analysis confirms the tendencies towards a hard/soft fusion and the ever-deepening interpenetration of the digital, physical, and social elements in smart cities. This suggests epistemological problems of separating the hard and soft domains. However, this integration still creates political and analytical tensions that are arguably evident in the early stages of the digital transition.
Perception of Innovative Usage of AI in Optimizing Customer Purchasing Experience within the Sustainable Fashion Industry
Authors: Bolesnikov Minja , Popović Stijačić Milica , Keswani Avi Bhargavi , Brkljač Nebojša
Published: August 2022

The research was designed to contribute to scientific efforts in exploring the attitude of fashion stakeholders towards AI and its use in attaining sustainability in fashion industry. Although the role of AI in Fashion has been studied before, the aim of this research is to challenge and analyze the attitudes towards sustainable fashion of both stakeholders and consumers. The research considers the views of consumers, industry professionals and company shareholders on the role AI plays in pursuing ideas of Sustainable Fashion. Contrary to expectations, the companies with significant turnover did not show any greater awareness of the new trends in the fashion business. Furthermore, previous familiarity with the usage of AI did not prove to promote openness towards the recommendation of apps which use AI to promote Sustainable Fashion. The value of this research lies in the findings, which help provide a framework which can be used to change the viewpoint of the key market players. The crucial finding is that the AI approach on sustainability will influence both users (changing their purchasing decisions toward more sustainable choices if provided with a set of information on ecological impact, production choices), and corporate businesses (changing the overall business strategy, planning, marketing communication and production designs). The paper offers milestones for further research on synergies between AI, fashion industry lined with UNS SDGs and purchasing behavior.
Early Childhood Teachers’ Fertility Willingness under China’s ‘Third-Child’ Policy
Authors: Wang Wei , Liang Luyao , Luo Jing , Li Hui , Tang Jing
Published: August 2022

This study aimed to understand whether Chinese early childhood (EC) teachers are willing to give birth to children to embrace the new ‘third-child’ policy. Altogether, 1042 participants (44.7% teachers, 55.3% other parents) were sampled and surveyed online. The results indicated that: (1) the teachers demonstrated fertility willingness different from other parents, and a higher percentage of teachers believed that one child would suffice; (2) the teachers highly valued partner’s support (family), employers’ support (workplace), and societal support (society); (3) their fertility willingness was influenced by the public fertility system and service, economic status and health, family relationships, career development, and emotional needs; and (4) the modern parenting and fertility beliefs, spouses’ support, and the struggle between job and parenting commitments significantly predicted the EC teachers’ fertility willingness.
Cow Manure Compost Promotes Maize Growth and Ameliorates Soil Quality in Saline-Alkali Soil: Role of Fertilizer Addition Rate and Application Depth
Authors: Li Shuyan , Liu Zhijun , Li Jiao , Liu Zhanwei , Gu Xuhan , Shi Lianhui
Published: August 2022

Soil salinization and alkalization is a global problem restricting agricultural production. This study compared different fertilizer regimes (addition rate and application depth) on maize growth and soil quality in saline-alkali soil. Cow manure compost was applied with addition rates of 6, 12, 18 and 24 t·ha−1, and application depths of 5 and 20 cm, along with 0.6 t·ha−1 mineral fertilizer, and compared to a control treatment with only mineral fertilizer application. Results indicated that cow manure compost application could promote maize growth and ameliorate soil quality in saline-alkali soil. Increasing cow manure compost addition rate alleviated soil salinity better than alkalinity, while increasing compost application depth could reduce soil alkalinity more effectively than soil salt content. Moreover, increasing cow manure compost addition rate improved soil organic matter and soil nutrient content, thus promoting shoot growth and maize yield. However, increasing cow manure compost application depth could boost root growth, and further absorbed more nutrients to promote maize yield. Cow manure compost application increased maize yield by 6.0% to 28.4% with a maximum yield of 8.14 t·ha−1 in a treatment with compost addition rate of 24 t·ha−1 and application depth of 20 cm. Comprehensive evolution of soil quality, maize growth and maize yield, cow manure compost addition rate of 24 t·ha−1 and application depth of 20 cm along with 0.6 t·ha−1 mineral fertilizer application is suggested for use in saline-alkali soil.
The Effect of COVID-19 Restrictions on Changes in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Was “A Double-Edged Sword”: It Improved for Some and Worsened for Others
Authors: Skurvydas Albertas , Lisinskiene Ausra , Majauskiene Daiva , Valanciene Dovile , Dadeliene Ruta , Istomina Natalja , Sarkauskiene Asta
Published: August 2022

The objective was to determine the contributions to changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the COVID-19 restrictions by age, gender, education, place of residence, type of work, type of sport, Body Mass Index (BMI), subjective health status, smoking, alcohol consumption, overeating, impulsivity, depression symptoms, stress level, sleep duration and emotional intelligence (EI). We interviewed 6369 people in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic and 2392 during the COVID-19 restrictions, and they were 18–4 years old. The initial COVID-19 restrictions reduced MVPA. This decrease was greater in individuals with lower education levels, higher BMI, higher stress levels and higher self-rated health status. MVPA decreased among those whose self-rated health status was the poorest but increased among those whose self-rated health status was the best. MVPA decreased among young women, women whose work was mostly sedentary and smoking women, and it decreased among overeating men. The particularity of sport, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, EI, impulsivity and depression symptoms did not have a significant effect on changes in MVPA during the COVID-19 restrictions, among either gender or any age group.
Exploratory Research on the Use of Blockchain Technology in Recruitment
Authors: Kişi Nermin
Published: August 2022

In recent years, human resource (HR) professionals have struggled with problems such as reduced efficiency, increased cost, fraud risks, and time-consuming procedures in the process of finding and hiring the right talent for companies. Blockchain technology has emerged as a powerful tool to solve these problems and transform the recruitment process. The aim of this study is to investigate the opportunities, challenges, possible solutions, and prospects for blockchain technology adoption in recruitment. In order to achieve this aim, exploratory research has been conducted through a combination of a comprehensive literature review and a structured interview with experts in the field of human resource management (HRM) and blockchain. Thematic analysis has been used to analyze qualitative data. The findings reveal that blockchain-based recruitment systems enhance the recruitment processes by offering opportunities such as increasing the speed and reliability of the transactions and reducing costs and routine workload. Thus, it provides a sustainable competitive advantage to the companies. However, these systems have some technological, organizational, and environmental challenges that can be addressed in the long term. In the future, it is expected that the use of blockchain technology in recruitment processes will be a gradual process and will change the role of recruiters.
Spatiotemporal Coupling Effect of Regional Economic Development and De-Carbonisation of Energy Use in China: Empirical Analysis Based on Panel and Spatial Durbin Models
Authors: Zhang Xintong , Lu Cuijie , Ning Yuncai , Wang Jingtao
Published: August 2022

The synergistic development of economic construction and low-carbon transformation of energy systems must be promoted for building a green, low-carbon, and cyclic economic system and achieving the “double carbon” goal in China. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2015 to 2019, the global entropy method, coupling coordination degree model, and spatial statistical analysis methods are applied to analyse the factors affecting the coupling effect. The coordination degree increased in the study period, with Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang being the regions with the highest values. The spatial distribution of the coupling coordination degree is strongly positively correlated with the eastern provincial-level administrative regions located in the high–high concentration area of the Moran scatterplot and western provincial-level administrative regions concentrated in the low–low concentration area. The spatial association pattern is stable in the study period, with only two provinces exhibiting a transition: Shandong province made the transition to high–high agglomeration areas, and Liaoning province made the transition to low–low agglomeration areas. The level of regional economy, urbanization process, energy consumption structure, and level of investment in science and innovation enhance the coupling coordination degree, whereas the industrial structure deteriorates this degree.
Changing Governance Processes to Make Way for Civic Involvement: The Case of Gebrookerbos in Heerlen, Netherlands
Authors: Matoga Agnes
Published: August 2022

The effects of shrinkage can be manifold. Vacant green areas are a typical manifestation of shrinkage in deindustrialized cities, such as Heerlen, Netherlands. Such challenges are usually managed by the municipality which, due to financial reasons, often has to turn to citizens to aid in accommodating those effects. The example of Gebrookerbos in Heerlen shows how an adaptation of governance processes can take place in order to facilitate the involvement of citizens in reusing vacant spaces. The introduction of the position of account manager as well as brooker are being regarded as essential for shortening the distance between municipality and citizens as well as contributing to replacing the mistrust towards the municipality, which is in line with existing research on depopulating areas. Further, making a plethora of funding options and projects available for civic initiatives ensures the longevity of civic involvement. Finally, the findings show how working on the “hardware”, the visible vacancy and deterioration of the land—by adapting the “software”, the institutional set up and focusing on civic empowerment—of a shrinking city can go hand in hand.
The Relationship between Innovative Technology and Driver’s Resistance and Acceptance Intention for Sustainable Use of Automobile Self-Driving System
Authors: Lee Hyo-Keun
Published: August 2022

The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the relationship between the characteristics of innovative technology, innovation resistance, and acceptance intention of automobile autonomous driving systems by applying the technology acceptance model (TAM), a representative innovative technology in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution. A survey was conducted on drivers living in Seoul, Korea, and the following main results were derived based on the survey data for 567 people. First, the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the autonomous driving system were found to have a significant negative effect on innovation resistance, but the perceived risk factors did not have a significant effect on innovation resistance. Second, it was found that the driver’s innovation resistance to the autonomous driving system had a significant negative effect on the acceptance intention. Third, the perceived risk of the autonomous driving system directly had a significant negative effect on the acceptance intention, but the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use did not directly significantly affect the acceptance intention. Through this study, it was confirmed that resistance to innovative technologies can play an important role in enhancing the acceptance intention for sustainable use of automobile autonomous driving systems by drivers.
Effect of Weak Zones on Resilience of Sustainable Surface Course Mixtures of Fresh-Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
Authors: Hussain Syed Iqrar , Khan Ammad Hassan , Rehman Zia ur , Abbas Wasim , Abbas Safeer , Mohamed Abdeliazim Mustafa , Fathi Dina Mohamed , Aziz Mubashir
Published: August 2022

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is necessary for sustainable and cost-effective road infrastructure construction. This research investigates the effect of the area of weak zones (WZ) on the resilient modulus (MRT) of mixtures of fresh asphalt with 20% RAP. Experimentation on fresh asphalt–RAP mixtures comprising Superpave (SP-A, SP-B) and Asphalt Institute (MS-2) gradations with 20/30, 40/50, 60/70 and 80/100 penetration grade binders was carried out. WZ were determined based on the analysis of magnified digital images of asphalt specimens obtained using optical microscopy. This study demonstrates that the 20/30 grade binder caused an increase in the MRT at 25 °C up to 1.8, 2.9 and 9.2 times for a 0.1 s load duration, and 2.4, 3.0 and 9.7 times for a 0.3 s load duration. In contrast, improvement at 40 °C was observed to be up to 1.9, 3.1 and 9.7 times for a 0.1 s load duration, and 1.9, 3.0 and 12.4 times for a 0.3 s load duration in comparison with 40/50, 60/70 and 80/100 grade binders, respectively. Experimental data were validated by factorial analysis. Power trendline equations were also developed between MRT and WZ to explain the effect of gravel particle orientation on the sustainable resilience of surface course mixtures.
Natural Fibers for Out-of-Plane Strengthening Interventions of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Aggregate Configuration
Authors: Cima Valentina , Bartolomeo Chiara , Grande Ernesto , Imbimbo Maura
Published: August 2022

Most of the Italian historical centers are composed of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings arranged in aggregate configurations. Past and recent seismic events have underlined the high vulnerability of these buildings especially towards out-of-plane mechanisms. In order to reduce their vulnerability, the use of strengthening interventions based on fiber reinforced composite materials has become widespread in the last years. More recently, strengthening systems using natural fibers have been the object of experimental tests since they represent an innovative environmentally sustainable solution. The aim of this paper is to numerically analyze the feasibility of strengthening systems made of natural fibers embedded into cementitious matrices to prevent the out-of-plane mechanisms of perimeter façades belonging to masonry buildings in aggregate configurations. For this purpose, numerical analyses based on a macro-modeling approach for out-of-plane mechanisms are performed by considering the influence of adjacent structural units and the presence of strengthening systems made of natural fibers. Both aspects have been analyzed in detail and taken into account by introducing in the equation governing the problem both the friction acting between adjacent walls of building units, when in aggregate, and the contribution of the strengthening system. A building case study forming part of an aggregate of an Italian historical center has been considered for the development of the numerical analyses.
Emotional Labor, Rapport, and Word of Mouth in Fitness Organizations
Authors: Lee Ye Hoon , Hwang Seunghyun
Published: August 2022

The fitness service industry requires employees to interact with members, placing great importance on their emotional expression to manage service quality and the subsequent organizational outcomes. Emotional labor may be a significant psychologically related factor that plays a critical role in building pleasant interactions between a fitness organization’s employees and its members. Thus, grounded in the emotional contagion theory, this study examines the predictability of perceived emotional labor strategies on the development of a rapport between a fitness organization’s employees and its members, and the subsequent effect of this rapport on word of mouth regarding the fitness organization. A total of 353 fitness members in the United States participated in the modified versions of paper-and-pencil surveys pertaining to the proposed variables. The findings showed that perceived surface acting, or superficial interaction, is negatively related to rapport, whereas perceived deep acting, a more profound form of interaction, is positively related to rapport. Furthermore, rapport was positively associated with word of mouth. This result indicates the significance of emotional labor in the service delivery of fitness employees and developing a positive relationship with fitness members.
The Curvilinear Relationship between Employee Voice and Managers’ Performance Evaluations: The Moderating Role of Voice Consensus
Authors: Zhang Zhenzhen , Liang Qiaozhuan , Li Jie
Published: August 2022

In the rapidly changing business environment, employee voice can be a key driver of organizations’ sustainable development. However, how can employees ensure that they receive a positive response from their managers? To what extent do the voice patterns within the team influence managers’ reactions to one employee’s voice behaviors? To address these questions, we draw on the antecedent–benefit–cost framework (ABC framework) and knowledge management literature to investigate the inverted U-shaped relationship between employee voice and managers’ performance evaluations and the role of voice consensus (i.e., the extent to which the frequency of an employee’s voice is dissimilar to that of his/her coworkers) in shaping this relationship. The results of a field study of 173 employees in 37 groups show that employees who engage in moderate levels of voice are rated as better performers than those who rarely voice or voice very frequently, especially when the frequency of employees’ voice deviates from the voice frequency of their coworkers (i.e., low consensus). These findings highlight that it is not only important to explore the frequency of voice when studying managerial responses to employee voice but to also examine other dimensions of the voice behavior (such as voice consensus).
Promoting the Adoption of Agricultural Green Production Technologies for Sustainable Farming: A Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis
Authors: Asiedu-Ayeh Love Offeibea , Zheng Xungang , Agbodah Kobina , Dogbe Bright Senyo , Darko Adjei Peter
Published: August 2022

Stakeholders have become worried about the environmental problems of agricultural production activities. Therefore, there is pressure on smallholder farmers to observe environmental regulations and embed sustainable green technologies in their production. The literature on green production has thoroughly emphasized the critical role of behavioral factors in adopting environmental sustainability practices. We develop a probabilistic linguistic preference selection index method to assess the behavioral constructs that promote the adoption of agricultural green production technologies (AGPTs) among smallholder rice farmers in an emerging economy. The result shows that the five most-important factors promoting the adoption of AGPTs include knowledge (0.828), perceived cost and benefit (0.819), descriptive norm (0.810), moral and environmental concern (0.809), and injunctive norm (0.807). The study findings offer insightful directions for examining rice farmers’ decisions on the adoption of AGPTs. Our findings imply that policymakers should consider multiple behavioral factors when designing policies that promote AGPTs. This study enriches farmers’ adoption decisions by modeling the uncertainties in the decision-making process.
A Variable Neighborhood Descent Matheuristic for the Drone Routing Problem with Beehives Sharing
Authors: Bruni Maria Elena , Khodaparasti Sara
Published: August 2022

In contemporary urban logistics, drones will become a preferred transportation mode for last-mile deliveries, as they have shown commercial potential and triple-bottom-line performance. Drones, in fact, address many challenges related to congestion and emissions and can streamline the last leg of the supply chain, while maintaining economic performance. Despite the common conviction that drones will reshape the future of deliveries, numerous hurdles prevent practical implementation of this futuristic vision. The sharing economy, referred to as a collaborative business model that foster sharing, exchanging and renting resources, could lead to operational improvements and enhance the cost control ability and the flexibility of companies using drones. For instance, the Amazon patent for drone beehives, which are fulfilment centers where drones can be restocked before flying out again for another delivery, could be established as a shared delivery systems where different freight carriers jointly deliver goods to customers. Only a few studies have addressed the problem of operating such facilities providing services to retail companies. In this paper, we formulate the problem as a deterministic location-routing model and derive its robust counterpart under the travel time uncertainty. To tackle the computational complexity of the model caused by the non-linear energy consumption rates in drone battery, we propose a tailored matheuristic combining variable neighborhood descent with a cut generation approach. The computational experiments show the efficiency of the solution approach especially compared to the Gurobi solver.