bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
P-type Inversion at the Surface of β-Ga2O3 Epitaxial Layer Modified with Au Nanoparticles
Authors: Krawczyk Maciej , Korbutowicz Ryszard , Szukiewicz Rafał , Suchorska-Woźniak Patrycja , Kuchowicz Maciej , Teterycz Helena
Published: January 2022

The electric properties and chemical and thermal stability of gallium oxide β-Ga2O3 make it a promising material for a wide variety of electronic devices, including chemiresistive gas sensors. However, p-type doping of β-Ga2O3 still remains a challenge. A β-Ga2O3 epitaxial layer with a highly developed surface was synthesized on gold electrodes on a Al2O3 substrate via a Halide Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) method. The epitaxial layer was impregnated with an aqueous colloidal solution of gold nanoparticles with an average diameter of Au nanoparticle less than 5 nm. Electrical impedance of the layer was measured before and after modification with the Au nanoparticles in an ambient atmosphere, in dry nitrogen, and in air containing dimethyl sulfide C2H6S (DMS). After the impregnation of the β-Ga2O3 epitaxial layer with Au nanoparticles, its conductance increased, and its electric response to air containing DMS had been inversed. The introduction of Au nanoparticles at the surface of the metal oxide was responsible for the formation of an internal depleted region and p-type conductivity at the surface.
Experimental Research on Measuring the Concentration of CO2 in Gas-Liquid Solution Based on PZT Piezoelectric-Photoacoustic Spectroscopy
Authors: Zheng Hongquan , Li Yunlong , Chen Yang , Wang Zhentao , Dai Jingmin
Published: January 2022

The feasibility of a scheme in which the concentration of CO2 in gas-liquid solution is directly measured based on PZT piezoelectric-photoacoustic spectroscopy was evaluated. The existing device used for the measurement of gas concentration in gas-liquid solution has several limitations, including prolonged duration, loss of gas, and high cost due to the degassing component. In this study, we developed a measuring device in order to solve the problems mentioned above. Using this device, how the intensity of the photoacoustic signal changes with the concentration of CO2 was demonstrated through experiment. The impact that variation of the laser modulation frequency has on the photoacoustic signal was also studied. Furthermore, the experimental data generated from measuring the concentration of CO2 in gas-liquid solution was verified for a wide range of concentrations. It was found that, not only can the error rate of the device be less than 7%, but the time of measurement can be within 60 s. To sum up, the scheme is highly feasible according to the experimental results, which makes measurement of the concentration of a gas in gas-liquid solution in the future more straightforward.
Effect of Auditory Discrimination Therapy on Attentional Processes of Tinnitus Patients
Authors: Rodríguez-León Ingrid G. , Alonso-Valerdi Luz María , Salido-Ruiz Ricardo A. , Román-Godínez Israel , Ibarra-Zarate David I. , Torres-Ramos Sulema
Published: January 2022

Tinnitus is an auditory condition that causes humans to hear a sound anytime, anywhere. Chronic and refractory tinnitus is caused by an over synchronization of neurons. Sound has been applied as an alternative treatment to resynchronize neuronal activity. To date, various acoustic therapies have been proposed to treat tinnitus. However, the effect is not yet well understood. Therefore, the objective of this study is to establish an objective methodology using electroencephalography (EEG) signals to measure changes in attentional processes in patients with tinnitus treated with auditory discrimination therapy (ADT). To this aim, first, event-related (de-) synchronization (ERD/ERS) responses were mapped to extract the levels of synchronization related to the auditory recognition event. Second, the deep representations of the scalograms were extracted using a previously trained Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture (MobileNet v2). Third, the deep spectrum features corresponding to the study datasets were analyzed to investigate performance in terms of attention and memory changes. The results proved strong evidence of the feasibility of ADT to treat tinnitus, which is possibly due to attentional redirection.
The Effect of Paddle Stroke Variables Measured by Trainesense SmartPaddle® on the Velocity of the Kayak
Authors: Löppönen Antti , Vänttinen Tomi , Haverinen Marko , Linnamo Vesa
Published: January 2022

(1) Background: This study aimed to compare key variables of paddle stroke measured by a commercial Trainesense SmartPaddle® against the strain-gauge shaft and investigate how these variables are associated with the velocity of the boat among national-level canoe polo players. (2) Methods: This study involved 14 Finnish national-level canoe polo players. The measurement protocol consisted of three different paddling velocities, which were performed in indoor swimming pools. The velocity of the boat was calculated based on the performance time measured with the laser photocell gate. Canoe polo equipment was used in the study and a SmartPaddle sensor was attached to the paddle blade. A strain-gauge paddle shaft was used as a reference method to examine the validity of SmartPaddle. (3) Results: The stroke rate, force production time, mean and maximal force measured with the strain-gauge paddle shaft correlated strongly (r = 0.84–0.95, p < 0.01) with SmartPaddle. However, the SmartPaddle overestimated the maximum force compared to the strain-gauge shaft. Stroke rate (r = 0.86, p < 0.01), mean force (r = 0.79, p < 0.01), maximal force (r = 0.78, p < 0.01) and total absolute impulse (r = 0.70, p < 0.01) correlated positively and force production time negatively (r = −0.76, p < 0.01) with the velocity of the boat. (4) Conclusions: We conclude that the SmartPaddle provides promising information on stroke key variables when compared to the strain-gauge paddle shaft. The SmartPaddle is a new and interesting tool for biomechanical research and daily kayaking coaching in real open water conditions. However, more research and algorithm development are needed before the SmartPaddle can be used in everyday coaching sessions in kayaking.
Soft Assets Consideration in Smart and Resilient City Development
Authors: Wataya Eiko , Shaw Rajib
Published: January 2022

For a smart city, soft or non-physical assets share an important capital component with many impacts in different contexts. They enable a city to deliver and mainstream a people-centered policy in addition to the benefits provided by traditional, hard infrastructure. Soft assets can involve social and human capital, knowledge, participation, and innovative approaches that drive value in the city. However, it is always a challenge for city policy makers to identify and strengthen these soft assets using a systemic approach due to their inherent characteristics. This paper argues that soft assets should be strategically integrated into the development process of smart and resilient cities. Therefore, exploring various approaches to prioritize soft asset consideration would provide helpful guidelines to city policy makers for municipal value creation, and identify where the greatest needs for soft or intangible assets lie. This paper examines how to identify and decide which soft assets should take priority in smart and resilient cities. The findings can assist policy makers in their consideration of an optimal mix and balance of soft assets required in the city to improve living structures for a people-centered approach.
National Myth in UK–EU Representations by British Conservative Prime Ministers from Churchill to Johnson
Authors: Islentyeva Anna , Dunkel Deborah
Published: January 2022

Britain’s withdrawal of its EU membership has a number of political and economic implications for UK–EU relations. In seeking to understand the 2016 EU referendum outcome, it is insightful to study the historical development of discourses representing the UK–EU relationship. Doing so reveals the trends of British exceptionalism and British Euroscepticism as integral to these discourses. Applying a diachronic approach, this paper examines ten speeches by nine Conservative Prime Ministers (PMs) held at the annual Conservative Party Conferences from 1945 to 2020. The speeches include, among others, those by Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. The qualitative analysis traces the discursive strategies employed by PMs in their construction of the Conservative narrative of national myth, focusing especially on the issues of British national identity in relation to Europe. Methods of Discourse Historical Analysis (DHA) and Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) are applied in order to identify strategies employed by PMs as tools of persuasion for the purpose of consolidating political power and promoting their policies. This study has identified three major interrelated strategies—myth, ally and enemy creation—which are used to narrate the story of Britain’s relationship with Europe as a potential member of the Union, as a member, and up to its efforts to leave the EU.
The Hijab Project: Troubling Conceptions of Agency and Piety through Community-Engaged Art Making
Authors: Antunes Ana Carolina
Published: January 2022

This article focuses on The Hijab Project, a collective art exhibit that was created by a Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) collective to address assumptions about Muslim women and girls who veil. The art project used data from a survey collect at Mount Top High, a suburban public high school in Utah, to inform the need for a public intervention that addressed issues of Islamophobia during a time of contentious political climate in the United States. Using transnational feminism to think about concepts of agency and piety, the article contends that, despite traditional framing of Muslim women as passive victims, through their artwork, the girls in this research group prove that religiosity and choice are not dichotomous. Lastly, this piece argues that The Hijab Project represents a successful example of critical community-engaged scholarship by demonstrating that partnerships between community members and universities can be a force for civic engagement and social change.
Relicensing Practices of Taxi Drivers and Crane Operators Aged 70 Years and above in Singapore
Authors: Chan Mei Leng , Wong Yoko , Tan Karen , Seng Joon Cheng , Ho Stephanie Jia Xian , Wong Claire Jing Wen , Koh Gerald Choon-Huat
Published: January 2022

Singapore is a rapidly ageing society, underpinned by national policies to promote successful and active ageing. Whilst older worker participation in the workforce is encouraged, policymakers are challenged to ensure that work competency is not compromised with any normal age- and/or health-related changes. This paper will briefly outline how policymakers responded to the needs of two subgroups of older workers aged 70 years and above (taxi drivers; crane operators) who desire to continue working in the last two decades. Whilst a mandatory retirement age policy exists for older taxi drivers in Singapore, there is none for older crane operators. Despite this, stricter relicensing protocols were introduced for both types of workers, with active collaboration involving additional occupational therapy services for functional work competency assessments to complement the routine medical fitness screening. Comparisons will be made of these two relicensing frameworks, including the mention of any relevant studies to align with the call of evidence-based practices. In mid-2020, the relicensing policy for older taxi drivers was revised based on findings of a retrospective national database study. Currently, a 4-year national database study on older crane operators aged 70 years and above is being undertaken with preliminary findings to be reported.
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Solids in 2021
Authors:   Solids Editorial Office
Published: January 2022

Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Exploring Structural Relationships in Attracting and Retaining International Students in STEM for Sustainable Development of Higher Education
Authors: Chang Dian-Fu , Lee Kuo-Yin , Tseng Chun-Wen
Published: January 2022

Attracting and retaining international students has been widely discussed in higher education settings. Increasing the number of international students has become an indispensable strategy for national and global competition. This study focuses on effective strategies and international students’ issues regarding satisfaction in the most popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. We designed a structural equation modeling (SEM) method to determine the effect of institutional mediation between push factors and satisfaction factors for the development of better strategies by which to attract and retain international students. This study employed a self-designed questionnaire to collect data: 485 degree-seeking international students in STEM programs were invited and successfully participated in this study during spring 2021 in Taiwan. IBM SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 (Analysis of Moment Structure) were used to carry out the data analysis. We employed reliability, factor, and SEM analyses. This study assumed that the impact of push factors could be modified by institutional situations and result in international students’ satisfaction with their learning and environment and regarding migration policy. The results revealed that the predictors, mediation, and criteria were significant at the 0.05 or 0.01 levels. The findings suggest that push factors impact international students’ satisfaction when using institutional leadership and strategy. The results of the bootstrap with a generalized least-squares method showed that the SEM model fit in 2000 bootstrap samples. The effect of institutional mediation can provide useful information for STEM programs to boost their future recruitment and retention strategies. This study provides an innovative approach to the detection of issues among international students in specific programs. The design of the study can be extended to similar higher education settings. These findings can enrich our knowledge regarding attracting and retaining global students in higher education.
Constructed and Floating Wetlands for Sustainable Water Reclamation
Authors: Arslan Muhammad , Afzal Muhammad , Anjum Naser A.
Published: January 2022

Modern urbanized societies are facing serious challenges in the maintenance of their water resources [...]
Recycling and Material-Flow Analysis of End-of-Life Vehicles towards Resource Circulation in South Korea
Authors: Jang Yong-Chul , Choi Kyunghoon , Jeong Ji-hyun , Kim Hyunhee , Kim Jong-Guk
Published: January 2022

The sustainable resource management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) towards a circular economy has become an issue of concern around the world. An understanding of recycling and the quantitative flow of ELVs is important because of their potential for resource recovery as well as the environmental impacts posed by their toxic chemicals upon disposal. In this paper, the generation and recycling system of ELVs in South Korea has been discussed based on a review of the available statistics and literature and site visits to ELV-recycling facilities. A material-flow analysis (MFA) for ELVs was performed to elucidate the resource recovery from recycling, while the substance flow of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in automobile shredded residues (ASR) was also determined for proper management. Approximately one million tons of ELVs in 2020 were processed by dismantling and shredding treatment for the recovery of reusable and recyclable materials (803,000 tons), resulting in 78,300 tons of ASR. Approximately 97 tons of PBDEs as flame retardants were generated mainly from ASR in 2020 and processed via combustion, either with energy recovery (59.8%) or without heat recovery (39.2%). The monitoring of brominated dioxins and furans by unintentional release during the incineration processes of ASR is required in order to prevent the dispersion of the chemicals in the environment.
Rural Built-Up Area Extraction from Remote Sensing Images Using Spectral Residual Methods with Embedded Deep Neural Network
Authors: Li Shaodan , Fu Shiyu , Zheng Dongbo
Published: January 2022

A rural built-up area is one of the most important features of rural regions. Rapid and accurate extraction of rural built-up areas has great significance to rural planning and urbanization. In this paper, the spectral residual method is embedded into a deep neural network to accurately describe the rural built-up areas from large-scale satellite images. Our proposed method is composed of two processes: coarse localization and fine extraction. Firstly, an improved Faster R-CNN (Regions with Convolutional Neural Network) detector is trained to obtain the coarse localization of the candidate built-up areas, and then the spectral residual method is used to describe the accurate boundary of each built-up area based on the bounding boxes. In the experimental part, we firstly explored the relationship between the sizes of built-up areas and the kernels in the spectral residual method. Then, the comparing experiments demonstrate that our proposed method has better performance in the extraction of rural built-up areas.
Effect of Embedded Basement Stories on Seismic Response of Low-Rise Building Frames Considering SSI via Small Shaking Table Tests
Authors: El Hoseny Mohammed , Ma Jianxun , Josephine Musanyufu
Published: January 2022

The dynamic soil-structure interaction is a combination of phenomena caused by the flexibility of soil foundation in structure response. The structure response may be changed by embedded basement stories. Thus, this study seeks to assess the dynamic response of seven-story concrete frame type buildings without a basement, one basement story, and two basement stories, considering fixed and flexible bases. For this purpose, the experimental tests on the small shaking table were executed with a small scaling coefficient of 1:50. Consequently, three scaled models of steel skeleton structures with variable embedded depths have been constructed with fixed and flexible bases. These models are exposed to three seismic input motions: Northridge (1994), Kobe (1995), and Chi-Chi (1999) at the base of the structure as a fixed base and the bedrock level in the soil structure system as a flexible base. The finite element technique is carried out for scaled and real models. Both the scaled and real numerical models are in good agreement with the obtained experimental observations with reasonable accuracy. It is concluded that the lateral deflections are overestimated by excluding embedded depths of structural elements. In the flexible prototype model, the lateral deflections of the superstructure with embedded depths (3 m, 6 m) decrease compared with no embedded depth, in which the maximum reduction percentages of 7-story with embedded depths 3 m and 6 m at the roof floor level are 21% and 42% compared with no embedded depth, respectively, under Northridge earthquake. Otherwise, ignoring the SSI effects (fixed base case), the lateral displacements are underestimated compared with the flexible base. The maximum amplification percentages at the roof floor level between flexible and fixed bases models with variable embedded depths are 35%, 37%, and 65% under Northridge, Kobe, and Chi-Chi earthquakes, respectively. The amplification and reduction percentages may be high or low, mainly depending on soil condition (fixed, flexible), variable embedded depths, characteristics of seismic motion, travel pass, and source of seismic motion. These items are summarized as the frequency domain of the coupled system compared with the frequency domain of the earthquake motion.
Public Attitude towards Nuclear and Renewable Energy as a Factor of Their Development in a Circular Economy Frame: Two Case Studies
Authors: Karaeva Anzhelika , Magaril Elena , Torretta Vincenzo , Viotti Paolo , Rada Elena Cristina
Published: January 2022

Nowadays, most countries of the world are implementing the transition to the low-carbon economy which implies the need to carry out a full-scale eco-modernization of the energy sector. Green energy may be identified as one of the core concerns of energy sector modernization as it allows a considerable decrease in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Therefore, nuclear and renewable energy may become key areas of global energy development in the near future, which is also in agreement with circular economy concepts. However, public opinion (and other controversial visions/aspects) is one of the barriers to their development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards nuclear and renewable energy in two countries: a EU country (Italy) and a non-EU country (Russia), considering the level of their development. The authors conducted a survey among residents regarding their attitude towards nuclear and renewable energy, as well as their attitude to the present energy policy. The cluster analysis technique was used to analyze the results. The obtained results confirmed the dependence between the level of development of nuclear and renewable energy and the public attitude towards it. The national energy policy also might influence public opinion on the development of nuclear or renewable energy. The authors identified public attitude as one of the key factors in the development of energy and the achievement of environmental and social sustainability.
Embedding Circular Economy Principles into Urban Regeneration and Waste Management: Framework and Metrics
Authors: Domenech Teresa , Borrion Aiduan
Published: January 2022

In a highly urbanised world, cities have become main centers of resource consumption and generation of waste. The notion of the circular economy (CE) identifies strategies for slowing and narrowing resource use through the prevention of waste, improvement of resource use, and substitution of the use of primary resources with recovered materials (and energy). The literature has recently started to explore the concept of circular cities, and a number of cities around the globe have adopted circular economy strategies. Urban regeneration can play a critical role in enabling more circular loops of resources and contribute to more sustainable urban environments; however, there is a lack of contributions in the literature that explore the circularity of urban regeneration projects. The aim of this research is to address this gap by providing a framework and metrics to embed circular economy principles into urban regeneration. The proposed framework and set of metrics are then applied to a case study in West London to quantitatively assess CE implications and point to opportunities to increase circularity. Three main scenarios are developed to assess resource impacts of different waste strategies. The maximizing recycling scenario suggests that over 65% recycling and just under 35% energy recovery could be achieved for the area. However, findings suggest potential trade-offs between strategies centered around energy recovery from waste and strategies that prioritise recycling of recyclable fractions from waste. The three scenarios are then assessed against the CE metrics proposed. Again, here, ‘maximising recycling’ better aligns with the proposed CE metrics and contributes to cutting around 50% of GHG emissions associated with management/disposal of residual waste while increasing opportunities for resource recovery. Finally, some conclusions are drawn pointing to pathways to maximise optimal resource use and infrastructural provision in urban regeneration.
Barriers to Urban Food Action: Relevance of Food Pedagogies
Authors: Park Soo Jin , Yeatman Heather , Russell Joanna , MacPhail Catherine
Published: January 2022

Cities strive to feed growing populations while at the same time minimize the environmental impacts of their food systems. To support cities to achieve their goals, they require systematic and practical actions, including identification of the needs and capacities of food practitioners to guide and support food-related policies and initiatives. This study aims to explore barriers to food-related actions in everyday settings and the potential of a food pedagogy framework to overcome such barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 experienced food leaders from diverse food-related areas in Australia. Thematic analysis identified six key themes related to weaknesses in food-related actions, including lack of: a broad understanding about food; acknowledgement of values of food in everyday lives; a broad pedagogical lens; a responsible entity; organizational supports; and coordination between stakeholders and communities. Existing national and global food initiatives were reviewed using a pedagogical framework to identify presence of these barriers to actions, together with strategies that aimed to avoid or diminish such barriers. The findings confirm that a pedagogical approach has potential to enhance the roles and capacities of food practitioners and provide support for government and community structures to achieve a common vision of healthy and sustainable urban food systems.
Organizational Learning at Purpose-Driven Enterprise: Action–Research Model for Leadership Improvement
Authors: Losada-Vazquez Angel
Published: January 2022

Knowledge Economy companies need to be aligned with social improvement challenges not only in order to promote sustainable innovation but also because knowledge workers need to feel their work is meaningful in both organizational and social terms. This is the reason why organizational purpose might play a strategic role and becomes a top management duty. Furthermore, organizational purpose, as part of the social enterprise identity, needs to be built as a result of a new kind of leadership performance, focused on learning processes and driven by individual and organizational communication capabilities. Such a challenge points out, on one hand, that a more socially concerned enterprise is needed and, on the other, that top management capabilities must be improved in order to play the new role they are compelled to in order to promote social economy and stakeholders capitalism. What is at stake applies to both theoretically sound foundations and transformational managerial practices such as those this paper intends to apply by presenting outcomes from a research project focused on the transformational role of leadership as drivers for organizational learning capabilities improvement in search of innovation and social impact.
Trends and Challenges Regarding Cyber Risk Mitigation by CISOs—A Systematic Literature and Experts’ Opinion Review Based on Text Analytics
Authors: Zwilling Moti
Published: January 2022

Background: Cyber security has turned out to be one of the main challenges of recent years. As the variety of system and application vulnerabilities has increased dramatically in recent years, cyber attackers have managed to penetrate the networks and infrastructures of larger numbers of companies, thus increasing the latter’s exposure to cyber threats. To mitigate this exposure, it is crucial for CISOs to have sufficient training and skills to help them identify how well security controls are managed and whether these controls offer the company sufficient protection against cyber threats, as expected. However, recent literature shows a lack of clarity regarding the manner in which the CISOs’ role and the companies’ investment in their skills should change in view of these developments. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the CISOs’ level of cyber security-related preparation to mitigate cyber threats (and specifically, the companies’ attitudes toward investing in such preparation) and the recent evolution of cyber threats. Methods: The study data are based on the following public resources: (1) recent scientific literature; (2) cyber threat-related opinion news articles; and (3) OWASP’s reported list of vulnerabilities. Data analysis was performed using various text mining methods and tools. Results: The study’s findings show that although the implementation of cyber defense tools has gained more serious attention in recent years, CISOs still lack sufficient support from management and sufficient knowledge and skills to mitigate current and new cyber threats. Conclusions: The research outcomes may allow practitioners to examine whether the companies’ level of cyber security controls matches the CISOs’ skills, and whether a comprehensive security education program is required. The present article discusses these findings and their implications.
Telling the Wood from the Trees: Ranking a Tree Species List to Aid Urban Afforestation in the Amazon
Authors: Zappi Daniela C. , Lovo Juliana , Hiura Alice , Andrino Caroline O. , Barbosa-Silva Rafael G. , Martello Felipe , Gadelha-Silva Livia , Viana Pedro L. , Giannini Tereza C.
Published: January 2022

The vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, without considering the regional biodiversity, and urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species are taking place. It is paramount that the correct identity of such trees is ascertained before procurement of the seeds and young plants, as the use of popular names may lead to importation of plant material from elsewhere, with potential introduction of invasive species. The abundant local diversity also leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region. Following the preparation of authoritatively named floristic lists in Southeastern Pará state, we proceeded to score and rank the most suitable trees for urban planning using different characteristics such as size, ornamental value, ecologic role, resilience and known methods of propagation. From an initial 375 species list, 263 species were ranked according to their suitability for street and urban area plantings and visualized using a Venn diagram. A final list with the 49 of the highest-ranking species was further analysed regarding their pollination and phenology period and two types of dissimilarity analyses were provided to aid practitioners in matching and choosing groups of species. Different local vegetation types mean that similar floristic lists must be used to extract cohorts of suitable plants to increase the urban richness in the eight Brazilian states that are included in the Amazonian biome.
A Gene for Maintaining Sustainable Cultural Specificity of Contemporary Architecture—National Deep-Rooted Nature
Authors: Shan Linlin
Published: January 2022

Due to the differences in locality, ethnicity, environment and culture, architecture has an obvious and sustainable cultural specificity. Even in the era when modernism swept the world, this specificity still exists, and its sustainability stems from the gene of architectural cultural specificity—the national deep-rooted nature. This paper puts forward the concept of the national deep-rooted nature of architecture with the cultural specificity of contemporary architecture as the starting point. Then, the connotation of cultural specificity and national deep-rooted nature of architecture is explained in detail, and the relationship between contemporary architectural creative thinking and national deep-rooted nature is widely explored and discussed in depth. A theoretical research framework of contemporary architectural creation is constructed in which the national deep-rooted nature is regarded as the main line, and the architectural form, space, aesthetic creation consciousness are regarded as the basis.
Robotic Process Automation as a Digital Transformation Tool for Increasing Organizational Resilience in Polish Enterprises
Authors: Sobczak Andrzej
Published: January 2022

The current digital transformation (additionally accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic) is causing profound changes across a number of industries. Part of this revolution is the spread of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which enables the automation of business processes by replacing human work with advanced software robots. One of the goals of the conducted research was to develop a classification of approaches to RPA positioning in enterprises. The author also identified differences in RPA positioning between individual industries. Based on conducted literature research, the author has proposed a proprietary classification for approaches to RPA positioning: conservative, efficiency improving, and strategic. This was subject to verification based on the results of empirical research using multidimensional correspondence analysis. The survey was conducted by the author in 2020 using the CAWI method: Credible (reliable) results were obtained from 238 Polish enterprises. The multidimensional correspondence analysis, conducted on the basis of the results of the empirical research confirmed that the approaches to RPA positioning in enterprises proposed by the author did occur in business practice. The outcome of the RPA classification became the basis for qualitative research (in the form of semi-structured interviews with expert practitioners) aimed at answering the question as to whether enterprises that strategically position RPA and treat it as a tool for digital transformation increase their organizational resilience. Up until now, however, no study has been found that focuses on how RPA increases organizational resilience or what its consequences are both at the research and application levels. This article fills the research gap in this area.
Do ISO Certifications Enhance Internationalization? The Case of Portuguese Industrial SMEs
Authors: Pacheco Luís , Lobo Carla , Maldonado Isabel
Published: January 2022

In the last decades, the academic literature has devoted considerable attention to the determinants of export performance. In result of those research efforts in identifying and examining the influence of such determinants, the literature presents a wide set of variables associated with higher levels of exports. This paper provides a contribution to that literature by trying to evidence the impact of firm certification—namely, in terms of the firm’s quality, environmental, and health and safety management systems—on export performance. The paper analyses an unbalanced sample of 1684 Portuguese industrial SMEs for the period 2010 to 2020, uses other determinants of internationalization as control variables, and explores the possibility of moderating effects on the certification–internationalization relationship. Two alternative econometric methods are employed: a random-effects model and a Tobit model. The results evidence the importance for firms, especially in the low or medium–low technology sectors, to have certain ISO certifications in order to further develop their export activities and increase their foreign acceptance, particularly in the European Union markets. Further, certification seems to reinforce the positive relation between firm size and internationalization.
From Deinstitutionalization to Community-Based Urban Development: Investigating Accessibility of Urban Systems in Calabria through Network Analytics
Authors: Bevilacqua Carmelina , Pizzimenti Pasquale , Hamdy Nourhan , Mangiulli Federica
Published: January 2022

Community-based urban development is an inclusive approach for local service provision and management centered on the proactive partnerships between urban communities and local governments. Rooted in the deinstitutionalization of public services, the European Union and national policy effort is pushing towards the organization of community-based alternatives in response to the evolving needs of local communities. As the pandemic has shown, service accessibility has proven to be a key concern element that needs to be addressed to increase communities’ and cities’ resilience. In this direction, the paper aims to propose data-driven alternative approaches to assess urban systems’ accessibility and connectivity as an element of leveraging the resilience-oriented planning process and facilitating community-based development. The methodological approach focuses on the case of the Calabria region, where community-based alternatives for the provision of public services found difficulties to be operationalized through an integrated planning approach. The case study is explored by experimenting on the spatial connections of two purposefully selected clusters to assess the accessibility and connectivity of urban systems within the region through network analysis visualization tools: health and social-related services and transportation and logistics. The analytical approach outlines the accessibility level of urban systems in the region examined, proving its relevance in detecting social, economic, and environmental dynamics. This approach shows how using non-traditional data-driven perspectives can detect development dynamics—which affect local community’s needs—and their limitations in the organization of community-based development alternatives.
The Impact of Green Marketing on Consumer Behavior in the Market of Palm Oil Products
Authors: Machová Renáta , Ambrus Rebeka , Zsigmond Tibor , Bakó Ferenc
Published: January 2022

The aim of the article is to examine the impact of green marketing on consumer behavior in the market for products containing palm oil. The first chapter addresses the theoretical approach—the impact of green marketing on consumer behavior. We considered a questionnaire survey to be the most appropriate method to conduct our research. In order to test our hypotheses, we applied Crosstab and Pearson’s chi-square test. The strength of the relationship between the variables was measured using Cramer’s V. The third chapter presents the research results based on the processed information of 527 obtained datasheets from the respondents. The data were collected from Slovak consumers in the summer of 2021. Hypotheses H1 (There is a significant relationship between the opinion of the consumer regarding purchasing products containing palm oil and the knowledge that the product does contain palm oil.) and H2 (There is a relationship between the consumer willingness to refuse the purchase of certain products if it has negative impact on the environment and the generational group the consumer belongs to.) were approved, however the relationship proved to be weak in both cases. The research makes it clear that the majority of consumers do not spend time reading descriptions on product packaging. It might be helpful for companies to make it clear and visible on the packaging that their product does not contain palm oil, informing the consumer and influencing them with the negative emotional message of the advert. The obtained research results are useful both for the producers and the customers.
Clogging Risk Early Warning for Slurry Shield Tunneling in Mixed Mudstone–Gravel Ground: A Real-Time Self-Updating Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Zhai Junli , Wang Qiang , Yuan Dongyang , Zhang Weikang , Wang Haozheng , Xie Xiongyao , Shahrour Isam
Published: January 2022

Clogging constitutes a significant obstacle to shield tunneling in mudstone soils. Previous research has focused on investigating the influence of soils and slurry properties on clogging, although little attention has been paid to the impact of tunneling parameters on clogging, and particularly early clogging warning during tunneling. This paper contributes to developing a real-time clogging early-warning approach, based on a self-updating machine learning method. The clogging judgment criteria are based on the statistical characteristics of whole-ring tunneling parameters. The paper proposes the use of random forest (RF) for a real-time self-updating early warning strategy for clogging. The performance of this approach is illustrated through its application to a slurry-pressure-balanced shield tunneling construction of Nanning metro line 1. Results show that the RF-based approach can predict clogging during a ring construction with only four minutes of tunneling data, with an accuracy of 95%. The RF model provided the best performance compared with the other machine learning methods. Furthermore, the RF model can realize an accurate clogging prediction in one ring, using less tunneling data with the self-updating mechanism.
Model-Based Enterprise Approach in the Product Lifecycle Management: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Directions
Authors: Corallo Angelo , Del Vecchio Vito , Lezzi Marianna , Luperto Angela
Published: January 2022

Innovations in product development and process technologies represent a promising strategy to face the increasing competitiveness of modern markets in the global economy. Also, customer requirements become more and more specific and the complexity of products is still increasing. Industries need to adopt effective solutions during the product development process and to support, for sustainable purposes, all the phases of the product lifecycle. Advanced model-based solutions emerge for digitally supporting these industrial needs. In this context, a Model-Based Enterprise (MBE) represents an organization that adopts modeling technologies, such as Model-Based Definition (MBD) solutions, to integrate and manage both technical and business processes related to product design, production, support, and retirement. Past research discusses the model-based approaches focusing on technical product development, mainly referring to the design and the manufacturing phases. A wide perspective from the other phases of lifecycle seems to lack in the literature. By carrying out a systematic literature review, this research aims to investigate the relationships between the MBE approaches and the product lifecycle phases and to identify potential benefits and challenges. It enhances the academic knowledge domain by also shedding light on potential future research directions.
A System Dynamics Approach to Modeling Groundwater Dynamics: Case Study of the Choshui River Basin
Authors: Huang Yun-Hsun , Lai Yan-Jiang , Wu Jung-Hua
Published: January 2022

Land subsidence resulting from the overexploitation of groundwater is an important issue in the Choshui River Basin, Taiwan. In the current study, we employed system dynamics simulation in modeling the supply of surface and groundwater, as well as the demand for water by industry, water deficits, and mechanisms underlying land subsidence. The proposed model was then used to estimate the magnitude of land subsidence and evaluate various management strategies. Our simulation results revealed that the vigorous enforcement of well sealing would have a modest effect on land subsidence; however, it would also have notable adverse effects on the agricultural community. We determined that reducing the demand for irrigation water (e.g., by switching to less water-intensive crops) would reduce land subsidence, while preserving profitability in those areas. In the future, this policy could be complemented by promoting the adoption of advanced irrigation technology and automatic systems to further slow the excessive exploitation of groundwater, with a corresponding effect on land subsidence.
Employee-Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Employee Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB): The Moderating Role of CSR Skepticism and CSR Authenticity
Authors: Latif Badar , Ong Tze San , Meero Abdelrhman , Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz , Ali Mohsin
Published: January 2022

Despite the substantial attention given to pro-environmental behavior (PEB) by academicians, practitioners, and policymakers, few studies have investigated how employee-perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects employees’ PEB. Moreover, though the concept of PEB has been found to elicit a wide range of positive benefits for employee behaviors and attitudes, it has rarely been applied to the context of the manufacturing sector. Underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT) and the attitude-behavior-context (ABC) theory, the present study investigates the impact of employee-perceived CSR on employees’ PEB through the moderating roles of employee–CSR skepticism and employee–CSR authenticity. The convenience sampling technique was used to select employees from Pakistani manufacturing firms to participate in the study’s survey. Analysis results of data from 235 respondents across 115 manufacturing firms suggest that employee-perceived CSR positively drives employees’ PEB. In addition, the findings offer valuable insights on employee–CSR skepticism and employee–CSR authenticity. Specifically, CSR skepticism weakens the link between perceived CSR and PEB, while CSR authenticity strengthens this link. By providing implications and limitations, the present study discusses that organizations can convey the message of their credible, genuine, and authentic CSR efforts to their employees for social, economic, and environmental wellbeing. The study’s discussions and conclusions are presented.
Estimation of Vehicle State Based on IMM-AUKF
Authors: Xu Ying , Zhang Wenjie , Tang Wentao , Liu Chengxiang , Yang Rong , He Li , Wang Yun
Published: January 2022

Establishing a symmetrical model of surrounding vehicles and accurately obtaining the driving state of the surrounding vehicles in the driving environment can improve the safety of driving, which is an important issue that needs to be considered in the automatic driving system or auxiliary driving system. Therefore, we propose an adaptive unscented Kalman filter algorithm based on Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) theory to estimate the state of target vehicle in the high-speed driving environment. To be specific, we use the Constant Turn Rate and Acceleration (CTRA) theory to establish the target vehicle kinematics model, simultaneously, in order to overcome the problem of estimator failure when the yaw rate is close to zero, a simplified version of the CTRA model is also introduced into the estimation process. In addition, the parameter adaptation strategy is added, so the proposed estimator can overcome the uncertainty of the noise model and improve its accuracy. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed state estimation algorithm is verified on the Carsim and Simulink co-simulation platform. The results of simulations and experiments show that the accuracy and stability of IMM-based algorithm is better than the single-model algorithm in different scenarios, and the parameter adaptation strategy brings performance improvement.
Identification Method of Main Road Traffic Congestion Situation in Cold-Climate Cities Based on Potential Energy Theory and GPS Data
Authors: Pei Yulong , Cai Xiaoxi , Song Keke , Liu Rui , Li Jie
Published: January 2022

Traffic congestion is a global problem. Affected by climate, the issue of congestion in cold-climate cities is more serious. To comprehensively and accurately identify the traffic congestion situation on the main roads of cold-climate cities and to provide a reference for city managers for congestion treatment, this study applies the theory of potential energy to the problem of traffic congestion, draws on the symmetry of potential energy and the function mechanism of artificial potential fields, and establishes a traffic congestion potential energy model for the main roads in cold-climate cities. Taking Global Positioning System (GPS) data as the primary data, the model parameters are calibrated using a combination of subjective and objective empowerment methods, and the investigation into the congestion perception level determines the division threshold of the congestion potential energy level. Test results are encouraging, and the method considers the state and the trends and can avoid problems such as lagging road condition information.