bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning Systems for Estimating Visual Attention in Robot-Assisted Therapy of Children with Autism and Intellectual Disability
Authors: Di Nuovo Alessandro , Conti Daniela , Trubia Grazia , Buono Serafino , Di Nuovo Santo
Published: June 2018

Recent studies suggest that some children with autism prefer robots as tutors for improving their social interaction and communication abilities which are impaired due to their disorder. Indeed, research has focused on developing a very promising form of intervention named Robot-Assisted Therapy. This area of intervention poses many challenges, including the necessary flexibility and adaptability to real unconstrained therapeutic settings, which are different from the constrained lab settings where most of the technology is typically tested. Among the most common impairments of children with autism and intellectual disability is social attention, which includes difficulties in establishing the correct visual focus of attention. This article presents an investigation on the use of novel deep learning neural network architectures for automatically estimating if the child is focusing their visual attention on the robot during a therapy session, which is an indicator of their engagement. To study the application, the authors gathered data from a clinical experiment in an unconstrained setting, which provided low-resolution videos recorded by the robot camera during the child–robot interaction. Two deep learning approaches are implemented in several variants and compared with a standard algorithm for face detection to verify the feasibility of estimating the status of the child directly from the robot sensors without relying on bulky external settings, which can distress the child with autism. One of the proposed approaches demonstrated a very high accuracy and it can be used for off-line continuous assessment during the therapy or for autonomously adapting the intervention in future robots with better computational capabilities.
Quantitative Assessment of Digital Image Correlation Methods to Detect and Monitor Surface Displacements of Large Slope Instabilities
Authors: Bickel Valentin Tertius , Manconi Andrea , Amann Florian
Published: June 2018

We evaluate the capability of three different digital image correlation (DIC) algorithms to measure long-term surface displacement caused by a large slope instability in the Swiss Alps. DIC was applied to high-resolution optical imagery taken by airborne sensors, and the accuracy of the displacements assessed against global navigation satellite system measurements. A dynamic radiometric correction of the input images prior to DIC application was shown to enhance both the correlation success and accuracy. Moreover, a newly developed spatial filter considering the displacement direction and magnitude proved to be an effective tool to enhance DIC performance and accuracy. Our results show that all algorithms are capable of quantifying slope instability displacements, with average errors ranging from 8 to 12% of the observed maximum displacement, depending on the DIC processing parameters, and the pre- and postprocessing of the in- and output. Among the tested approaches, the results based on a fast Fourier transform correlation approach provide a considerably better spatial coverage of the displacement field of the slope instability. The findings of this study are relevant for slope instability detection and monitoring via DIC, especially in the context of an ever-increasing availability of high-resolution air- and spaceborne imagery.
Changes in the Lake Area of Tonle Sap: Possible Linkage to Runoff Alterations in the Lancang River?
Authors: Ji Xuan , Li Yungang , Luo Xian , He Daming
Published: June 2018

Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Water development infrastructures are increasingly being constructed in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin, which is a major concern considering its potential impact on Tonle Sap Lake. This study aimed to investigate variations in the area of the lake and discuss their possible linkage to runoff alterations in the Lancang River (Upper Mekong) by comparing runoff at the Yunjinghong hydrological station before and after significant changes in runoff trends that occurred in 2008. First, four commonly used water body extraction methods (MNDWI, NDWI, NDVI, and EVI) were compared and MNDWI was found to provide a better and more stable performance. Based on MOD09A1 data, MNDWI was used to extract the water area of the lake from 2000 to 2014, and characteristics of variations in the area before and after 2008 were analyzed. The water area of Tonle Sap Lake displayed an overall decreasing trend, and specifically decreased by 8.3% during the flood season and by 1.5% on average during the dry season after 2008. Seasonal variations in the water area of Tonle Sap Lake were dominantly influenced by runoff from the Mekong River. Compared with the period 2000–2007, runoff at Yunjinghong station were increased during the dry season (20.74%) and decreased during the flood season (34.25%) between 2008 and 2014. Changes in upstream runoff contributed to runoff at the Stung Treng station in the lower Mekong River by 6.17% (dry season) and −2.41% (flood season). Evidently, the operation of dams in the Lancang River does not primarily account for the area decrease of Tonle Sap Lake during the flood season. In contrast, runoff increase during the dry season mitigates the area decrease of Tonle Sap Lake to a certain extent.
The Potential and Challenges of Using Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Sea Surface Salinity to Monitor Arctic Ocean Freshwater Changes
Authors: Tang Wenqing , Yueh Simon , Yang Daqing , Fore Alexander , Hayashi Akiko , Lee Tong , Fournier Severine , Holt Benjamin
Published: June 2018

Sea surface salinity (SSS) links various components of the Arctic freshwater system. SSS responds to freshwater inputs from river discharge, sea ice change, precipitation and evaporation, and oceanic transport through the open straits of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. However, in situ SSS data in the Arctic Ocean are very sparse and insufficient to depict the large-scale variability to address the critical question of how climate variability and change affect the Arctic Ocean freshwater. The L-band microwave radiometer on board the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission has been providing SSS measurements since April 2015, at approximately 60 km resolution with Arctic Ocean coverage in 1–2 days. With improved land/ice correction, the SMAP SSS algorithm that was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is able to retrieve SSS in ice-free regions 35 km of the coast. SMAP observes a large-scale contrast in salinity between the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Arctic Ocean, while retrievals within the Arctic Circle vary over time, depending on the sea ice coverage and river runoff. We assess the accuracy of SMAP SSS through comparative analysis with in situ salinity data collected by Argo floats, ships, gliders, and in field campaigns. Results derived from nearly 20,000 pairs of SMAP and in situ data North of 50°N collocated within a 12.5-km radius and daily time window indicate a Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD) less than ~1 psu with a correlation coefficient of 0.82 and a near unity regression slope over the entire range of salinity. In contrast, the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) has a smaller RMSD with Argo. However, there are clear systematic biases in the HYCOM for salinity in the range of 25–30 psu, leading to a regression slope of about 0.5. In the region North of 65°N, the number of collocated samples drops more than 70%, resulting in an RMSD of about 1.2 psu. SMAP SSS in the Kara Sea shows a consistent response to discharge anomalies from the Ob’ and Yenisei rivers between 2015 and 2016, providing an assessment of runoff impact in a region where no in situ salinity data are available for validation. The Kara Sea SSS anomaly observed by SMAP is missing in the HYCOM SSS, which assimilates climatological runoffs without interannual changes. We explored the feasibility of using SMAP SSS to monitor the sea surface salinity variability at the major Arctic Ocean gateways. Results show that although the SMAP SSS is limited to about 1 psu accuracy, many large salinity changes are observable. This may lead to the potential application of satellite SSS in the Arctic monitoring system as a proxy of the upper ocean layer freshwater exchanges with subarctic oceans.
A Design of Small Area, 0.95 mW, 612–1152 MHz Open Loop Injection-Locked Frequency Multiplier for IoT Sensor Applications
Authors: Kim SungJin , Kim Dong-Gyu , Kim Chanho , Lee Dong Soo , Samadpoor Rikan Behnam , Pu YoungGun , Yoo Sang-Sun , Lee Minjae , Hwang KeumCheol , Yang Youngoo , Lee Kang-Yoon
Published: June 2018

This paper presents a 612–1152 MHz Injection-Locked Frequency Multiplier (ILFM). The proposed ILFM is used to send an input signal to a receiver in only the I/Q mismatch calibration mode. Adopting a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) to calibrate the receiver places a burden on this system because of the additional area and power consumption that is required. Instead of the PLL, to satisfy high-frequency, low-jitter and low-area requirements, a Ring Oscillator is adopted in the system. The free-running frequency of the ILFM is automatically and digitally calibrated to reflect the frequency of the injected signal from the harmonics of the reference clock. To control the frequency of the ILFM, the load current is digitally tuned with a 6-bit digital control signal. The proposed ILFM locks to the target frequency using a digitally controlled Frequency Locked Loop (FLL). This chip is fabricated using 1-poly 6-metal 0.18 µm CMOS and has achieved the wide tuning range of 612–1152 MHz. The power consumption is 0.95 mW from a supply voltage of 1.8 V. The measured phase noise of the ILFM is −108 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset.
Temperature Resistant Fiber Bragg Gratings for On-Line and Structural Health Monitoring of the Next-Generation of Nuclear Reactors
Authors: Laffont Guillaume , Cotillard Romain , Roussel Nicolas , Desmarchelier Rudy , Rougeault Stéphane
Published: June 2018

The harsh environment associated with the next generation of nuclear reactors is a great challenge facing all new sensing technologies to be deployed for on-line monitoring purposes and for the implantation of SHM methods. Sensors able to resist sustained periods at very high temperatures continuously as is the case within sodium-cooled fast reactors require specific developments and evaluations. Among the diversity of optical fiber sensing technologies, temperature resistant fiber Bragg gratings are increasingly being considered for the instrumentation of future nuclear power plants, especially for components exposed to high temperature and high radiation levels. Research programs are supporting the developments of optical fiber sensors under mixed high temperature and radiative environments leading to significant increase in term of maturity. This paper details the development of temperature-resistant wavelength-multiplexed fiber Bragg gratings for temperature and strain measurements and their characterization for on-line monitoring into the liquid sodium used as a coolant for the next generation of fast reactors.
Inertial Sensor-Based Variables Are Indicators of Frailty and Adverse Post-Operative Outcomes in Cardiovascular Disease Patients
Authors: Soangra Rahul , Lockhart Thurmon
Published: June 2018

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients with intrinsic cardiac cause for falling have been found to be frail and submissive to morbidity and mortality as post-operative outcomes. In these older CVD patients, gait speed is conjectured by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) as an independent predictor of post-operative morbidity and mortality. However, this guideline by STS has not been studied adequately with a large sample size; rather it is based largely on expert opinions of cardiac surgeons and researchers. Although one’s gait speed is not completely associated with one’s risk of falls, gait speed is a quick robust measure to classify frail/non-frail CVD patients and undoubtedly frail individuals are more prone to falls. Thus, this study examines the effects of inertial sensor-based quick movement variability characteristics in identifying CVD patients likely to have an adverse post-operative outcome. This study establishes a relationship with gait and postural predictor variables with patient’s post-operative adverse outcomes. Accordingly, inertial sensors embedded inside smartphones are indispensable for the assessment of elderly patients in clinical environments and may be necessary for quick objective assessment. Sixteen elderly CVD patients (Age 76.1 ± 3.6 years) who were scheduled for cardiac surgery the next day were recruited for this study. Based on STS recommendation guidelines, eight of the CVD patients were classified as frail (prone to adverse outcomes with gait speed ≤ 0.833 m/s) and the other eight patients as non-frail (gait speed > 0.833 m/s). Smartphone-derived walking velocity was found to be significantly lower in frail patients than that in non-frail patients (p < 0.01). Mean Center of Pressure (COP) radius (p < 0.01), COP Area (p < 0.01), COP path length (p < 0.05) and mean COP velocity (p < 0.05) were found to be significantly higher in frail patients than that in the non-frail patient group. Nonlinear variability measures such as sample entropy were significantly lower in frail participants in anterior-posterior (p < 0.01) and resultant sway direction (p < 0.01) than in the non-frail group. This study identified numerous postural and movement variability parameters that offer insights into predictive inertial sensor-based variables and post-operative adverse outcomes among CVD patients. In future, smartphone-based clinical measurement systems could serve as a clinical decision support system for assessing patients quickly in the perioperative period.
Use of Energy Efficient Sensor Networks to Enhance Dynamic Data Gathering Systems: A Comparative Study between Bluetooth and ZigBee
Authors: Gheorghiu Razvan Andrei , Iordache Valentin
Published: June 2018

As road traffic conditions worsen due to the constantly increasing number of cars, traffic management systems are struggling to provide a suitable environment, by gathering all the relevant information from the road network. However, in most cases these are obtained via traffic detectors placed near road junctions, thus providing no information on the conditions in between. A large-scale sensor network using detectors on the majority of vehicles would certainly be capable of providing useful data, but has two major impediments: the equipment installed on the vehicles should be cheap enough (assuming the willingness of private car owners to be a part of the network) and be capable of transferring the required amount of data in due time, as the vehicle passes by the road side unit that acts as interface with the traffic management system. These restrictions reduce the number of technologies that can be used. In this article a series of comprehensive tests have been performed to evaluate the Bluetooth and ZigBee protocols for this purpose from many points of view: handshake time, static and dynamic data transfer (in laboratory conditions and in real traffic conditions). An assessment of the environmental conditions (during tests and probable to be encountered in real conditions) was also provided.
Non-Contact Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Estimations from Video Analysis and Machine Learning Modelling Applied to Food Sensory Responses: A Case Study for Chocolate
Authors: Gonzalez Viejo Claudia , Fuentes Sigfredo , Torrico Damir D. , Dunshea Frank R.
Published: June 2018

Traditional methods to assess heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) are intrusive and can affect results in sensory analysis of food as participants are aware of the sensors. This paper aims to validate a non-contact method to measure HR using the photoplethysmography (PPG) technique and to develop models to predict the real HR and BP based on raw video analysis (RVA) with an example application in chocolate consumption using machine learning (ML). The RVA used a computer vision algorithm based on luminosity changes on the different RGB color channels using three face-regions (forehead and both cheeks). To validate the proposed method and ML models, a home oscillometric monitor and a finger sensor were used. Results showed high correlations with the G color channel (R2 = 0.83). Two ML models were developed using three face-regions: (i) Model 1 to predict HR and BP using the RVA outputs with R = 0.85 and (ii) Model 2 based on time-series prediction with HR, magnitude and luminosity from RVA inputs to HR values every second with R = 0.97. An application for the sensory analysis of chocolate showed significant correlations between changes in HR and BP with chocolate hardness and purchase intention.
A Comparison between the Decimated Padé Approximant and Decimated Signal Diagonalization Methods for Leak Detection in Pipelines Equipped with Pressure Sensors
Authors: Lay-Ekuakille Aimé , Fabbiano Laura , Vacca Gaetano , Kitoko Joël Kidiamboko , Kulapa Patrice Bibala , Telesca Vito
Published: June 2018

Pipelines conveying fluids are considered strategic infrastructures to be protected and maintained. They generally serve for transportation of important fluids such as drinkable water, waste water, oil, gas, chemicals, etc. Monitoring and continuous testing, especially on-line, are necessary to assess the condition of pipelines. The paper presents findings related to a comparison between two spectral response algorithms based on the decimated signal diagonalization (DSD) and decimated Padé approximant (DPA) techniques that allow to one to process signals delivered by pressure sensors mounted on an experimental pipeline.
Centralized Duplicate Removal Video Storage System with Privacy Preservation in IoT
Authors: Yan Hongyang , Li Xuan , Wang Yu , Jia Chunfu
Published: June 2018

In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has found wide application and attracted much attention. Since most of the end-terminals in IoT have limited capabilities for storage and computing, it has become a trend to outsource the data from local to cloud computing. To further reduce the communication bandwidth and storage space, data deduplication has been widely adopted to eliminate the redundant data. However, since data collected in IoT are sensitive and closely related to users’ personal information, the privacy protection of users’ information becomes a challenge. As the channels, like the wireless channels between the terminals and the cloud servers in IoT, are public and the cloud servers are not fully trusted, data have to be encrypted before being uploaded to the cloud. However, encryption makes the performance of deduplication by the cloud server difficult because the ciphertext will be different even if the underlying plaintext is identical. In this paper, we build a centralized privacy-preserving duplicate removal storage system, which supports both file-level and block-level deduplication. In order to avoid the leakage of statistical information of data, Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) technology is utilized to protect the deduplication process on the cloud server. The results of the experimental analysis demonstrate that the new scheme can significantly improve the deduplication efficiency and enhance the security. It is envisioned that the duplicated removal system with privacy preservation will be of great use in the centralized storage environment of IoT.
Real-Time Monitoring for BDS Signal-In-Space Anomalies Using Ground Observation Data
Authors: Jiang Hu , Wang Haitao , Wang Zemin , Yuan Yunbin
Published: June 2018

Signal-in-space (SIS) User Range Error (URE) is one of the major error sources for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) applications and can reach tens of meters or even more. Therefore, real-time monitoring of SIS anomalies has a great realistic significance to guarantee the safety of users. According to an analysis of the BDS navigation messages, it showed that the User Range Accuracy (URA) index could not reflect the change of URE when it was abnormal. The conventional models using the relationship between URA and URE to monitor SIS anomalies are not suitable to the present BDS. Therefore, we use a prior information of SIS URE derived from ground observational data instead of URA to monitor BDS SIS anomalies. In order to realize the corresponding functions, we analysed the distribution of SIS UREs and obtained their prior models. Then, the monitoring threshold is determined using the prior models and a confidence interval instead of URA. The scheme was tested by applying to BDS SIS anomalies monitoring based on 13 ground tracking stations. The performance of this method was assessed by comparison with the satellite-health indicators from broadcast ephemeris. The results confirm that the method developed in this paper can rightly and timely detect abnormal SIS.
Dynamics and Embedded Internet of Things Input Shaping Control for Overhead Cranes Transporting Multibody Payloads
Authors: Peláez Gerardo , Vaugan Joshua , Izquierdo Pablo , Rubio Higinio , García-Prada Juan Carlos
Published: June 2018

Input shaping is an Optimal Control feedforward strategy whose ability to define how and when a flexible dynamical system defined by Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and computer controlled would move into its operative space, without command induced unwanted dynamics, has been exhaustively demonstrated. This work examines the issue of Embedded Internet of Things (IoT) Input Shaping with regard to real time control of multibody oscillatory systems whose dynamics are better described by differential algebraic equations (DAEs). An overhead crane hanging a double link multibody payload has been appointed as a benchmark case; it is a multibody, multimode system. This might be worst scenario to implement Input Shaping. The reasons can be found in the wide array of constraints that arise. Firstly, the reliability of the multibody model was tested on a Functional Mock-Up Interface (FMI) with the two link payload suspended from the trolley by comparing the experimental video tapping signals in time domain faced with the signals extracted from the multibody model. The FFTs of the simulated and the experimental signal contain the same frequency harmonics only with somewhat different power due to the real world light damping in the joints. The application of this approach may be extended to other cases i.e., the usefulness of mobile hydraulic cranes is limited because the payload is supported by an overhead cable under tension that allows oscillation to occur during crane motion. If the payload size is not negligible small when compared with the cable length may introduce an additional oscillatory mode that creates a multibody double pendulum. To give the insight into the double pendulum dynamics by Lagrangian methods two slender rods as payloads are analyzed dealing with the overhead crane and a composite revolute-revolute joint is proposed to model the cable of the hydraulic crane, both assumptions facilitates an affordable analysis. This allows developing a general study of this type of multibody payloads dynamics including its normal modes, modes ratios plus ranges of frequencies expected. Input Shapers were calculated for those multimodes of vibration by convolving Specified Insensitivity (SI) shapers for each mode plus a novel Direct SI-SI shaper well suited to reduce the computational requirements, i.e., the number of the shaper taps, to carry out the convolution sum in real time by the IoT device based on a single microcontroller working as the command generator. Several comparisons are presented for the shaped and unshaped responses using both the multibody model, the experimental FMI set-up and finally a real world hydraulic crane under slewing motion commanded by an analog Joystick connected by two RF modules 802.15.4 to the IoT device that carry out the convolution sum in real time. Input Shaping improves the performances for all the cases.
Mediating Role of the Six Sigma Implementation Strategy and Investment in Human Resources in Economic Success and Sustainability
Authors: García-Alcaraz Jorge Luis , Alor-Hernández Giner , Sánchez-Ramírez Cuauhtémoc , Jiménez-Macías Emilio , Blanco-Fernández Julio , Latorre-Biel Juan I.
Published: June 2018

Six Sigma is a methodology widely used in manufacturing production to guarantee quality and several factors facilitate its success. This paper presents a structural equations model to identify the relationships between managerial commitment, Six Sigma implementation strategy, investments in human resources and the economic benefits obtained; and five hypotheses are proposed. These variables are also related to sustainability, especially human resources, a paradigm very combinable with Six Sigma. The model is evaluated using partial least squares and information obtained from 301 Mexican manufacturing companies from different industrial sectors. The results indicate that managerial commitment is the basis for Six Sigma success, but requires an adequate implementation strategy focused on customers and their needs, which must integrate an investment plan in human resources that is focused on training and teamwork. In addition, managers must have a reward program that encourages motivation and recognizes the achievements of the human resources involved.
Ensuring the Long-Term Sustainability Cooperation with Stakeholders of Sports Organizations in SLOVAKIA
Authors: Varmus Michal , Kubina Milan , Koman Gabriel , Ferenc Patrik
Published: June 2018

Organizations, nowadays, operate in highly dynamically-developing environments. This fact also applies to sports organizations, which are looking for various ways to succeed or survive in these environments. There are various solutions available, but from a long-term perspective it is important for sports organizations to think in a complex way. One of the solutions of this issue is to ensure the long-term sustainability and development of these organizations. The aim of this paper is to focus on strategic factors in the management of mutual relationships with stakeholders. The importance of managing cooperation with stakeholders is very high for the achievement of both short-term and long-term objectives. This paper presents, in addition to the results of research aimed at the cooperation of sports organizations and their stakeholders (425 respondents participated in the research), solutions to issues currently troubling sports organizations in this field. These issues include the lack of funds for the functioning of the sports organization, as well as the insufficient size of sports organization membership. Sports organizations cannot only reduce the intensity of these issues, but can also eliminate them by utilising selected key factors in the management of mutual relationships with stakeholders.
Research on Financial Pressure, Poverty Governance, and Environmental Pollution in China
Authors: Zhang Zenglian , Zhao Wenju
Published: June 2018

The traditional environmental governance theory attributes pollution to the result of market failure, but ignores the institution-level factors and the possibility of government failure. Using provincial panel data from 2001 to 2016 in China, and by drawing impulse response function graphs and building PVAR models, this paper studies the financial pressure and poor governance effect on environmental pollution. Financial pressure represents fiscal decentralization and debt pressure. The study finds that the increase of fiscal autonomy brings about the reduction of various types of pollutant emissions; the expansion of the scale of government debt causes very large pressure on the local governments to repay their debts and exacerbates environmental pollution in order to obtain debt repayment funds. For a long time, there was indeed a phenomenon in China in which the goal of reducing poverty was achieved at the cost of the environment. However, since 2012, the reduction of the poverty-stricken population has brought about a good trend of reducing emissions of various types of pollutants. There are no “PPE vicious circles” and “environmental traps” in China. There has been no contradiction between poverty reduction and the green development strategy implementation since 2012. There is a win-win trend in the process of environmental protection and poverty governance in China.
Comparing Characteristics of Environmental Behaviors and Spatial Types in Open and Gated Housing Blocks: A Case Study of Changchun, China
Authors: Huang Jiayu , Mori Suguru , Nomura Rie
Published: June 2018

Physical characteristics of residential areas affect many aspects of living sustainability, including the environmental behavior of residents. Based on the policy issued in China in 2016, the guideline of transforming existing gated housing blocks into open mode is being gradually implemented in some cities. However, the transforming of boundary walls and internal roads has changed the living environment such as the open space that residents have been accustomed to and has affected environmental behaviors correspondingly. From perspectives of spatial types and environmental behaviors, this research compared an open housing block (which is reconstructed from gated one) with a comparable original gated housing block. The Behavior Mapping Method was used to capture environmental behaviors in two housing blocks; factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to extract spatial characteristics and classify spatial types; and finally differences between the open housing block and the gated housing block were shown by comparing the distribution of environmental behaviors in each space type. The results indicate that the presence or absence of the enclosing walls affects the division of space types and environmental behaviors in housing blocks. For gated housing blocks, spaces with strong privacy attract various types of activities, which are overwhelming in categories and the number of people, while in the open housing blocks, this situation is not as obvious as in the former.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emission Reduction Potential in East and South Coastal China: Scenario Analysis Based on STIRPAT
Authors: Wang Wenyan , Wang Juan , Guo Fang
Published: June 2018

East and south coastal China is made up of a cluster of six developed provinces whose CO2 emissions account for one third of the total CO2 emissions in China. As such, it is meaningful to predict carbon emissions in this region to assess whether China can achieve emission reduction targets. This paper employed STIRPAT to analyze the factors impacting the carbon emissions of this area from 2000 to 2015, including population (POP), urbanization (UR), GDP per capita (GDP), energy intensity (EI), and industrial structure (IS). The results showed that GDP was mainly responsible for increasing carbon emissions while EI played a significant role in reducing it. Considering the importance of GDP, EI, and IS obtained from regression analysis, basic, highest-rate, middle, and advanced scenarios were set to predict carbon emissions according to different change rates. In the basic scenario, carbon intensity was reduced by 48.5% in 2020 compared to 2005, which was slightly higher than the national target of 40–45%, and was reduced by 59.7% in 2030, which was close to a 60–65% reduction. Nevertheless, in the advanced scenario, carbon intensity was reduced by 51.7% in 2020 and 69.1% in 2030 compared to 2005, which were higher than the national targets. Therefore, improving energy efficiency, optimizing energy structure, and adjusting industrial structure were suggested to be major strategies for carbon intensity mitigation.
Who Cares? The Importance of Emotional Connections with Nature to Ensure Food Security and Wellbeing in Cities
Authors: Uhlmann Kora , Lin Brenda B. , Ross Helen
Published: June 2018

To be “connected” is “to care”, because how and what we care about is influenced, and influences, what we are connected with. Emotional connection predicts environmental concern and children exposed to green environments take this appreciation of nature with them into adulthood. However, the majority of the human population is now living within urban areas, where opportunities for people to interact and bond with nature are greatly diminished, thereby potentially threatening the liveability of cities into the future. Connection with nature has been shown repeatedly to benefit human wellbeing and predict pro-environmental behaviours. By definition “nature” includes urban agriculture, which is also an integral component of a city’s foodscape, thereby providing opportunities to improve the wellbeing of city inhabitants as well as help ensure food security. This will only be attainable if the next generation has an emotional connection to nature, and the necessary life skills to help them enter adult life as informed food citizens who make healthy and sustainable decisions for themselves as well as others. This paper reviews existing literature on foodscape (or one’s food environment) and biophilia (the love of life or living systems) to highlight the need for inter-disciplinary research that combines urban agriculture and food literacy to ensure future food security and wellbeing of urban inhabitants.
An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Associated with Health-Related Physical Fitness in Adolescents. The ASSO Project
Authors: Bianco Antonino , Gentile Ambra , Boca Stefano , Paoli Antonio , Messina Giuseppe , Gómez-López Manuel , Palma Antonio , Tabacchi Garden
Published: June 2018

Monitoring physical fitness (fitness) and identifying, since the beginning, possible determinants in youth could be useful to preserve health and avoid morbidities in adulthood. The main objective of this study is to provide details on the fitness levels of a sample of adolescents living in the Southern area of Italy and describe its associations with biological/genetic, socio-cultural/environmental, and lifestyle (physical activity/sedentariness, alcohol/smoking, meal patterns/habits) factors. The study was conducted within the Adolescence Surveillance System for Obesity Prevention (ASSO) project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and examining adolescents’ lifestyle in relation to obesity. Fitness measures were collected through the ASSO-fitness tests battery (FTB) and examined in relation to 79 selected possible influencing factors, which were collected through a web-based questionnaire included in the ASSO-NutFit software. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations, with ORs and 95% CIs estimated as crude and adjusted. A total of 919 participants were initially recruited, but fitness data were collected for 544 students aged 13–19 (68% M, 32% F). Fitness level was low for 14.2% of the students, medium for 67.8%, and high for 18.0%. The independent determinants of low physical fitness in our sample of adolescents were included in the biological/genetic and physical activity/sedentariness dimensions: female gender (Adj OR 8.33, CI 2.08–33.33), obesity (Adj OR 1.97, CI 1.10–9.22), practicing sport less than 3 h/week (Adj OR 6.09, CI 1.63–22.72), practicing sport with strength/speed as prevalent biomotor ability (Adj OR 8.97, CI 1.43–56.19), using PC/internet for more than 3 h/day (Adj OR 4.46, CI 1.17–16.98). Drinking alcohol was instead a protective factor. This study confirms that females and obese individuals need more attention in the interventions aimed at increasing fitness levels. It suggests that local actions should be implemented with the aim of increasing sport practices and reducing sedentary time spent in front of PC/internet. The focus should be particularly addressed to sports with strength or speed as dominant biomotor abilities.
Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools
Authors: Saraiva Tatiana Santos , De Almeida Manuela , Bragança Luís , Barbosa Maria Teresa
Published: June 2018

Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students). This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal) and Juiz de Fora (Brazil), that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity). In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.
Drivers, Barriers, and Success Factors for Improving Energy Management in the Pulp and Paper Industry
Authors: Lawrence Akvile , Thollander Patrik , Karlsson Magnus
Published: June 2018

Successful energy management is a way to achieve energy efficiency in the pulp and paper industry (PPI), which is important for assuring energy supply security, for increasing economic competitiveness, and for mitigating greenhouse gases. However, research shows that although energy use within PPI can be reduced by 5.5–19.4% per year, some of this by energy management practices, energy management is not always implemented. Why is this so? What are the barriers to, and drivers of implementation? How can the barriers be overcome? A systematic review of barriers and drivers in energy management in the PPI within peer-reviewed scientific articles suggests that the world-wide events that affect energy supply, volatility, and use seemingly also affect the number and frequency of research articles on energy management in the PPI. The perception of energy management in the PPI seems to be dominated by the understanding that it can mostly be achieved through technological improvements aiming to improve energy efficiency. The main driver of energy management was shown to be economic conditions: high and unstable energy prices, followed by drivers such as the need to remain internationally competitive, collaboration and energy management systems. Meanwhile, examples of the most important barriers are technical risks, lack of access to capital, lack of time and other priorities, and slim organization. The success factors for enhancing drivers and overcoming barriers were continuous energy accounting, energy-related collaboration, energy-efficiency programmes, and benchmarking. Altogether, success factors for energy management for improved energy efficiency could be summarized in the 4M framework—the “4M for energy efficiency”: mind, measure, monitor, and manage—that could be used as the energy management memory-tool that could lead to improved energy efficiency in other sectors as well.
Residents’ Involvement in Urban Tourism Planning: Opportunities from a Smart City Perspective
Authors: Lalicic Lidija , Önder Irem
Published: June 2018

In this paper, we speculate that new advances in technologies will reshape tourism planning and residents engagement in many ways which subsequently will help cities to work towards sustainable urban planning practices. The paper addresses the question how should destinations prepare themselves for being ‘smart’ and responsive to co-participative tourism planning? The paper reviews the most relevant literature on the topics of resident’s attitude towards tourism, residents’ involvement and smart cities. Furthermore, examples are provided of cities who through the implementation of smart principles, plan specific domains in their cities with their residents. Important questions related to managerial challenges and residents-related challenges and set a general research avenues are set out. City planners can use this paper to start designing their strategies to effectively involve and collaborate with residents at the intersection of ICT and tourism in their cities.
Culture as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development. An Investigation into the Process of Cultural Content Digitisation in Romania
Authors: Fanea-Ivanovici Mina
Published: June 2018

In an age of rapid technological changes, new ways of cultural production–consumption and dissemination–access to cultural content are creating great opportunities for promoting cultural heritage at home and abroad as a prerequisite for sustainable development. The aims of this paper are to scrutinize the main opportunities of the process of cultural content digitisation with a focus on Romania and to highlight the main fields in which the country is still lagging behind. The article discusses technical internet-related endowment and use of internet by households in urban and rural areas, the existing digital cultural content, the importance of open access, e-accessibility, digital archives, e-museums, e-libraries, etc., as well as the main national and European strategies and agendas that Romania has based its cultural digitisation and heritage preservation priorities on. The paper is an empirical inquiry into the progress achieved, the positioning among the other European countries and the perspectives of cultural digitisation for Romania. Such matters are important determinants of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as long as access to public services and cultural content is a major objective of Europe 2020 Strategy.
Organic Carbon Concentrations in High- and Low-Productivity Areas of the Sulu Sea
Authors: Ferrera Charissa M. , Jacinto Gil S. , Chen Chen-Tung Arthur , Lui Hon-Kit
Published: June 2018

The sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the form of organic carbon and its eventual deposition in the sediments is an important component of the marine carbon cycle. In the Sulu Sea, Philippines, organic carbon contents in the sediments have been relatively well studied, but the processes that describe the organic carbon distributions in the water column have not been elucidated. Dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC) concentrations were measured at several stations in the Sulu Sea during the northeast monsoon of 2007/2008 to understand the dynamics of organic carbon in this unique internal sea. Analyses of primary productivity estimates, beam attenuation coefficient (at 660 nm) profiles, and correlation coefficients among DOC, POC and other parameters (e.g., apparent oxygen utilization) at different layers of the water column indicate that surface primary productivity, upwelling, bottom intensified flows across sills, and ventilation from shallow sills, which may contain semi-labile DOC that is estimated to largely contribute to microbial respiration in the bathypelagic layer, are the major processes that affect the DOC and POC distributions in the Sulu Sea. The variability of these processes should be taken into consideration when assessing the sustainability of internal and marginal seas as carbon sinks.
The Determinant Factors of Travelers’ Choices for Pro-Environment Behavioral Intention-Integration Theory of Planned Behavior, Unified Theory of Acceptance, and Use of Technology 2 and Sustainability Values
Authors: Chuang Li-Min , Chen Pi-Ching , Chen Yen-Yu
Published: June 2018

From a previous literature review, there are rare studies that focus on integrating Sustainability Values (SVs), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to predict potential travelers’ behavioral intentions. In light of this, the research is designed to propose a comprehensive understanding of potential travelers’ choices for sustainable hospitality businesses by integrating SV, TPB, and UTAUT2 into a theoretical framework, by moderating the effect of age. Prior studies have mentioned TPB identified the role of attitude, perceived behavior control, and moral obligation in generating intention. However, the use of TPB and the extended UTAUT model to explain pro-environmental behavior is lacking. Data was collected from 34 northern, 2 central, and 6 southern Taiwanese consolidated headquarter travel agencies. Email questionnaires were distributed to 630 individuals in 42 travel agencies. The proposed model will be also examining, with an AMOS procedure of structural equation modeling (SEM), the maximum likelihood method of estimation. The results indicated that (1) SVs are positively and significantly impacted by pro-environmental behavioral intention; (2) SVs are positively and significantly impacted by attitude, social influence, perceived behavioral control, and habit respectively; (3) attitude, perceived behavioral control, and habit is positively mediated by the effect between SVs and pro-environmental behavioral intention, respectively; (4) the social demographic variable of age is positively moderated the effect between SVs and social influence.
A Quantitative Method for Prediction of Environmental Aspects in Construction Sites of Residential Buildings
Authors: Borja Luis Claudio A. , César Sandro Fábio , Cunha Rita Dione A. , Kiperstok Asher
Published: June 2018

Despite the sectoral initiatives, the construction industry faces difficulties in incorporating effective environmental impact control systems in construction sites. Most of the instruments have been adopting a qualitative approach to environmental issues, with few cases of a quantitative approach. This article introduces a quantitative method for predicting environmental aspects and impacts during the construction of residential buildings, through the integration between environmental indicators and construction cost bases. The methodology was based on the analysis of the relationships among activities, aspects and environmental impacts considered in EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for the development of the method and its mathematical representation. A case study was carried out to evaluate the method using the bill of quantities (BOQ) from two residential construction sites to measure their environmental aspects. The results suggest the usefulness of the method in the decision-making process on the allocation of control systems and, in some cases, recommending the execution of off-site services to reduce the impacts on the site’s neighborhood. Additionally, the method proved to be easy to apply to evaluate construction sites, as well as flexible to incorporate other activities, adapting to the demand of builders and municipalities to reduce the environmental impacts of construction sites.
Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method Based on Simplified Neutrosophic Linguistic Information with Cloud Model
Authors: Wang Jian-Qiang , Tian Chu-Quan , Zhang Xu , Zhang Hong-Yu , Wang Tie-Li
Published: June 2018

This study introduces simplified neutrosophic linguistic numbers (SNLNs) to describe online consumer reviews in an appropriate manner. Considering the defects of studies on SNLNs in handling linguistic information, the cloud model is used to convert linguistic terms in SNLNs to three numerical characteristics. Then, a novel simplified neutrosophic cloud (SNC) concept is presented, and its operations and distance are defined. Next, a series of simplified neutrosophic cloud aggregation operators are investigated, including the simplified neutrosophic clouds Maclaurin symmetric mean (SNCMSM) operator, weighted SNCMSM operator, and generalized weighted SNCMSM operator. Subsequently, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model is constructed based on the proposed aggregation operators. Finally, a hotel selection problem is presented to verify the effectiveness and validity of our developed approach.