bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does a Buyback Contract Coordinate a Reverse Supply Chain Facing Remanufacturing Capacity Disruption and Returned Product Quality Uncertainty?
Authors: Salami Mehr Sadat , Eslamipirharati Mohammadreza , Bakhshi Alireza , Aghsami Amir , Jolai Fariborz , Yazdani Maziar
Published: November 2022

This paper studies a two-echelon reverse supply chain (RSC) involving a remanufacturer and a collector, in which the collector receives the used products by paying a reward to consumers. The reward amount given to customers is crucial for encouraging them to exchange used products. An exchanged item is accepted if it meets the minimum acceptable quality level (AQL). Both the remanufacturing capacity and the quality of exchanged products present uncertainties. Under the buyback contract, the remanufacturer purchases used products at a higher price than in the decentralized and centralized cases from the collector. In return, the collector undertakes to repurchase a certain number of used products sold to the remanufacturer, but not remanufactured due to capacity shortages. Based on the aforementioned uncertainties, this study analyses channel coordination using buyback contracts and optimizes its parameters. By conducting a numerical analysis, we first ensure that under this contract, the risk of uncertainty is divided among the members, and that each party’s profit is higher than when decisions are made individually. Therefore, a buyback contract would guarantee a win-win situation for both of the parties, and coordination for the RSC. A range of percentages of extra items purchased by collectors is derived, as well as the amount the collector pays for each item and the effect of increasing or decreasing these values is examined.
Social Reporting in Healthcare Sector: The Case of Italian Public Hospitals
Authors: Giancotti Monica , Ciconte Valeria , Mauro Marianna
Published: November 2022

Social reporting has become a critical area of interest in healthcare systems, and it has also become increasingly important for the academic community and practitioners in recent decades. Recent studies have found the existence of a slow spread of social reporting initiatives in public hospitals and a lack of guidelines and homogeneity in social reporting documents. This study aims to contribute to the literature, offering updated evidence from Italy. Through a document analysis, we (a) assessed the trends of social reporting initiatives in the Italian public hospital sector; (b) analyzed the current forms, contents, and quality, of social reporting documents, in order to isolate common elements, differentiation and emerging trends; (c) analyzed the informational power of social reporting documents for public hospitals stakeholder. Data were extracted from the public hospital website. The results confirm the scarce dissemination and homogeneity of social reporting documents and highlight the need for non-financial reporting standardization in public hospitals.
Bibliometric and Text Analytics Approaches to Review COVID-19 Impacts on Supply Chains
Authors: Saravanan Nishant , Olivares-Aguila Jessica , Vital-Soto Alejandro
Published: November 2022

The current COVID-19 pandemic has virtually disrupted supply chains worldwide. Thus, supply chain research has received significant attention. While the impacts have been immeasurable, organizations have realized the need to design strategies to overcome such unexpected events. Therefore, the supply chain research landscape has evolved to address the challenges during the pandemic. However, available literature surveys have not explored the power of text analytics. Hence, in this review, an analysis of the supply chain literature related to the impacts of COVID-19 is performed to identify the current research trends and future research avenues. To discover the frequent topics discussed in the literature, bibliometric analysis (i.e., keyword co-occurrence network) and text mining tools (i.e., N-gram analysis and topic modeling) are employed for the whole corpus and the top-three contributing journals (i.e., Sustainability, International Journal of Logistics Management, Operations Management Research). Moreover, text analytics (i.e., Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency: TF-IDF) is utilized to discover the distinctive topics in the corpus and per journals. A total of 574 papers published up to the first semester of 2022 were collected from the Scopus database to determine the research trends and opportunities. The keyword network identified four clusters considering the implementation of digitalization to achieve resilience and sustainability, the usage of additive manufacturing during the pandemic, the study of food supply chains, and the development of supply chain decision models to tackle the pandemic. Moreover, the segmented keyword network analysis and topic modeling were performed for the top three contributors. Although both analyses draw the research concentrations per journal, the keyword network tends to provide a more general scope, while the topic modeling gives more specific topics. Furthermore, TF-IDF scores unveiled topics rarely studied, such as the implications of the pandemic on plasma supply chains, cattle supply chains, and reshoring decisions, to mention a few. Additionally, it was observed how the different methodologies implemented allowed to complement the information provided by each method. Based on the findings, future research avenues are discussed. Therefore, this research will help supply chain practitioners and researchers to identify supply chain advancements, gaps in the literature and future research streams.
The Path to Sustainable and Equitable Mobility: Defining a Stakeholder-Informed Transportation System
Authors: Prior Filipe Rita , Heath Andrew , McCullen Nick
Published: November 2022

A transportation system should be designed considering the relevant stakeholders’ needs for a fundamental transformation in travelling behaviour. This research aims to contribute to that by characterising the future network in response to the stakeholders’ requirements, using a systematic literature review paired with a grounded theory approach. Out of 39 reviewed publications, 13 transportation indicators were clustered into six dimensions representing stakeholders’ requirements for the transportation system. These results depict a stakeholder-informed land transportation system as a system of accessible and integrated mode services, which should be supported by policy and infrastructure, economically balanced, socially, and environmentally sustainable and rely on mobility-dedicated assisting features. Further research is proposed on (1) adapting these results to the legal, social, economic, and environmental contexts and (2) the ability of MaaS scenarios to answer the collected dimensions. This research is crucial to determine the areas of focus of a stakeholder-designed transportation system and to frame them in the mobility ecosystem, both individually and interlinked. Furthermore, its originality lies in (1) the application of this methodology to collect, analyse, and define a set of mobility investment priorities, and (2) the recognition of the relevant stakeholders in mobility considering their diverse perspectives and needs.
Design Optimization and Carbon Footprint Analysis of an Electrodeionization System with Flexible Load Regulation
Authors: Yuan Yuan , Qian Fengting , Lu Jiaqi , Gu Dungang , Lou Yuhang , Xue Na , Li Guanghui , Liao Wenjie , Zhang Nan
Published: November 2022

Thermal power plants will function as a flexible load regulation in a low-carbon grid, which requires operation adaption for the whole system. Energy transition in the electricity sector is the core to realizing carbon neutrality. The power grid will be gradually dominated by renewable energy, such as wind power and photovoltaic solar power. However, renewable energy has problems such as insufficient power supply and output fluctuation; thermal power will be required to regulate the peak load flexibly to meet demand. Therefore, the supply of boiler make-up water prepared by electrodeionization (EDI) in thermal power plants should also be flexibly changed. This study focused on the ultrapure water preparation system by EDI with variable flow rates. For an EDI system with a maximum ultrapure water capacity of 20 m3/h, the power consumption, annual cost, and carbon footprint of different designs are compared. The operation parameters were optimized based on the optimal cost design when the temporal demand of boiler make-up water is reduced to 75%, 50%, and 25%, respectively, considering thermal power as peak load regulation technology. The results showed that the optimized system could significantly reduce power consumption and carbon footprint by up to 30.21% and 30.30%, respectively. The proposed strategy is expected to be widely applied for design and operation optimization when considering the low-carbon but unstable energy system dominated by renewable energy. The carbon footprint could be a feasible optimization object to balance the greenhouse gas emissions from the module manufacturing and operation consumption.
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure: Negative Experiences of Tourists with Different Satisfaction Levels
Authors: Li Li , Zhuang Yaoming , Gao Yanpeng , Li Shasha
Published: November 2022

From a postmodernist perspective, tourist experience is a subjective construct related to numerous aspects. Tourists can generate either positive or negative emotions from their experiences, and negative experiences are not exclusive to satisfied tourists. This study analyzes the negative experiences of tourists with different satisfaction levels. Lijiang Old Town was chosen to conduct the case study. A computer-assisted content analysis method was used to identify and analyze the negative experience themes. The attitudes of tourists with different satisfaction levels towards these themes are discussed. The results indicate that people understand the meaning and value of a destination uniquely. The main negative experience themes of Lijiang Old Town include touristy aspects, commercialization, lack of authenticity, and the ease of getting lost. Tourists with different satisfaction levels share these negative comments, while their perceptions and attitudes of each theme are quite different. Tourists have a similar perception of “commercialization” and “lack of authenticity” in Lijiang. Tourists with low satisfaction complain about the experience brought by “touristy” and “easy to get lost”, while highly satisfied tourists appreciate the similar experiences. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is a common phenomenon in the tourism context. This study enhances the personalization attribute of tourist experience. The negative feedbacks of tourists should be dealt with according to the specific situation.
Modeling, Simulation, and Performance Analysis of a Liquid-Infill Tunable Window
Authors: Wang Xiaodong , Yang Yinan , Li Xiaoyu , Li Chunying
Published: November 2022

Solar shading is important in buildings for better indoor thermal/light environment and energy conservation, especially in the tropical region. Compared with conventional windows with additional fixed shading devices, windows with adaptive self-shading functions take up less space and require less management labor. The present investigation focuses on a compact liquid-infill tunable window, which can provide adaptive shading with colored liquid-infill according to the surrounding environment. The numerical model of the liquid-infill tunable window was established on the basis of the law of energy and mass conservation, which enabled prediction of the adaptive response of the window under different boundary conditions. Then the thermal performance of this innovative window was analyzed in comparison with triple-layered clear glass windows. Influences of solar radiation level, incident angle, and ambient temperature were taken into consideration. The window was proven to be efficient in reducing indoor heat gain in the cooling season under strong solar radiation. With an 60° incident angle, the total indoor heat gain through window can be reduced by 1.60–8.33%. In the future, the established numerical model may be inserted into existing building simulation software as an energy-efficient window module to evaluate its energy and economic performance. The present study may inspire architectures and engineers in the design of near-zero energy and/or carbon neutral buildings.
Improving the Earthquake Resilience of Primary Schools in the Border Regions of Neighbouring Countries
Authors: Estêvão João M. C. , Morales-Esteban Antonio , Sá Luis F. , Ferreira Mónica A. , Tomás Bruno , Esteves Carlos , Barreto Vítor , Carreira Ana , Braga Alfredo , Requena-Garcia-Cruz Maria-Victoria , Romero-Sanchez Emilio , de-Miguel-Rodriguez Jaime , Segovia-Verjel Maria-Luisa , Blanco Beatriz Zapico , Oliveira Carlos Sousa
Published: November 2022

This work summarises the strategy adopted in the European research project PERSISTAH. It aims to increase the resilience of the population, focusing on the existing primary schools in the Algarve (Portugal) and Huelva (Spain) regions. Software was developed to assess the seismic safety of these schools, considering different earthquake scenarios. Seismic retrofitting measures were studied and numerically tested. Some of them were also implemented in the retrofitting activities of two case study schools (one in each country). It was found that the adopted ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) considerably affect the results obtained with the software, especially for offshore earthquake scenarios. Furthermore, the results show that the masonry buildings would be the most damaged school typologies for all the scenarios considered. Additionally, a set of guidelines was created to support the school community and the technicians related to the construction industry. The goal of these documents is to increase the seismic resilience of the population. Different activities were carried out to train schoolteachers in seismic safety based on the guidelines produced, obtaining positive feedback from them.
How Commuting Time Affects Employees’ Income in China’s Urbanization Process
Authors: Wei Jiajia , Wang Qiyan , Gao Wang
Published: November 2022

With the deepening of China’s urbanization, the commuting time of employees is increasing. Much evidence in Western developed countries supports the positive relationship between commuting time and income, but the relationship has not been verified in China. To determine whether the relationship is in effect in China, this paper constructs a theoretical model. From the perspective of long-term equilibrium analysis, the best choice for individuals is a hard-work strategy. The increase in long-term commuting time will eventually lead to individuals working harder, thus increasing personal income. The OP model established based on the survey data of Beijing residents’ time allocation in 2011, 2016, and 2021 also verified the positive impact of commuting time on employee income, which is more significant for groups with longer commuting time and shorter leisure time. The innovation of this paper has three parts. First, the long-term dynamic decision-making game was introduced into the personal choice model to reveal the long-term impact of commuting on income. Second, we verified the positive impact of commuting time on income in China. Third, we discussed the policy implications of increasing commuting time for improving urban operation efficiency in China’s urbanization process. Finally, it is suggested that the government should reasonably plan the urban functional structure and increase the construction of public transport in infrastructure, and enterprises should explore the staggered commuting system.
BSC’s Perspectives Ranking towards Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study Performed with Portuguese Exporters
Authors: Oliveira Cidália , Rodrigues Margarida , Silva Rui , Meirinhos Galvão , Franco Mário
Published: November 2022

Bearing the growing competition between organisations in mind, managers are focused on keeping on with the search for strategic alignment and performance monitoring. The literature has shed much light into the field of Management but a guide to monitor the defined strategy via Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is still lacking. Few studies have made their focus the question of which perspectives are the most relevant; it is therefore likely that there are different importance rankings between organisations with and without BSC. Highlighting the need to bring insight into this research field concerning the organizational performance measurement of the BSC, quantitative research was performed, to analyse the different rankings of the four perspectives, comparing organisations with and without BSC. The sample was composed of 107 out of the 250 major export organisations of Portugal. The outcomes confirm that the most relevant perspective is indeed the financial perspective, followed by the customer perspective, a finding unanimous in both types of organization (with and without BSC). For organizations without BSC, in third place stands the internal perspective, but, contrastingly, it comes after learning and growth perspective for organisations with BSC. The perspective of learning and growth differs in its rankings between organisations with and without BSC, as it shows up at third position for organizations with BSC, and at the fourth (last) position in organizations without BSC. This research has relevant outcomes for both managers and academia, as it is still a fertile ground, as it guides managers to identify the importance assigned by major exporters to different perspectives, in order to link its indicators. Despite having different levels of importance assigned to the third and fourth perspective, BSC is known and regarded as a meaningful management tool, even by managers who do not have BSC implemented. It conceivably still has growing possibilities in several activity areas.
Hydrothermal Carbonization vs. Pyrolysis: Effect on the Porosity of the Activated Carbon Materials
Authors: Plavniece Ance , Dobele Galina , Volperts Aleksandrs , Zhurinsh Aivars
Published: November 2022

Porous carbon materials (specific area over 2400 m2 g−1) were obtained from birch wood chips, the waste of its thermochemical processing water-insoluble lignocellulosic pyrolysis tar, and their mixture, by thermochemical activation with NaOH at 800 °C. Raw materials were carbonized by two methods: pyrolysis (500 °C) and hydrothermal (250 °C) treatment. The elemental and chemical composition of precursors and the effect of these parameters on the obtained carbon materials’ structure and porosity were studied. Results of the study showed that the carbonization method has little effect on the activated carbons’ specific surface area values; however, it allows for the regulation of pore size distribution.
Smart Grid Ecosystem Modeling Using a Novel Framework for Heterogenous Agent Communities
Authors: Pereira Helder , Ribeiro Bruno , Gomes Luis , Vale Zita
Published: November 2022

The modeling of smart grids using multi-agent systems is a common approach due to the ability to model complex and distributed systems using an agent-based solution. However, the use of a multi-agent system framework can limit the integration of new operation and management models, especially artificial intelligence algorithms. Therefore, this paper presents a study of available open-source multi-agent systems frameworks developed in Python, as it is a growing programming language and is largely used for data analytics and artificial intelligence models. As a consequence of the presented study, the authors proposed a novel open-source multi-agent system framework built for smart grid modeling, entitled Python-based framework for heterogeneous agent communities (PEAK). This framework enables the use of simulation environments but also allows real integration at pilot sites using a real-time clock. To demonstrate the capabilities of the PEAK framework, a novel agent ecosystem based on agent communities is shown and tested. This novel ecosystem, entitled Agent-based ecosystem for Smart Grid modeling (A4SG), takes full advantage of the PEAK framework and enables agent mobility, agent branching, and dynamic agent communities. An energy community of 20 prosumers, of which six have energy storage systems, that can share energy among them, using a peer-to-peer market, is used to test and validate the PEAK and A4SG solutions.
Potential Allelopathic Effect of Wheat Straw Aqueous Extract on Bermudagrass Noxious Weed
Authors: Alghamdi Sameera A. , Al-Nehmi Ashwag A. , Ibrahim Omer H. M.
Published: November 2022

Residues of several crops, including wheat, have a promising allelopathic effect on noxious weed species and thus represent eco-friendly alternatives to harmful, widely applied herbicides. The current investigation deals with the effects of wheat straw aqueous extract on the growth and biochemical aspects of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) as a model of harmful weeds for the wheat crop. The prepared aqueous extract from wheat straw was subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis to identify and quantify phenolic and flavonoid components. In addition, the allelopathic effect of different concentrations of the extract on the germination, seedling growth, and biochemical aspects of bermudagrass was assessed. Our findings showed a significant decrease in bermudagrass seed germination percentage (ranging from 29.6 to 82.4%) and germination index (ranging from 10.07 to 32.43) in response to the extract treatments and a significant decline in all morphological growth parameters of the seedling. HPLC analysis of the extract showed the presence of seven phenolic acids and six flavonoids. The most prevalent phenolics included pyrogallol (13.75 µg/g), ferulic acid (9.82 µg/g), gallic acid (8.5 µg/g), and isoferulic acid (4.47 µg/g), while the predominant flavonoids included catechin (11.04 µg/g), luteolin (8.26 µg/g) and quercetin (7.74 µg/g). The highest extract concentrations (75% and 100%) showed a corresponding decline in the leaf content of chlorophylls a and b but a significant increase in the content of free amino acids, total protein and soluble carbohydrates. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity exposed a concentration-dependent reduction, while the activities of both catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were reduced only with the highest extract concentration. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed a high correlation among the morphological growth parameters, indicating that these elements either have a common ground of variance or are inter-correlated. Accordingly, our findings suggest the possibility of combating bermudagrass weeds using the aqueous extract of wheat straw.
Mechanical Properties of Concrete Produced by Light Cement-Based Aggregates
Authors: Ibrahim Mais Abdulrazzaq , Atmaca Nihat , Abdullah Ahmed Assim , Atmaca Adem
Published: November 2022

There is great growing concern regarding the environmental impact of the building and construction industry. Aggregate, one of the most crucial ingredients of concrete, is among the concerns in this regard. There will be a steady increase in demand for aggregates in the near future, but limited natural reserves will not be able to respond to this demand due to the risk of depletion. This current situation is forcing researchers to conduct new and artificial material production techniques that keep the resources within the allowed boundaries. Artificial aggregate production is one of the new methods for sustainable, environmentally friendly material production. The mechanical and environmental properties of lightweight concrete produced via artificial aggregates in different ratios were investigated in this study. Fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), and quartz powder (QP) were utilized in the production of artificial lightweight aggregate (LWA) by using a special technique known as cold-bonding pelletization. The prepared concrete samples with the artificial aggregates were subjected to compressive, tensile, flexural, and bonding tests. The test results demonstrated that the bonding, tensile, and compressive strength values of lightweight concrete with a 20% GGBFS coarse aggregate replacement ratio of lightweight aggregates increased by 11%, 12%, and 30%, respectively. Moreover, it has been observed that a 41% increase in compressive strength is possible with a 40% QP coarse aggregate replacement ratio of lightweight aggregates. Finally, in addition to significantly impacting the mechanical properties of the lightweight concrete produced via artificial lightweight aggregates, we demonstrated that it is possible to control and reduce the harmful environmental effects of waste materials, such as FA, GGBFS, and QP in the present study.
Ansys-Based Evaluation of Natural Fiber and Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Composites
Authors: Kumpati Ramesh , Skarka Wojciech , Skarka Michał
Published: November 2022

In this research, we analyzed natural composite structures that optimize the material and weight of the structure. Green composites are made of natural fibers and epoxy resin that are biodegradable, recyclable, and eco-friendly. Core material failures include wrinkling, failure in compression, and buckling. To address these issues, this work attempted to create CAD models using jute fiber, glass fiber, and epoxy resin with various ply sequences using angle orientations of 0°, 30°, and 45°, and 2–4 mm thick laminates were produced. After creating CAD models, the material strength, stiffness, deformation of samples, shear strength, strain, and other mechanical properties of the natural-fiber-reinforced composite laminates were analyzed. The samples were based on two layers of glass fiber as a core with natural fiber plies below and above this core. The natural fiber with epoxy resin, the hybrid composite with jute fiber, and the glass fiber with epoxy resin were prepared and mechanical properties of the samples were evaluated with Ansys. The results indicated that the 0° ply orientation of 3 mm thickness had a low deformation (0.237 mm) and was the best material. The tensile test was performed for natural-fiber-reinforced composite and hybrid natural reinforced composite laminates at various thicknesses and at various ply orientations using a tensile load of 2500 N. In this investigation, the best material was the one with the thickness of 3 mm with the Young modulus 35.59 GPa at 0.149 strain with 5303 Pa stress conditions. Further, the above conditions were noted with low deformation (0.237 mm) at 0° ply orientation and tensile strength was noted as 1188 GPa at 3 mm with 45° ply orientation. This hybrid composite material can be considered for unmanned aerial vehicle applications.
How ESG Contribute to the High-Quality Development of State-Owned Enterprise in China: A Multi-Stage fsQCA Method
Authors: Sun Guangfan , Guo Changwei , Ye Junchen , Ji Chaoran , Xu Nuo , Li Hanqi
Published: November 2022

The purpose of this study is to explore what configurations of dimensions corresponding to environmental, social responsibility, governance (ESG) and firm contextual factors can lead to the high-quality development of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). A configuration analysis framework with six conditions including environmental, social responsibility, and governance (ESG), innovation intensity, capital structure, and firm size was constructed. Moreover, the multi-stage qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) approach was conducted on a sample of 692 annual observations of SOEs from 2017 to 2019. Findings suggested that three equifinal patterns can produce the high-quality development of SOEs, which are resource and capability prominent pattern, sustainability driven pattern, responsibility and growth balanced pattern, respectively. Each pattern is a conjunctural combination of different ESG and firm conditions. The number of resource and capability prominent pattern decreased in the third year, while the proportion of sustainability driven pattern increased, in which the environmental dimension played a core role rather than the social dimension. Different ESG dimensions and firm conditions have both complementary and substitutive relationships, but firm size is a common condition in all configurations. This study provided a holistic empirical explanation of how ESG leads to sustainability issues in SOEs.
Does It Help Carbon Reduction in China? A Research Paper about the Mediating Role of Production Automation Based on the Carbon Kuznets Curve
Authors: Su Panda , Wang Yu
Published: November 2022

As China puts forward its “carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality” goals, how to achieve carbon reductions has become a key for China’s goal. The manufacturing industry is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions. For a manufacturing country such as China, adjustments in various aspects of the industry would have a huge impact on its carbon emissions. As an important reform of the contemporary production mode, the process of production automation in China will inevitably affect China’s carbon emissions; therefore, the analysis of the impact of that production automation on the carbon dioxide emissions is an important basis for judging the future carbon reductions in China. Referring to the traditional study of the carbon Kuznets curve, this paper analyzes the impact of an average wage on production automation and the role of production automation in the carbon Kuznets curve (CKC). This paper proposes that production automation plays a mediating role in the process of carbon emissions, and gives a verification model of that mediating role. By analyzing the relationship between average wages and the production automation process, the U-shaped curve relationship between them was verified. By examining the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions data and the production automation industry in China, we verified that production automation plays a partial mediating role in the change of the carbon Kuznets curve. Combined with the analysis of the two parts, this paper believes that with the continuous development of China’s intelligent manufacturing industry, China’s carbon reduction prospects are more optimistic, and that there is a good industrial foundation to achieve the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” goals. Finally, this paper proposes policy suggestions so as to increase research investment in production automation, to help promote the application of production automation, encourage the research and application development of low-carbon technology, especially encouraging modular design, and to give full play to the role of production automation in the process of carbon neutrality in China.
The Fuel Cycle Carbon Reduction Effects of New Energy Vehicles: Empirical Evidence Based on Regional Data in China
Authors: Chen Anqi , You Shibing
Published: November 2022

With ever-growing energy demands and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon emission reduction has attracted worldwide attention. This article establishes a bottom-up method using regional data from 2010 to 2020 to quantify the carbon reduction effects of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in the fuel cycle. From this, a generalized Bass model with outstanding performance was created (with a goodness-of-fit of 99.7%) to forecast CO2 emission reduction potential in 2030 and 2050. The results are as follows: (1) there are regional differences in the fuel cycle carbon reduction effects of NEVs in all six regions, with the Central China power grid having the strongest ability to reduce emissions, while the Northeast and Northwest grids have relatively low carbon reduction effects. (2) Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have the strongest CO2 emission reduction effect, while fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have the most potential. (3) Under the baseline scenario, the carbon reduction of NEVs will be 2992 million tons in 2030 and reach 11,559 million tons in 2050, which is far from carbon neutrality. Further, policy implications, including the tailoring of policies to specific regions and upgrading the energy mix, are proposed to reduce further carbon emissions.
Analysis of the Community Acceptance Factors for Potential Wind Energy Projects in Greece
Authors: Skiniti Georgia , Daras Tryfon , Tsoutsos Theocharis
Published: November 2022

The speedy increase in wind parks has brought to light a plethora of conflicts. Despite their benefits, there are more than a few who are opposed. The goal of this research is to study and evaluate the causes, so that such a project can take place in conditions of cooperation, mutual interest and profit for society and investors. The method chosen was a survey with approximately 600 responses in Attica, continental Greece and the islands. The data collected were analysed via SPSS on three levels: (i) descriptive statistics, (ii) binomial logistic regression to model the attitude towards wind farms, and (iii) factor analysis to identify latent factors that influence people’s thoughts. The results show that the NIMBY effect has no significant influence on the acceptance of the project, contrary to expectations. Moreover, the acceptance of a project does not seem to be a class issue, as the analysis showed that attitude is independent of income. The frequency and logistic analysis showed as the main determinants of the public attitude: (i) in a positive way, open and continuous briefing during all the construction stages and minimisation of greenhouse gases emissions (i) in a negative way, the impact on flora and fauna and the lack of trust in the investors.
Creative Economy: A Worldwide Research in Business, Management and Accounting
Authors: Rodríguez-Insuasti Homero , Montalván-Burbano Néstor , Suárez-Rodríguez Otto , Yonfá-Medranda Marcela , Parrales-Guerrero Katherine
Published: November 2022

Due to its adaptability in being relevant to the economies of different countries, industries, and research fields, the creative economy (CE), a driving force behind the national economy for sustainable development, has recently garnered the attention of the academic community. This research examines the intellectual structure of this field using the Scopus database in the subject area of business, management and accounting. This study uses bibliometric analysis, a cutting-edge and rigorous technique for the exploration of scientific data. The employed methodology entails an organized and open procedure broken down into four phases: (1) search criteria; (2) selection of database and documents; (3) selection of software and data pre-processing; and (4) analysis of results. We use two approaches to learn about their structure by evaluating performance and observing their various connections through bibliometric mapping. The findings indicate that the creative economy is a burgeoning area of research, with 687 articles, 1340 authors, and 64 nations represented. In addition, the creative economy, the cultural industry, human capital, management, entrepreneurship, and business models are research topics. This study has several implications because it offers an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the trends in this topic, making it a helpful tool for researchers. It also identifies gaps in the literature that lead to possible lines of investigation in future studies.
Pumped Storage Hydropower in Abandoned Mine Shafts: Key Concerns and Research Directions
Authors: Lyu Xin , Zhang Tong , Yuan Liang , Yang Ke , Fang Juejing , Li Shanshan , Liu Shuai
Published: November 2022

The quest for carbon neutrality raises challenges in most sectors. In coal mining, overcapacity cutting is the major concern at this time, and the increase in the number of abandoned mine shafts is a pervasive issue. Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plants built in abandoned mine shafts can convert intermittent electricity into useful energy. However, studies on basic theories and key technologies are a pressing issue. Six key scientific problems have been identified in PSH development in abandoned mine shafts that are relevant to China’s national conditions, current resource structure, and relative status of energy storage technologies in China and other countries. It is proposed that the research on pumped storage should move closer to the direction of intelligence, stabilization, and greening, and the construction and development should gradually realize integration, completion, and coordination. The goal is to realize integrated, complete, and coordinated development of PSH in abandoned mine shafts, streamline national policies concerning PSH, drive the co-development of industry, education and research, and achieve the carbon neutrality targets set by China.
Multi-Objective Energy Optimal Scheduling of Multiple Pulsed Loads in Isolated Power Systems
Authors: Li Fan , Liu Dong , Qin Boyu , Sun Ke , Wang Dan , Liang Hanqing , Zhang Cheng , Tao Taikun
Published: November 2022

Isolated power systems (IPS) usually have multifaceted operational objectives in engineering scenarios, and many key tasks are performed by multiple pulsed loads. The research on multi-objective energy optimal scheduling in isolated power systems which contain multiple pulsed loads is the subject of this paper. In addition, optimal mobility and maximum multiple pulsed load performance value are discussed. By introducing the concept of ship speed at the end state, isolated power system maneuverability is properly characterized by the final state ship speed, combined with the maximum efficiency of multiple pulsed loads, and a multi-objective optimization model of weighted form is constructed using a general, given solution method. In addition, two specific solutions regarding typical engineering scenarios are proposed in this paper: accelerating the catch-up situation and accelerating the evacuation situation. Algorithms for general situations and specific solutions regarding typical engineering scenarios are proposed. Study cases regarding specific engineering scenarios are demonstrated to verify the correctness and efficiency of the method. Finally, the limitations and shortcomings of the established methodology are emphasized.
A Study on Inter-Regional Cooperation Patterns and Evolution Mechanism of Traditional and Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Shang Bo , Jiang Taotao , Bao Zheshi
Published: November 2022

To obtain the early realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China, this study explores the cooperative relationship of inter-regional energy power-generation substitution between regions dominated by traditional thermal power and renewable energy sources (RES). By taking a regional government as the decision-making subject, focused on interest and environmental factors, an evolutionary game model of inter-regional energy cooperation is structured, and a simulation platform of the two different power-generation replacement cooperative patterns/strategies is constructed by using system dynamics. Then, the influences of the sensitive parameters on the cooperative evolutionary path under symmetric and asymmetric sharing cost cases have been discussed based on practical example in the regions of China. The results imply that agents can only select the favorable cooperative strategies unilaterally, by choosing a strategy of sharing the environmental revenues rather than the cooperative costs. When the failure cost of the opportunity revenues is less than or equal to the RES power-generation cost, a traditional thermal power regional government adopts a cooperative no-sharing strategy, while an RES regional government selects the opposite strategy. However, under the optimized dynamic proportional allocation schema, it is more likely that the traditional thermal power regional government will prefer cooperative sharing strategies, which can promote the social value of RES. This study provides beneficial inspiration for the Chinese government to further improve its RPS policy. The RES consumption fulfilled by direct or indirect trans-regional energy cooperation can be included in the RPS index framework assigned to traditional thermal power energy regions, and the added environmental value should be regarded as being as crucial as the economic and energy factors are in the cooperative process. In addition, RES regions that contribute more to clean energy absorption should raise the weight of the RPS rewards.
New Trends in E-Commerce Research: Linking Social Commerce and Sharing Commerce: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Attar Razaz Waheeb , Almusharraf Ahlam , Alfawaz Areej , Hajli Nick
Published: November 2022

Technological advances have facilitated the move from market-centric to user-centric commerce by enabling the progress towards S-Commerce from E-Commerce. Technologically advanced S-Commerce platforms have enabled collaborative commerce, which has led to the development of new commerce concepts such as sharing commerce. Unlike traditional E-Commerce or S-Commerce platforms, where the platform provider was burdened with more responsibility in ensuring the smooth flow of operations and transactions, sharing commerce offers a new approach, wherein both platform providers and users collaborate in ensuring process flow, growth, and development to co-create value and achieve sustainability. The research linking S-Commerce and sharing commerce is still in its early stages. Focussing on this aspect, this study conducts a systematic review to identify research questions relevant to S-Commerce and sharing commerce, related challenges, and the benefits of linking S-Commerce with sharing commerce. A total of 143 studies were selected using the keywords and review protocol, which were analysed to identify definitions, themes, issues, and benefits associated with S-Commerce and sharing commerce. The results obtained are explained and discussed in this study. The results provide a theoretical base for the emerging topic of sharing commerce.
Ventilation Simulation in an Underground Ant Nest Structure of Camponotus japonicus Mayr
Authors: Yang Guanghong , Zhou Wei , Xu Jing , Zeng Ming , Wu Shengji , You Yijun
Published: November 2022

Ants are ancient animals on the earth and are known as excellent architects in the animal kingdom. The structure and performance of their nests are full of remarkable mysteries. At present, there are only a limited number of studies on the ventilation performance of underground ant nest structures. In this study, the nests of Camponotus japonicus Mayr were collected manually, and a three-dimensional digital model of the ant nest structure was obtained by the method of industrial CT scanning. The ventilation performance of the Camponotus japonicus Mayr nest structure was numerically simulated using the finite element analysis software, FLUENT. By changing the air inlet and outlet of the nest, the pressure changes inside the nest and the trajectory of the air flow inside the nest could be calculated and analysed, in order to explore the ventilation characteristics of the underground nest structure during natural ventilation. It was found that the ventilation environment inside the nest was stable, and that the external air flow had little effect on the life of the ants inside the nest.
The Impacts of Energy Consumption by Sector and Foreign Direct Investment on CO2 Emissions in Malaysia
Authors: Shaari Mohd Shahidan , Lee Wen Chiat , Ridzuan Abdul Rahim , Lau Evan , Masnan Faiz
Published: November 2022

The global push for sustainable development has brought environmental issues to the fore. As minimizing environmental deterioration implies reducing energy consumption, this has come under intense discussion among economists and policymakers. This is because it may affect productivity, and thus slow economic growth ensues. Most earlier studies focused on overall energy consumption rather than energy use by sector to see how it can affect CO2 emissions. However, little research has been conducted on the connection between energy use in particular sectors, such as agriculture and transportation, and CO2 emissions. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impacts of energy use in Malaysia’s transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors and foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emissions between 1989 and 2019. The ARDL technique is employed, and the results demonstrate that energy consumption in the transportation sector has a greater impact on CO2 emissions than in the industrial sector. On the other hand, energy use in the agricultural sector reduces CO2 emissions. These findings may help policymakers formulate the right policies in specific sectors to benefit communities. They will be at low risk of suffering from diseases attributed to environmental degradation.
Singly Resonant Multiphoton Processes Involving Autoionizing States in the Be-like CIII Ion
Authors: Stancalie Viorica
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we investigate the applicability of different theories on the intensity-dependent ionization rate for C2+ atomic targets at different laser wavelengths (frequency) and at linear polarization. We use the analytical formulas and draw conclusions, from numerical comparison with the results from ab initio ‘two-state model’ R-matrix Floquet calculation, on their correct predictions of the ionization rate. The single-photon ionization has been studied in the vicinity of the 1s2 (2Po)2pns (1Po), n = 5–12 autoionizing resonances at non-perturbative laser intensity. The results obtained from Perelomov–Popov–Terent’ev and Ammosov–Delone–Krainov models are compared in a region away from resonance where the two-state model description is not as good. To quantify the deviation between theoretical models, we analyze the ratio between different data sets as functions of the Keldysh parameter. We conclude that the results obtained with the model of Perelemov–Popov–Terent’ev are the closest to the ab initio R-matrix Floquet calculation.
Design of Chaotic Interleaver Based on Duffing Map for Turbo Code
Authors: Urrea Claudio , Kern John , López-Escobar Ricardo
Published: November 2022

This article presents the performance analysis and comparison of turbo codes for several interleavers with short blockchains. According to the symmetry concept, turbo codes consist of two symmetric convolutional codes preceded by an interleaver. Some interleavers can be described by symmetric 3 × 3 generator matrices, whereas others are represented through symmetric matrices in which the nonzero terms in the matrix are monomials. Interest in short blockchains has grown over the years because of their use in emerging applications that require the transmission of data units in the order of hundred bits. In this research, interleavers used are random interleaver, semi-random interleaver, quadratic polynomial permutation (QPP) interleaver, and chaotic Lozi map interleaver. For each interleaver, the turbo code is assessed with at least two short data distances; then, the interleavers are compared against each other. The performance of turbo codes is assessed based on bit error rate, particularly with lengths between 64 and 512 bits. Additionally, an interleaver based on Duffing chaotic maps is proposed, whose deterministic nature provides an advantage, and the performance results are presented, achieving excellent BER values for 64 bits. With these results, the effect of the interleaver on turbo codes and particularly on short block length interleavers, is studied.