bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Success Factors of Cross-Border Agricultural Investments for Opium Poppy Alternative Project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Jin Yan , Zhang Liyun , Feng Lu
Published: November 2022

Cross-border agricultural investments (CBAIs) are considered to be an essential strategy that is expected to bridge the gap between poverty reduction and rural development in marginalized regions. Agricultural investments serve as a necessary indicator of the performance of international cooperation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It is of great significance to summarize the success factors of Chinese investors under this initiative and, more importantly, to improve the sustainability of CBAI projects and associated rural development. Extensive opium poppy cultivation is a barrier to poverty reduction in marginalized communities in less-developed countries such as Laos and Myanmar. The CBAIs in the opium poppy alternative (OPA) project conducted by Chinese agricultural companies aim to reduce drug crop cultivation and rural poverty based on a perspective of economic development. However, little is known about how participating companies cooperate with ex-poppy farmers to achieve investment success. In this study, we adopted case interviews and questionnaire surveys from Chinese agricultural companies in the China–Myanmar–Laos border region, with the aim to explore the success factors of CBAIs in the OPA project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The results indicated that the success of agricultural companies involved in the OPA project depended on three key factors, including (1) institutional and employee capacity building, (2) responses to policy and market incentives, and (3) support for the participation of ex-poppy farmers and community development. Our findings contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of capacity improvements for foreign investors in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and shed light on the support of international agricultural cooperation for rural livelihood improvement.
Adoption of Google Meet by Postgraduate Students: The Role of Task Technology Fit and the TAM Model
Authors: Alturki Uthman , Aldraiweesh Ahmed
Published: November 2022

The use of online meeting programs, such as Google Meet (GM), provides several benefits for teachers and students in terms of achieving learning goals outside of the classroom. Depending on the requirements and goals of the students, a variety of apps might be employed. The point of the study was to address a vacuum in the knowledge with regard to the acceptability of online meeting apps, such as GM and their role. Effectiveness in terms of utilizing GM and attitudes towards using GM are two factors that impact learners’ use of this app for educational purposes. While researchers have examined google meet application acceptance in a variety of contexts, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, effectiveness to utilize google meet and attitude towards using Google Meet as a mediating variable in measuring education has not been explored using the technology acceptance model (TAM). As a result, the study’s purpose was to create a new paradigm by merging TAM with external elements including subjective norms, task-technology fit, and quality of information. This study involved a total of 208 postgraduate students at College of Education at King Saud University. Students were polled using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to determine their approximate expectations with regard to online meeting adoption. According to the findings, subjective norms, perceived enjoyment, task-technology fit, and quality of information have a positive impact on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which in turn has a positive impact on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which finally leads to a positive effect on effectiveness to utilize GM and attitude towards using Google Meet towards adoption of GM during COVID-19. As a result, higher education institutions should promote the usage of online meeting tools, such as GM, as part of learning processes as a long-term strategy.
Cloud Computing Technology and PBL Teaching Approach for a Qualitative Education in Line with SDG4
Authors: Airaj Mohammed
Published: November 2022

This paper explores teaching–learning models in this period of the COVID-19 pandemic at Cadi Ayyad University (UCA). It investigates success conditions for e-learning quality education in higher education in line with SDG4, the 4th Sustainable Development Goal: “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning”. This paper demonstrates that an approach of technology alongside teaching could positively impact academic teaching–learning in higher educational systems, leading to an approach focused on humans that aims to cultivate critical thinking, knowledge creation, argumentation, and creativity. This paper concludes with a proposed machine learning model to predict contribution factors to student learning success.
Sustainability of Evaluation: The Origin and Development of Value-Added Evaluation from the Global Perspective
Authors: Wu Xiaopeng , Xu Tianshu , Zhou Jincheng
Published: November 2022

Education evaluation plays a key role in promoting education development. The sustainable concept of evaluation provides the basis for the sustainable development of education. Value-added evaluation makes up for the shortcomings of traditional evaluation that only focuses on the results. It takes the development of students and teachers and the improvement of the education system as the main variables of evaluation, providing a basis for the sustainable development of students. This study summarizes the origin and development of value-added evaluation, including its theoretical basis, value orientation, evaluation content and typical cases, and attempts to gain a deeper understanding of it through multiple evaluation methods. The research shows that the value-added evaluation showed a trend of more diversified evaluation indicators, diagnostic evaluation results, and emphasis on longitudinal analysis; value-added evaluation is based on the relative increase in value and emphasizes the “net increment” of students’ learning achievements; the content of value-added evaluation focuses on students’ academic achievements and teacher effect; the evaluation methods mainly include direct evaluation method, indirect investigation method and multivariate and hierarchical statistical method. This research has carried out a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of value-added evaluation to ensure the deep understanding and rational application of it.
Industrial Symbiosis: A Mechanism to Guarantee the Implementation of Circular Economy Practices
Authors: Castellet-Viciano Lledó , Hernández-Chover Vicent , Bellver-Domingo Águeda , Hernández-Sancho Francesc
Published: November 2022

There is a growing concern regarding the scarcity of natural resources. The levels of resource exploitation generated by the current system of production and consumption has led the European Commission to develop a set of guidelines that aim to reduce the pressure on natural resources. The set of guidelines proposed by the European Union is based on the transformation of the current linear economic system into a circular system in which resources and materials remain in the production system for longer. However, for this change to take effect, practical measures are required. This paper presents an industrial symbiosis approach as a practical application of a circular economy model. The aim of this paper is to develop a guide to successfully implement an industrial symbiosis network, demonstrating that industrial symbiosis can achieve the goals of a circular economy. To demonstrate this, an example of its implementation is provided in a region of Spain, which is responsible for producing approximately 95% of the total ceramics products in the nation. This study emphasises the set of barriers that need to be addressed in order to make new models a reality for business and consumers, society, and the environment.
Airbnb Host’s Perspectives on Climate Change: Wildfire Threats to Rural Tourism
Authors: Slocum Susan L.
Published: November 2022

This paper investigates the impact of wildfire threats, and the resulting smoke, on nature-based rural tourism. As both residents of the community and business owners, Airbnb hosts provide valuable insight into the challenges facing tourism in southern Oregon. As an investigative study where there is little past research on the subject, qualitative methods were used. Results indicate that the summer season is growing longer, and smoky conditions are reducing the tourist season. As wildfire season extends into the autumn, visitation is also decreasing during the hunting/fishing season because of closures to natural areas under wildfire threat. The politicization of climate change has changed the policy emphasis from climate change mitigation to wildfire mitigation, resulting in added expenses for Airbnb property owners.
Inversion of Wheat Leaf Area Index by Multivariate Red-Edge Spectral Vegetation Index
Authors: Wang Xiaoxuan , Cai Guosheng , Lu Xiaoping , Yang Zenan , Zhang Xiangjun , Zhang Qinggang
Published: November 2022

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important parameter that determines the growth status of winter wheat and impacts the ecological and physical processes of plants in ecosystems. The problem of spectral saturation of winter wheat LAI at the booting stage was easily caused by the inversion of the univariate red-edge spectral vegetation index constructed by the red-edge band. In this paper, a new method that the univariate red-edge spectral vegetation index constructed in the red-edge band is used to invert the spectral saturation of the winter wheat LAI. The multivariable red-edge spectral vegetation index is used to invert the winter wheat LAI. This method can effectively delay the phenomenon of spectral saturation and improve the inversion precision. In this study, the Sentinel-2 data were used to invert the winter wheat LAI. An univariate and multivariate red-edge spectral vegetation index regression model was constructed based on the Red-edge Normalized Difference Spectral Indices 1 (NDSI1), Red-edge Normalized Difference Spectral Indices 2 (NDSI2), Red-edge Normalized Difference Spectral Indices 3 (NDSI3), Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Ratio Index (MCARI), MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI), Transformed Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index (TCARI), and Transformed Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index/the optimized soil adjusted vegetation index (TCARI/OSAVI). Based on the correlation coefficient, the coefficient of determination (R2), the root mean square error (RMSE) and noise equivalent value (NE), the best model was selected and verified to generate an inverted map. The results showed that the multivariable red-edge spectral vegetation index of NDSI1 + NDSI2 + NDSI3 + TCARI/OSAVI + MCARI + MTCI + TCARI was the best model for inverting the winter wheat LAI. The R2, the RMSE and the NE values were all satisfied the requirements of the inversion precision (R2 = 0.8372/0.8818, RMSE = 0.2518/0.1985, NE = 5/5). In summary, this method can be used to judge the growth of winter wheat and provide an accurate basis for monitoring crop growth.
Impact of Teleworking on the Health and Well-Being of Peruvian Workers in Times of Pandemic
Authors: Morán Roberto Carlos Dávila , Agüero Corzo Eucaris del Carmen , Sánchez Soto Juan Manuel , López Gómez Henri Emmanuel
Published: November 2022

The objective of this study was to establish the impact of teleworking on the health and well-being of Peruvian workers in times of pandemic. In this study, two questionnaires were applied to the selected sample made up of 428 workers from three organizations dedicated to the field of services: telecommunications, telephony and call centers in Lima. The findings indicate that, in the teleworking variable, the regular level prevailed at 41.12% due to weaknesses such as improvisation in the coordination to carry out the tasks, while the health and well-being variable was located at a moderate level at 35.28% reflecting that some workers were affected by COVID-19 and other illnesses related to it. It was possible to establish the incidence of health and well-being in teleworking carried out by Peruvian workers in times of pandemic; which led to results in the Telework dimension considered by the workers within the regular line of the survey; and the dimension of health and well-being was estimated within the moderate line of the survey. The conclusions of the study allow the creating of precedents to generate policies aimed at improving the conditions of this type of work, as well as generating new lines of research on the subject of teleworking.
Contrail Lifetime in Context of Used Flight Levels
Authors: Lán Sébastien , Hospodka Jakub
Published: November 2022

The impact of contrails on Earth’s climate is probably not negligible, yet there are only a few initiatives aimed at mitigating the influence of aviation on the environment. To achieve zero CO2 emissions, aircraft manufacturers and airlines propose complex and costly methods and technologies such as synthetic fuels, hybrid engines, or expensive carbon offsetting. On the other hand, contrail mitigation by achievable operational measures has the potential to achieve benefits with a very positive cost-benefit ratio without the need for a complex technological change in aviation. It seems that one suitable tool for contrail mitigation is the change in flight level. Therefore, we focused on the assessment of flight levels with typical contrails occurrence and common flight levels used by air traffic management. Some influence of tropopause height throughout the year was presumed to be a factor, therefore we studied different times of the year. The tropopause height influences not only contrail occurrence but also the preferred flight level, as airlines tend to avoid flying directly in the tropopause. We present some basic statistics about the frequency of contrail occurrence based on flight level. We focused on long-lived contrails to emphasize the more important contrails in this context. Information about flight levels is based on ADS-B data transmitted by aircraft and recorded by a ground station near the place of contrail occurrence, which was based on optical survey.
Acidified Cow Dung-Assisted Phytoextraction of Heavy Metals by Ryegrass from Contaminated Soil as an Eco-Efficient Technique
Authors: Ashraf Sana , Ahmad Sajid Rashid , Ali Qasim , Ashraf Sobia , Majid Muzaffar , Zahir Zahir Ahmad
Published: November 2022

Heavy metal contamination of soil is an alarming environmental dilemma all over the world. With increasing industrialization, timely development of low-cost and eco-friendly remedial techniques for heavy metal-contaminated soil is needed. Phytoremediation is an emerging technique to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil for environmental sustainability. In the present study, ryegrass was used for phytoextraction of lead and cadmium from contaminated soil in a pot experiment. To enhance the bioavailability of heavy metals, cow dung was acidified by amending with elemental sulfur and molasses and also bioaugmented with an SS-16 sulfur-oxidizing strain to boost biological sulfur oxidation and, hence, four chemically different organic products were prepared. The pot experiment was conducted for a period of 60 days under Pb- and Cd-spiked soil for growing ryegrass with the application of a 10% slurry of each acidified organic product. A significant increase in root and shoot fresh mass as well as Pb and Cd accumulation in the root and shoot of the ryegrass was recorded. As compared to the control and the acidified organic product, P4 was the most effective product overall. Bioconcentration and translocation factors of ryegrass for Pb and Cd were also calculated. At the same time, acidified cow dung slurry (10%) also improved the antioxidative defense mechanism of ryegrass. The results suggest that acidified organic products could be effective for phytoextraction of lead and cadmium from contaminated soil, and in the future acidified cow dung slurry can be used to restore heavy metal-polluted soils in an environmentally sustainable way.
Evaluation of Washing and Screening for Upgrading the Calcium Content of Oyster Shells Using a Simulated Wet-Type Trommel
Authors: Lee Sang-Eun , Kim Seok-Hwi
Published: November 2022

The oyster shells produced at shucking sites contain various organic and inorganic impurities and are discharged without proper pretreatment. In the present study, we confirmed a process for removing organic/inorganic impurities and salts from abandoned shells using a wet type of trommel. A particle size analysis showed that the inorganic impurities in the studied shells were Si, Fe, Al, etc. derived from sediment, and their contents were relatively rich in fine particles. Dissolved ions (Cl−, SO42−, and NO3−) and organic matter (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) can be removed concurrently for a short period (<5 min) by a trommel. The higher removal efficiencies for total organic carbon (TOC, ~93.4%), total nitrogen (TN, ~59.9%), and total phosphorous (TP, ~92.9%) in the washing wastewaters after filtration not only indicate increased organic matter in the fine particles derived from crushed shells during trommel operation, but also that a certain portion could be removed by precipitation. However, considering that a small amount of salt compounds (Na and Cl) still remains in the shell even after calcination followed by washing, the scope of shell use must be considered.
Evaluating the Efficiency of Municipal Solid Waste Collection Services in Developing Countries: The Case of Chile
Authors: Doussoulin Jean Pierre , Colther Cristian
Published: November 2022

Due to the increasing volume of waste and the increasingly complex administration of its collection and disposal, solid waste management is quickly becoming a demanding issue for municipalities all over the world. Benchmarking the effectiveness of municipal solid waste management is critical for assessing municipalities’ resource management performance and developing public policies for improvement. The main contribution of this article is an analysis of the efficiency of municipal collection services in Chile focusing in house solid waste. This study estimates the economic and technical efficiency using Stochastic Frontier Models for socio-economic, technical and human geography data from 2014 to 2019 for a sample of 280 municipalities, as well as an analysis of the internal and external factors that influence the efficiency levels shown by municipalities using an econometric model with 2017 socio-economic data. In addition, the spatial distribution of efficiency is investigated, with the Moran index used to identify clusters of towns to see if there is any spatial autocorrelation. The findings show that there are considerable disparities depending on whether the collection is private, public or mixed, and that rural municipalities are inefficient. The efficiency is not distributed evenly throughout space. The findings and recommendations of this study are intended to aid in the improvement of municipal and public policies relating to MSW management efficiency.
Implementing the Maximum Likelihood Method for Critical Gap Estimation under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions
Authors: Jamal Arshad , Ijaz Muhammad , Almosageah Meshal , Al-Ahmadi Hassan M. , Zahid Muhammad , Ullah Irfan , Mamlook Rabia Emhamed Al
Published: November 2022

Gap acceptance analysis is crucial for determining capacity and delay at uncontrolled intersections. The probability of a driver accepting an adequate gap changes over time, and in different intersection types and traffic circumstances. The majority of previous studies in this regard have assumed homogeneous traffic conditions, and applying them directly to heterogeneous traffic conditions may produce biased results. Moreover, driver behavior concerning critical gap acceptance or rejection in traffic also varies from one location to another. The current research focused on the estimation of critical gaps considering different vehicle types (cars, and two- and three-wheelers) under heterogenous traffic conditions at uncontrolled crossings in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. A four-legged uncontrolled intersection in the study area was used to investigate drivers’ gap acceptance behavior. The gaps were investigated for various vehicle types: two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and cars. For data collection, a video recording method was used, and Avidemux video editing software was used for data investigation. The study investigated the applicability of the maximum likelihood (MLM) method to analyzing a vehicle’s critical gap. MLM estimation results indicate that the essential critical gap values for car drivers are in the range from 7.45 to 4.6 s; for two-wheelers, the critical gap was in the range from 6.78 to 4.7 s; and for three-wheelers, the values were in the range from 6.3 to 4.9 s. At an uncontrolled intersection, the proposed method’s results can assist in distinguishing between different road user groups. This study’s findings are intended to be useful to both researchers and practitioners, particularly in developing countries with similar traffic patterns and vehicle adherence patterns at unsignalized intersections.
How Engagement in the Industry-Education Integration Promotes One’s Attitudes toward Energy Efficiency. Evidence from Chinese University Students
Authors: Li Yuqian , Zhou Xiaoguang , Pan Yaqi , He Wenli
Published: November 2022

In recent years, China has initiated cooperation between schools and enterprises in practical education. Accordingly, scholars have explored how universities and students benefit from this program. This article aims to investigate how students’ engagement in industry-education integration internships will influence their attitudes and behaviors in their daily lives. To examine our hypotheses, we distributed our questionnaires to 201 university students in China. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and bootstrap method were adopted to analyze the data. The results show that students’ engagement in the internship of environmental protection enterprises will influence their purchase intention of energy-efficient products via their environmental concerns. Moreover, students’ social value moderates the relationship between environmental concern and purchase intention of energy-efficient products and the indirect relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The Effects of Internal Market Orientation on Service Providers’ Service Innovative Behavior: A Serial Multiple Mediation Effect on Perceived Social Capital on Customers and Work Engagement
Authors: Lee Myoung-Soung , Jeong Gap-Yeon
Published: November 2022

The purpose of this study is to understand the process through which internal market orientation leads to service innovative behavior via a serial multiple mediator model, with perceived social capital on customers and work engagement. It set and verified perceived social capital on customers and work engagement as serial multiple mediation factors between internal market orientation and service innovative behavior. To achieve this, surveys targeting service providers working in the finance and insurance industries in South Korea were conducted. A total of 270 data were collected and used for analysis. The analysis showed that internal market orientation significantly increased perceived social capital on customers, and that perceived social capital on customers positively improved work engagement. In addition, it appeared that work engagement improved service innovative behavior. Regarding the serial multiple mediation effect, the direct effect of internal market orientation on service innovative behavior was not significant, but the serial multiple effect through perceived social capital and work engagement was significant. Thus, perceived social capital and work engagement fully mediated the relationship between internal market orientation and service innovative behavior.
Genome-Wide In Silico Identification, Structural Analysis, Promoter Analysis, and Expression Profiling of PHT Gene Family in Sugarcane Root under Salinity Stress
Authors: Murugan Naveenarani , Palanisamy Vignesh , Channappa Mahadevaiah , Ramanathan Valarmathi , Ramaswamy Manimekalai , Govindakurup Hemaprabha , Chinnaswamy Appunu
Published: November 2022

The phosphate transporter (PHT) family of proteins plays an imperative role in regulating phosphorus (P) acquisition as well as in translocation from the soil into cells and organs. Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient required for plant life that is not readily available to crops, and resources are diminishing rapidly because of the huge needs of global agriculture. In this study, 23 ShPHT genes were identified in the sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) genome through a comprehensive genome-wide in silico analysis. Phylogeny, gene structure, and conserved motif analysis of PHT genes in sugarcane (ShPHTs) indicated five subfamilies (PHT1-4 and PHO1 subfamily). Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the ShPHT genes were largely involved in phosphate ion transport, phosphate starvation, stimulus response, stress response, and symporter activity. Gene expression analysis under salinity stress confirmed strong induction of PHT genes in wild genotype sugarcane (IND99-907). PHT1-1, PHT1-2, and PHT1-3 members were notably up-regulated in roots under salt stress. The upstream region of PHT genes contained PHR1-binding sites (P1BS), MYB-type, and WRKY- type binding elements. Overall, the present study paves the way for a deeper understanding of the evolution of sugarcane PHT genes and their role in salinity and Pi stress tolerance in sugarcane.
Application of Biographical Data in Student’s Major Selection
Authors: Wang Yuting , Song Guandong
Published: November 2022

The research studies describe that students utilize Information and Communication Technology (ICT) widely to improve their academic performance. In the classroom, students use ICT assistive technologies via laptops and smartphones for academic and non-academic activities. The ICT tool interactions are applied to developing an effective learning environment that is used to support the student’s learning and understanding in a specific context. The utilization of ICT motivates the students to utilize the technologies in the classroom environment. The ICT training policies help resolve the fundamental issues that students come across, particularly high school students going to college. However, most students do not know enough about their major tendencies and feel lost when deciding on a major. Our study aimed to apply ICT biographical data as a tool for major selection. Based on the rationale of psychometrics and valuable evidence, some studies show that the average high school score is the best predictor of the average college score. The biographical data prediction method is the pre-university life history of students of different majors. Compiling questionnaires takes the college academic performance of students as the studying criterion and weights projects on the biographical data table to develop college students’ biographical information blank and its norm system to provide services for student’s choice of major. Various results show that biographical information blank items are diverse, and the impurity of the content may lead to low internal reliability (α coefficient is usually between 0.60 and 0.80) but a high test–retest validity coefficient (usually between 0 and 0.90). In contrast, its validity has predictive validity because it is independent of each score. Furthermore, since biographical information blanks comprise verifiable and unverifiable items, the ideal subjects answered more reliably because they were accountable for their responses. Studies show that the description of individual life history was moderately associated with the results recorded by the psychologist.
Creating a Sustainable E-Commerce Environment: The Impact of Product Configurator Interaction Design on Consumer Personalized Customization Experience
Authors: Yi Minzhe , Huang Zihao , Yu Yuxiang
Published: November 2022

Promoting consumers’ willingness to pay is crucial to creating a sustainable e-commerce environment, and the interaction design of the product configurator plays a key role in this. In the present study, the product configurator, which is indispensable in online customization, is adopted as the research object to analyze the influence of interaction design on the customization experience of consumers. The pricing method (total product pricing, incomplete total product pricing, and individual module pricing) and navigation design pattern (tabs and dropdown menu with arrow buttons) are adopted as independent variables, while system usability, flexible navigation capability, perceived control, perceived enjoyment, complexity and task performance are taken as dependent variables. One hundred and eighty college students participated in this study. The results of the 3 × 2 two-factor experiment reveal that: (1) Different navigation design patterns will lead to significant differences in system usability, flexible navigation capability, and perceived control of the product configurator, and tabs are better than dropdown menu with arrow buttons in these aspects. (2) Different pricing methods will significantly affect the perceived control of users. Under individual module pricing and incomplete total product pricing, perceived control is higher. (3) Different combinations of pricing methods and navigation design patterns will affect users’ evaluation of flexible navigation capability and complexity, and under the individual module pricing and incomplete total product pricing methods, users think that tabs have a higher flexible navigation capability and lower complexity. However, under the total product pricing method, users are convinced that dropdown menu with arrow buttons has a higher flexible navigation capability and lower complexity. The research results are of great significance to both interface interaction design and online customization. Furthermore, the interaction design method of price presentation and navigation design of the product configurator is analyzed to determine the most appropriate interaction design principles, so as to enhance the user experience of online customization and provide constructive ideas from the design perspective for online customization.
Habitat Quality Assessment in the Yellow River Delta Based on Remote Sensing and Scenario Analysis for Land Use/Land Cover
Authors: Liu Yubin , Han Mei , Wang Min , Fan Chao , Zhao Hang
Published: November 2022

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) change is one of the core features of global change. Habitat quality is an essential representation of ecosystem service functioning and ecosystem health. It is of great significance to assess the habitat quality spatiotemporal heterogeneity caused by land-use change in the regional ecological environment for security and sustainable regional management. Based on the interpreted LULC data of the Yellow River Delta (YRD) in 2000, 2010, and 2020, the PLUS model was used to forecast different LULC 2030 scenarios. Specifically, this study aimed to analyze the LULC change in the YRD and use the InVEST model to evaluate the overall habitat quality in the historical period of the region and future scenarios. From 2000 to 2020, the most critical land-use changes within a 20 km radius from the coastline in the study area are mainly the sharp increase in construction land, mariculture and salt pan, and the sharp decline of coastal wetlands, which is mainly due to the high intensity of human development activities and the process of erosion and deposition in coastal zones and estuarine deltas. During the period, the average habitat quality in the YRD decreased yearly, with the overall regional habitat quality classified as intermediate. The habitat quality was the most significant in the 0–20 km range from the coastline because of the high intensity of human development activities in this area. The habitat quality in the YRD varied under different scenarios in 2030. In the baseline scenario (BS) and socio-economic development (SD) scenario, the habitat quality decreased continuously, but the habitat quality increased under the ecological protection (EP) scenario. This research can provide relevant scientific references for optimizing landscape patterns and improving habitat quality in the YRD region.
Construction Safety Risk Model with Construction Accident Network: A Graph Convolutional Network Approach
Authors: Mostofi Fatemeh , Toğan Vedat , Ayözen Yunus Emre , Tokdemir Onur Behzat
Published: November 2022

Construction risk assessment (RA) based on expert knowledge and experience incorporates uncertainties that reduce its accuracy and effectiveness in implementing countermeasures. To support the construction of RA procedures and enhance associated decision-making processes, machine learning (ML) approaches have recently been investigated in the literature. Most ML approaches have difficulty processing dependency information from real-life construction datasets. This study developed a novel RA model that incorporates a graph convolutional network (GCN) to account for dependency information between construction accidents. For this purpose, the construction accident dataset was restructured into an accident network, wherein the accidents were connected based on the shared project type. The GCN decodes the construction accident network information to predict each construction activity’s severity outcome, resulting in a prediction accuracy of 94%. Compared with the benchmark feedforward network (FFN) model, the GCN demonstrated a higher prediction accuracy and better generalization ability. The developed GCN severity predictor allows construction professionals to identify high-risk construction accident scenarios while considering dependency based on the shared project type. Ultimately, understanding the relational information between construction accidents increases the representativeness of RA severity predictors, enriches ML models’ comprehension, and results in a more reliable safety model for construction professionals.
Geoheritage Management in Areas with Multicultural Interest Contexts
Authors: Pescatore Eva , Bentivenga Mario , Giano Salvatore Ivo
Published: November 2022

Sites of geo-cultural interest are often included in areas where multicultural contexts (geo and non geo) are present. Cultural heritage dissemination is sometimes mono-contextual, paying little attention to the possibility of inclusion in a wider multicultural context. When these different contexts are linkable to each other following a specific theme, multicultural heritage dissemination will be possible, and often the geo context can represent a fulcrum, a resilient tool in doing that. A portion of the Sinni river’s catchment area (Basilicata region, Southern Italy) has been chosen to test and verify the multi-level/disciplinary approach applicability. The area is located on the southeastern edge of the Pliocene to Pleistocene Sant’Arcangelo basin in the Southern Apennines chain of Italy. Here, both basic observations on the physical geography landscape evolution and specialized observations on river dynamics and on the hydrographic network have been carried out. Educational routes will be proposed with different educational levels along a path that will include the San Giorgio Lucano hypogea. This paper represents the results of a qualitative study providing an overview of the possibility, in a multicultural context, about whether, when, and how the geo context may act as a link between the different disciplines and what is the best way to make it. A relational database, organized in contexts, areas, and themes, is planned at different levels of detail, and is currently being developed in order to make final products easily available. Each level will be provided with basic concepts, territorial contextualization, and of activities/itineraries. The goal is to provide a versatile tool that enhances the territorial multi-cultural heritage to reach a greater number of end users interested in both geo and non geo contexts.
Overview of Model- and Non-Model-Based Online Battery Management Systems for Electric Vehicle Applications: A Comprehensive Review of Experimental and Simulation Studies
Authors: Bhushan Neha , Mekhilef Saad , Tey Kok Soon , Shaaban Mohamed , Seyedmahmoudian Mehdi , Stojcevski Alex
Published: November 2022

The online battery management system (BMS) is very critical for the safe and reliable operation of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage applications. The primary responsibility of BMS is data assembly, state monitoring, state management, state safety, charging control, thermal management, and information management. The algorithm and control development for smooth and cost-effective functioning of online BMS is challenging research. The complexity, stability, cost, robustness, computational cost, and accuracy of BMS for Li-ion batteries (LiBs) can be enhanced through the development of algorithms. The model-based and non-model-based data-driven methods are the most suitable for developing algorithms and control for online BMS than other methods present in the literatures. The performance analysis of algorithms under different current, thermal, and load conditions have been investigated. The objective of this review is to advance the experimental design and control for online BMS. The comprehensive overview of present techniques, core issues, technical challenges, emerging trends, and future research opportunities for next-generation BMS is covered in this paper with experimental and simulation analysis.
How Multidimensional Digital Empowerment Affects Technology Innovation Performance: The Moderating Effect of Adaptability to Technology Embedding
Authors: Li Zibiao , Li Han , Wang Siwei
Published: November 2022

Technology innovation in high-end equipment manufacturing (HEM) enterprises technology innovation plays an important role in supporting national economies and social development, accelerating the speed of digital transformation. Digital empowerment aggravates the dynamics, complexity, and uncertainty of technology innovation in HEM enterprises. In order to improve the innovation performance mechanism of China’s HEM enterprises, the adaptability of technology embedding and digital empowerment are introduced to further explain the direct and the moderating effect. Specifically, through a literature review and practical research, the connotation and dimensional division of digital empowerment are defined. According to empowerment tools, digital empowerment is divided into resource empowerment and structural empowerment, and according to the empowerment actor relationships, digital empowerment is divided into platform empowerment and ecological empowerment. Additionally, 436 HEM enterprises are used as research objects to build a conceptual model of the different digital empowerment dimensions, adaptability to technology embedding and technology innovation performance. The research results show that resource empowerment and structural empowerment have U–shaped effects on technology innovation performance, and platform empowerment and ecological empowerment positively affect technology innovation performance. Then, adaptability to technology embedding positively moderates the U-shaped relationship between structural empowerment and technology innovation performance. Adaptability to technology embedding positively moderates the relationship between resource empowerment, platform empowerment, ecological empowerment and technology innovation performance. The research findings deepen the connotation and dimension of digital empowerment, demonstrating the nonlinear relationship between digital empowerment and technology innovation performance of HEM enterprises. Additionally, the research expands on the new applications of adaptability to technology embedding in the digital transformation of manufacturing.
Economic and Experimental Assessment of KCOOH Hybrid Liquid Desiccant-Vapor Compression System
Authors: Kumar Kashish , Singh Alok
Published: November 2022

A liquid desiccant dehumidification cooling system is a promising, energy-saving, high-efficiency, environmentally friendly technology that maintains thermal comfort effectively indoors by utilizing renewable energy sources or waste heat to enhance system efficiency. In this research, a small-scale (6 kW cooling capacity) hybrid liquid desiccant air-conditioning system (HLDAC) is proposed to evaluate the dehumidification performance of a non-corrosive potassium formate (KCOOH) solution. For this, four input parameters, namely, inlet air flow rate, inlet desiccant temperature, inlet desiccant concentration, and inlet specific air humidity, were selected. Moreover, the different combinations of experiments were designed by employing response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate the dehumidification performance parameters, namely, dehumidifier latent heat load, coefficient of performance of hybrid system, and moisture removal rate (MRR). Further, a comparative performance analysis between the hybrid system and a standalone vapor compression system (VCS) unit was carried out. The result showed a remarkable increase in coefficient of performance, which was observed at about 28.48% over the standalone VCS unit. Furthermore, the economic assessment of the proposed hybrid system is presented in this paper. Finally, from the economic analysis, it was concluded that the hybrid system had a payback time of 2.65 years compared to the VCS unit.
Eudemonic Servicescapes: Value Co-Creation in Karate Dojos
Authors: Kaneyama Itsuro , Shirahada Kunio
Published: November 2022

Martial arts (“budo”) is a service system in which instructors and students co-create physical and mental values through training encounters in a physical servicescape—the dojo. We explored how actors develop eudemonic wellbeing in this servicescape. We selected the dynamics theory of perception of servicescapes as the theoretical framework to examine the process of behavior change based on the interaction between participants and the environment. We also employed service-dominant logic (SDL), which views services as a value co-creation process among actors, and we also employed transformative service research (TSR), which explores uplifting change to improve wellbeing. We collected data from the World Seido Karate Organization Seido-juku, which has been active worldwide for more than 40 years. We conducted interviews with 17 members and analyzed the secondary data. The results indicated that (1) the participants integrated the value co-creation learned through the training at the servicescape as a model for daily life, and (2) the servicescape created positive mental change in the participants and promoted their personal growth. Martial arts training in a dojo can enable participants to independently create a state of wellbeing at any time. It supports sustainable personal growth, and the dojo is perceived as a eudemonic servicescape.
Soil Reclamation Models by Soil Water Infiltration for Refuse Dumps in Opencast Mining Area of Northern China
Authors: Yang Xiaofeng , Zhang Yimeng , Jia Junchao , Zhang Xingchang
Published: November 2022

The water infiltration rules of five different homogeneously or heterogeneously-constructed soil samples were determined to select the best soil construction module for refuse dump reclamation in the opencast mines of the Shanxi-Shaanxi-Inner Mongolia energy circle. Five treatments, including three homogeneous soil samples consisting of sandy soil, Montmorillonite-enriched sandstone, and sand-Montmorillonite-enriched sandstone mixture, together with two heterogeneous soil samples composed of sandy soil + Montmorillonite-enriched sandstone + sandy soil and sandy soil + sandy − Montmorillonite-enriched sandstone mixture (7:3) + sandy soil. Three replicates of each treatment were prepared in the indoor pillars to measure the infiltration process by auto-recording geometry, to investigate the infiltration features of various soil configurations by testing their infiltration rate, cumulative infiltration capacity, wetting front migration, and profile soil content, and to evaluate the infiltration of newly constructed soil in the natural conditions of the research area. The experiment demonstrated that the addition of Montmorillonite-enriched sandstone into sandy soil significantly slowed down soil water infiltration, especially in the heterogeneous soils. Traditional models perfectly simulated the soil water infiltration in the three homogeneous soils in which soil infiltration capacity could be segmentally fitted by Kostiakov model and linear model, and wetting front could be fitted by a power function. Compared with the homogeneous soil samples, heterogeneous soil could reduce the direct surface runoff and deep percolation, and is an idealized structure for soil reconstruction in opencast coal mine dump.
Rebuilding after Displacement: A Skills Competency Audit of Built Environment Professional Documentation
Authors: Carmichael Andrew , Villalba-Romero Felix , Liyanage Champika
Published: November 2022

The displacement of people, caused by disasters, conflicts, and oppression, is a growing global problem, placing significant burdens on both the displaced and their hosts. The built environment is key to providing essential support and a sustainable future for these communities. This paper describes an audit of the competencies identified in built environment professional documentation and its mapping against the competencies determined as being relevant to rebuilding after displacement. Following a step-by-step methodology, an analysis of the built environment sector of four nations enables the identification of the current state of professional competencies through an in-depth review of their published standards. These results are compared with a framework of standards that would maximise the potential of the sector in offering support. It is also identified where there is alignment between existing and ideal competencies, and where there are gaps in provision. Finally, a criticality analysis offers both sector-wide and professional role review. This could help direct the efforts of policy makers, education providers, and the sector itself towards the most effective responses to displacement challenges.
Decarbonisation Strategy for Renewable Energy Integration for Electrification of West African Nations: A Bottom-Up EnergyPLAN Modelling of West African Power Pool Targets
Authors: Ishaku Hamagham Peter , Adun Humphrey , Jazayeri Moein , Kusaf Mehmet
Published: November 2022

Limited access to electricity and endemic power shortages are huge problems in West African countries, as the lack of sufficient power impedes the socio-economic development in the region. Improving access to and reliability of electricity in West Africa will require close cooperation among neighboring countries, and this was one of the aims for the creation of the West African power pool (WAPP). In this study, a sustainable and economically viable pathway to achieve 100% electricity access and 48% renewable energy sources share in the region by the year 2030 set by WAPP was presented by considering environmental, geographical, technical and economic factors. The technologies of both renewable and non-renewable sources are considered in the model development. Simulation analysis was carried out on individual countries within the region and also as a unified synchronous electricity grid network. The most feasible results were discussed in terms of the initial investment cost, total annual cost, electricity production capacities, carbon emissions and renewable energy sources shared using EnergyPLAN computer software. The integration of natural gas (42,000 MW) with the three RES technologies with the following capacities, wind (13,000 MW), PV (13,000 MW) and hydro (29,000 MW), was shown to be the most feasible, suitable and reliable case scenario for meeting the lofty set target as a unified synchronous grid. This will reduce carbon emissions by almost 50%, from 150 to 77.8 Mt per year, and incur a total investment cost and a total annual cost of USD 250.37 billion and USD 14.71 billion, respectively.