bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Built Environment Determinants of Pedestrian Activities and Their Consideration in Urban Street Design
Authors: Gerike Regine , Koszowski Caroline , Schröter Bettina , Buehler Ralph , Schepers Paul , Weber Johannes , Wittwer Rico , Jones Peter
Published: August 2021

Pedestrian facilities have been regarded in urban street design as “leftover spaces” for years, but, currently, there is a growing interest in walking and improving the quality of street environments. Designing pedestrian facilities presents the challenge of simultaneously accommodating (1) pedestrians who want to move safely and comfortably from point A to B (movement function); as well as (2) users who wish to rest, communicate, shop, eat, and enjoy life in a pleasant environment (place function). The aims of this study are to provide an overview of how the task of designing pedestrian facilities is addressed in international guidance material for urban street design, to compare this with scientific evidence on determinants of pedestrian activities, and to finally develop recommendations for advancing provisions for pedestrians. The results show that urban street design guidance is well advanced in measuring space requirements for known volumes of moving pedestrians, but less in planning pleasant street environments that encourage pedestrian movement and place activities. A stronger linkage to scientific evidence could improve guidance materials and better support urban street designers in their ambition to provide safe, comfortable and attractive street spaces that invite people to walk and to stay.
The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response Model to Structure Cause−Effect Relationships between Agriculture and Aquatic Ecosystems
Authors: Troian Alexandre , Gomes Mário , Tiecher Tales , Berbel Julio , Gutiérrez-Martín Carlos
Published: August 2021

Different segments of society have shown interest in understanding the effects of human activities on ecosystems. To this end, the aim of this article is to analyze the scientific literature on the application of the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) conceptual model to identify the parameters used to describe the causal interactions that occur between agriculture and aquatic ecosystems at the watershed scale. In this way, descriptive indicators were established for the data of 63 publications collected through Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The results confirm the great heterogeneity in the interpretation of the pressure, state, and impacts components. Part of this discrepancy can be attributed to the use of different indicators, as the model is flexible and generic. Overall, the DPSIR is a tool used not only in the scientific field, but also has demonstrated its potential to guide public policy formulation, planning, and decision-making in water resource management.
Sustainability Buckets: A Flexible Heuristic for Facilitating Strategic Investment on Place-Dependent Sustainability Narratives
Authors: Ribeiro Barbara , Turner James A.
Published: August 2021

This article presents a heuristic framework to help respond to gaps in knowledge construction in sustainability transitions. Transition theory publications highlight concerns ranging from contentious understandings of sustainability to the need for generalisable conceptual frameworks around how place specificity matters in transitions. The heuristic presented here is a flexible framework for developing place-dependent narratives of sustainability transitions grounded in investment choices. The sustainability buckets development resulted from the abduction and retroduction methods. It was also underpinned by a praxis-oriented mechanism from business (‘strategic investment buckets’), a transition theory conceptual framework (‘the multi-level perspective’—MLP), and a social sciences heuristic (‘sustainability cultures’). The sustainability buckets resulted from synthesising the critical literature with empirical findings drawn from two case studies in New Zealand. The heuristic proved helpful to navigate, organise, and code meanings and understandings of sustainability in the New Zealand agri-food context. It also helped facilitate dialogue with research participants from different backgrounds, such as government and business. The heuristic was designed to transform, remaining fit for purpose as transitions evolve. This article suggests the sustainability buckets could be used to enable investment opportunities for upscaling, reproducing, and transplanting transitions happening in distinct sectors and high-level systems.
Towards Sustainability: New Tools for Planning Urban Pedestrian Mobility
Authors: Santilli Daniela , D’Apuzzo Mauro , Evangelisti Azzurra , Nicolosi Vittorio
Published: August 2021

Background: Since the beginning of the new millennium, sensitivity towards the environment has been spreading globally. In fact, countries are adopting measures to develop new decision support tools that can evaluate the impact of interventions to promote and encourage sustainable mobility. To reduce the levels of pollution related to road traffic, policies that favor multimodal transport alternatives have been strengthened. This involves the combined use of public transport, cycling and walking paths, as well as sharing services where available. Regardless of the type of transport, the pedestrian component remains relevant in cities, even if the infrastructures are often not adequate to accommodate it and conflicts arise that must be managed. It is, therefore, necessary to assess the exposure to risk in terms of road safety. Methods: To this end, the work proposes a forecasting model to estimate the pedestrian flows that load the network. The methodology employs a hybrid approach that appears to better capture the movements of pedestrians. Results: By comparing the results of the model with the real data collected on the study area, satisfactory estimates were obtained. Conclusions: Therefore, this can be an effective tool to help road managers to evaluate the actions to protect vulnerable users.
School Commuting: Barriers, Abilities and Strategies toward Sustainable Public Transport Systems in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Yumita Fariha Riska , Irawan Muhammad Zudhy , Malkhamah Siti , Kamal Muhammad Iqbal Habibi
Published: August 2021

This study aims to investigate students’ difficulties in using the bus to get to school based on Rasch analysis and examines students’ innate abilities in handling the barriers. A total of 536 high school students in Yogyakarta were randomly surveyed. This study considers forty barriers of bus use grouped into eight aspects: safety, bus stop reliability, accessibility, mobility, payment system, bus reliability, transfer efficiency, and information and communication technology. The results show that the students experienced 18 main barriers in using the bus. The limited time of travel, circuitous routes, and distance to the bus stops were the three most significant barriers for students in using the bus during the morning commute. Conversely, students reported no difficulty using the bus regarding safety and payment system aspects. This result additionally shows that gender, age, allowance, and drivers’ licenses also influence the extent of the barrier experienced by the students. Finally, some strategies to increase the students’ ability to overcome barriers in utilizing the bus are proposed to create a sustainable public transport system in Yogyakarta.
A New Index to Assess Vulnerability to Regional Shrinkage (Hollowing out) Due to the Changing Age Structure and Population Density
Authors: Lee Jimin , Suh Kyo
Published: August 2021

In South Korea, there is an awareness of the risks of regional shrinkage and depopulation due to demographic changes and unbalanced population distribution. With concerns about the extinction of local cities and the hollowing out of rural communities, scholars have increasingly called for new population indices or indicators to evaluate the current state of the local population. The purpose of this study was to develop a vulnerability index to effectively analyze the age structure and population changes associated with regional shrinkage (i.e., hollowing out). This study applied ranking and correlation analysis results using data for population density and the population structure by age to develop a new index to assess a region’s vulnerability to the regional shrinkage effect. The new vulnerability index identified vulnerable regions by evaluating regional vulnerability using 2019 data. We also conducted a correlation analysis to validate the new index and found that the proposed index was significantly correlated with population growth and all other demographic indicators. The index developed in this study can be used to assess and compare the vulnerability of areas to regional shrinkage following population changes.
Tourist Environmentally Responsible Behavior and Satisfaction; Study on the World’s Longest Natural Sea Beach, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Authors: Sahabuddin Md. , Tan Qingmei , Hossain Imran , Alam Md. Shariful , Nekmahmud Md.
Published: August 2021

This research was aimed at investigating the environmentally responsible behavior of tourists and their satisfaction with a tourist destination. Moreover, this study examined the effects of employee service quality, perceived value, environmental commitment and tourist satisfaction with a destination on loyalty and environmentally responsible behavior. We used data from tourists (n = 640) who had previously visited the world’s longest natural sea beach (Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh). A partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) method was used in this study to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses. The results suggest that the perceived value of the destination has a significantly positive impact on both tourist satisfaction and environmental commitment. Similarly, employee service quality significantly impacts perceived value, tourist satisfaction and environmental commitment. Thus, both perceived value and employee service quality also substantially affect the environmentally responsible behavior at the Cox’s Bazar tourist destination. The main contribution of this research involved an investigation of the mediating effects of environmental commitment and tourist satisfaction with a destination on loyalty and environmentally responsible behavior using a single model based on relationship quality theory. Tourist satisfaction was found to completely mediate the relationship between the perceived value of a destination and environmentally responsible behavior, as well as loyalty. In addition, the theoretical and managerial implications for the destination were discussed.
Evaluation and Planning Decision on Façade Greening Made Easy—Integration in BIM and Implementation of an Automated Design Process
Authors: Hollands Jutta , Korjenic Azra
Published: August 2021

Façade greening at the intersection between buildings and urban space offers an optimal opportunity to integrate greenery into increasingly dense cities and influence the microclimate and contribute to high quality of life in urban areas. Despite proven numerous positive effects, there is still a lack of implementation and practical relevance is low until now. To integrate existing greening systems directly into future planning processes and thus keep up with the advancing digitalization in the building sector, an integration of these systems into Building Information Modeling (BIM) is urgently needed and in connection to this, the implementation of an automated planning process to support easier realization of greening projects contributing to a sustainable urban development. Therefore, BIM objects were created for five façade greening systems after analyzing the necessary basic data. Subsequently, an automated process was used to optimize the time-consuming conventional planning process of façade greening, with the aim of evaluating the simulated greening variants based on defined parameters. A case study presents the application of the prototypes and the possible calculations over the life cycle of the building. This development holds great potential by simplifying the process of decision-making and placing façade greenery on buildings.
Indigenous Aureobasidium pullulans Strains as Biocontrol Agents of Botrytis cinerea on Grape Berries
Authors: Galli Viola , Romboli Yuri , Barbato Damiano , Mari Eleonora , Venturi Manuel , Guerrini Simona , Granchi Lisa
Published: August 2021

Aureobasidium pullulans is a yeast-like fungus found on the surface of the grape berries that has been proven to act as a biocontrol agent for the management of grey mould disease caused by Botrytis cinerea. In this work, an indigenous strain of A. pullulans isolated from grape berries and selected according to the in vitro activity against B. cinerea, was used in vineyards of the winery where it originated, in comparison with a commercial product containing two A. pullulans strains with the aim of assessing its effectiveness as a biocontrol agent. The experimental design included daily meteorological data registration and the early defoliation of grapevines as treatments. The monitoring of A. pullulans strains on grape berries by plate counts and molecular methods as well as of B. cinerea symptoms on grape bunches was performed in the different trials from the end of flowering to the harvest time. Results highlighted that although no significant differences (p < 0.05) in the occurrence of B. cinerea were detected according to different treatments, the mean incidence of symptomatic berries ranged from 7 to 16%, with the lowest values recorded in bunches treated with the indigenous A. pullulans strain. The efficacy of the biocontrol agent was affected more by meteorological conditions than the defoliation practice.
Extracting Semantic Relationships in Greek Literary Texts
Authors: Christou Despina , Tsoumakas Grigorios
Published: August 2021

In the era of Big Data, the digitization of texts and the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are enabling the automatic analysis of literary works, allowing us to delve into the structure of artifacts and to compare, explore, manage and preserve the richness of our written heritage. This paper proposes a deep-learning-based approach to discovering semantic relationships in literary texts (19th century Greek Literature) facilitating the analysis, organization and management of collections through the automation of metadata extraction. Moreover, we provide a new annotated dataset used to train our model. Our proposed model, REDSandT_Lit, recognizes six distinct relationships, extracting the richest set of relations up to now from literary texts. It efficiently captures the semantic characteristics of the investigating time-period by finetuning the state-of-the-art transformer-based Language Model (LM) for Modern Greek in our corpora. Extensive experiments and comparisons with existing models on our dataset reveal that REDSandT_Lit has superior performance (90% accuracy), manages to capture infrequent relations (100%F in long-tail relations) and can also correct mislabelled sentences. Our results suggest that our approach efficiently handles the peculiarities of literary texts, and it is a promising tool for managing and preserving cultural information in various settings.
Spatial Effects of Domestic Tourism on Urban-Rural Income Inequality
Authors: Zeng Zhixin , Wang Xiaojun
Published: August 2021

Although much of the recent research has explored the relationship between domestic tourism and income inequality among regions, provinces, and cities, few studies have examined the impact of domestic tourism on income inequality between urban and rural areas within a region. This paper uses a panel dataset covering China’s 31 provinces for 21 years to investigate the spatial spillover effect of domestic tourism on urban-rural income inequality. An increase in domestic tourism revenue in neighboring provinces leads to a reduction in the local province’s urban-rural income inequality. Innovatively, we decompose domestic tourism revenue and consider the circumstances in different provinces. An increase in the number of neighboring provinces’ domestic tourists’ arrival decreases the local province’s urban-rural income inequality in western provinces but increases the inequality in eastern provinces; the effect is insignificant in central provinces. In order to improve urban-rural income inequality by attracting domestic tourists, this study suggests a collaborative strategy for the western region, a low-priority strategy for the central region, and a mitigation strategy for the eastern region.
Assessment of the Impact of Social Responsibility on Poverty
Authors: Jakunskiene Egle
Published: August 2021

Being one of the open social innovations of business entities, social responsibility is taking an important role in our society. It not only contributes to the improvement of the financial indicators of business entities, but also has a significant impact on the economic development of countries and the creation of well-being of the society members. The business contribution to environmental and social initiatives influences various economic processes and, at the same time, affects the level of poverty in countries. The purpose of this thesis is to review the concept of social responsibility and its content after the analysis of the scientific literature, and to assess the impact of social responsibility on poverty indicators after an empirical study. The assessment was performed by using the methods of analysis of the scientific literature, mathematical–statistical analysis, comparative analysis, correlation analysis, as well as by studying the presented statistical data at the level of the three Baltic States — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The conducted research manifested a significant impact of the business units operating in the production sector on the employed people who are at the brink of poverty, by categorizing them by sex, age, and education. The research revealed the negative impact of the business social responsibility that is directed towards the environment field on the poverty rates of older age (65+) residents, due to the installation of new equipment and technologies. Additionally, business investments mostly affect people with secondary, and lower than secondary, education. The influence of the actual pollution amount in the production sector, to ensure the financial stability of the society, was observed. The research results are significant not only to the Baltic region, but to other economies that are seeking to reduce the poverty level in the country, by integrating the business social responsibility as well.
Prototype Development of a Cross-Institutional Credit Transfer Information System for Community College Transfer Students
Authors: Cheung Kin , Li Bin , Benz Peter , Chow Ka Ming , Ng Jeremy Tzi Dong , Kwok Wilson Yeung Yuk , Tsang Hilda , Leung Dicky Nok Hang , Lui Janus Ka Yee , Li Yee Na , So Eunice , Leung Alice
Published: August 2021

Credit transfer information systems in higher education are not well studied. This article demonstrates the prototype development of a cross-institutional credit transfer information system (CICIS) for community college transfer (i.e., vertical transfer) students in an Asian educational context. It exhibits credit transfer guidelines and past credit transfer records to enhance the transparency and sustainability of credit transfer information and to facilitate the transfer process of prospective community college transfer students. It also ensures the sustainability of credit transfer information and its application. The four-phase life cycle of the prototyping model was adopted to guide the study. In this paper, we report the first three phases of this development: (1) Users’ needs assessment and pre-prototyping groundwork, (2) prototype development, and (3) unforeseen circumstances and expert review. Challenges and difficulties throughout the whole process are documented and discussed. Based on this prototype development experience, a solid foundation of strategies for future engineering and enhancement of credit transfer information systems can be developed.
Estimating the Cost of the Spanish Sustainable Food Basket through the Reference Budgets Approach
Authors: Carrillo-Álvarez Elena , Muñoz-Martínez Júlia , Salinas-Roca Blanca , Cussó-Parcerisas Irene
Published: August 2021

Reference budgets (RB) are illustrative priced baskets containing the minimum goods and services necessary for well-described types of families to have adequate social participation. Cross-country comparable food RB with the minimum cost were previously developed in 26 EU countries. However, sustainability was not considered. The aim of this paper is to present the development of healthy and sustainable food baskets for Spanish adults. This work follows the steps proposed in previous European projects to build RB: (1) revision of guidelines on healthy and sustainable eating and expert consultations, (2) translation into a concrete list of foods, (3) pricing. The results indicate that a sustainable diet can be cheaper than current recommendations when only the dietary content is considered, representing monthly savings of about EUR 7.27. This is mainly explained by the shift towards more plant-based proteins. Adding constraints on origin, packaging and seasonality increases the overall cost of the food basket by EUR 12.22/month compared with current recommendations. The Spanish Sustainable Food Reference Budget illustrates the cost of applying different criteria to improve dietary sustainability in the Spanish context, and can be useful to support the ecological transition, since providing different levels of adherence to a sustainable dietary pattern can ease its access across socioeconomic groups.
Construction Disputes and Associated Contractual Knowledge Discovery Using Unstructured Text-Heavy Data: Legal Cases in the United Kingdom
Authors: Lee JeeHee , Ham Youngjib , Yi June-Seong
Published: August 2021

Construction disputes are one of the main challenges to successful construction projects. Most construction parties experience claims—and even worse, disputes—which are costly and time-consuming to resolve. Lessons learned from past failure cases can help reduce potential future risk factors that likely lead to disputes. In particular, case law, which has been accumulated from the past, is valuable information, providing useful insights to prepare for future disputes. However, few efforts have been made to discover legal knowledge using a large scale of case laws in the construction field. The aim of this paper is to enhance understanding of the multifaceted legal issues surrounding construction adjudication using large amounts of accumulated construction legal cases. This goal is achieved by exploring dispute-related contract terms and conditions that affect judicial decisions based on their verdicts. This study builds on text mining methods to examine what type of contract conditions are frequently referenced in the final decision of each dispute. Various text mining techniques are leveraged for knowledge discovery (i.e., analyzing frequent terms, discovering pairwise correlations, and identifying potential topics) in text-heavy data. The findings show that (1) similar patterns of disputes have occurred repeatedly in construction-related legal cases and (2) the discovered dispute topics indicate that mutually agreed upon contract terms and conditions are import in dispute resolution.
Factors Affecting the Organizational Adoption of Blockchain Technology: Extending the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) Framework in the Australian Context
Authors: Malik Saleem , Chadhar Mehmood , Vatanasakdakul Savanid , Chetty Madhu
Published: August 2021

Blockchain technology (BCT) has been gaining popularity due to its benefits for almost every industry. However, despite its benefits, the organizational adoption of BCT is rather limited. This lack of uptake motivated us to identify the factors that influence the adoption of BCT from an organizational perspective. In doing this, we reviewed the BCT literature, interviewed BCT experts, and proposed a research model based on the TOE framework. Specifically, we theorized the role of technological (perceived benefits, compatibility, information transparency, and disintermediation), organizational (organization innovativeness, organizational learning capability, and top management support), and environmental (competition intensity, government support, trading partners readiness, and standards uncertainty) factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. We confirmed the model with a sample of adopters and potential adopter organizations in Australia. The results show a significant role of the proposed factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. Additionally, we found that the relationship between the influential factors and BCT adoption is moderated by “perceived risks”. The study extends the TOE framework by adding factors that were ignored in previous studies on BCT adoption, such as perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organizational innovativeness, organizational learning capability, and standards uncertainty.
Active Signage of Pedestrian Crossings as a Tool in Road Safety Management
Authors: Szagała Piotr , Olszewski Piotr , Czajewski Witold , Dąbkowski Paweł
Published: August 2021

The main objective of the study was to verify the effectiveness of active pedestrian crossings equipped with flashing lights activated automatically by detected pedestrians. A pilot study was conducted in two sites, where speed profiles of vehicles over the distance of 30 m before the crossing were analyzed. The study produced promising results in terms of reducing vehicle speeds so the next study investigated four other unsignalized pedestrian crossings. They were video-recorded for 48 h each, before, after and a year after installation. The ANOVA test was used to check the statistical significance of changes in selected indicators. Even after a year from the installation, the effect of the active signage remained significant. The average percentage of drivers yielding to pedestrians was 77.4% higher and the average waiting time 25.2% lower than before the installation. The average speeds of vehicles were 3.53 km/h lower on collector and 2.60 km/h lower on arterial streets. A decline in the probability of a pedestrian being killed or severely injured (KSI) ranged from 6.3 pp (9.4%) on the arterial streets immediately after the installation up to 12.9 pp (31.7%) on the collector streets one year after.
Co-Creating a Sustainable Regional Brand from Multiple Sub-Brands: The Andaman Tourism Cluster of Thailand
Authors: Pongsakornrungsilp Siwarit , Pongsakornrungsilp Pimlapas , Pusaksrikit Theeranuch , Wichasin Pimmada , Kumar Vikas
Published: August 2021

The purpose of this study was to explore how a regional brand can be co-created among different cities by employing the concept of place branding and brand culture. The Andaman Tourism Cluster of Thailand (ATC) generates the most tourism revenue in Thailand. Developing a regional brand identity can strengthen the competitive advantage of the ATC. Data were collected using multi-method research through questionnaires, projective techniques, and focus group interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. This study also shows that multi-method research contributes to brand management by facilitating collaboration, participation, and brand congruence among stakeholders. Quantitative and qualitative data were synthesized in order to develop the brand identity of the ATC. Focus group interviews were also employed to co-create the regional brand identity as ‘Irresistible Andaman’, of which sustainable tourism management is a fundamental aspect. This study demonstrates how multiple sub-brands with different stakeholders can be integrated into a single regional brand. Moreover, stakeholders should focus on internal branding by communicating with all stakeholders to co-create brand congruence.
Sustainable Material Management of Industrial Hazardous Waste in Taiwan: Case Studies in Circular Economy
Authors: Tsai Chi-Hung , Shen Yun-Hwei , Tsai Wen-Tien
Published: August 2021

In recent years, the rapid economic development in Taiwan has resulted in greater complexity in handling industrial hazardous waste. The main aim of this paper was to present a trend analysis of the online reported amounts of industrial hazardous waste from the official database over the past decade (2010–2020). In addition, this study focused on the environmental policies and regulatory measures for the mandatory material resources from industrial hazardous waste according to the promulgation of the revised Waste Management Act. It was found that the annual reported amounts of industrial hazardous waste ranged from 1200 thousand metric tons to 1600 thousand metric tons, reflecting a balanced relationship between the industrial production and waste management. Based on the principles of resource recycling and circular economy, some case studies for specific types of industrial hazardous waste (including spent acid etchant, spent pickling liquid, and spent dimethyl formamide-contained liquid) were compiled to echo the government efforts in sustainable material management. In Taiwan, recycling amounts in 2020 were recorded up to 92,800, 130,460, and 54,266 metric tons, respectively. It was suggested to be a successful circular economy model in the printed circuit boards, steel/iron processing, and synthetic leather industries. In order to effectively reduce the environmental loadings and conserve material resources from industrial hazardous waste, some recommendations were also addressed to provide for the policy makers, environmental engineers and process manager.
Perception of Social Responsibility Strategy in Higher Education: Empirical Study in Poland
Authors: Kieżel Małgorzata , Piotrowski Paweł , Wiechoczek Joanna
Published: August 2021

Today, the role of universities in the education of future managers who promote the principles of social responsibility (SR) and CSR in business practice is pivotal. Properly educated management staff of organizations can disseminate knowledge on this subject and apply its principles in practice. The research scope of the paper is to identify the knowledge and perception of the University Social Responsibility Declaration (Polish national programme in this field, hereinafter called USRD) among the students of the University of Economics in Katowice. The research assumes that most of the students do not have any knowledge about such programs as the USRD, and that despite this, they see the need for implementation of the specific principles of the USRD into university’s activities. Significance of specific principles is associated with students’ sociodemographic and psychographic characteristics. The strongest relation between the perception of the importance of the objectives of USRD and students’ characteristics is observed in the declared extent to which respondents implement the principles of social responsibility in their everyday life, as well as in their age and year of study. The more the students use those principles, the higher they personally rate specific principles of the USRD.
Review of a Disruptive Vision of Future Power Grids: A New Path Based on Hybrid AC/DC Grids and Solid-State Transformers
Authors: Monteiro Vitor , Martins Julio S. , Aparício Fernandes João Carlos , Afonso Joao L.
Published: August 2021

Power grids are evolving with the aim to guarantee sustainability and higher levels of power quality for universal access to electricity. More specifically, over the last two decades, power grids have been targeted for significant changes, including migration from centralized to decentralized paradigms as a corollary of intensive integration of novel electrical technologies and the availability of derived equipment. This paper addresses a review of a disruptive vision of future power grids, mainly focusing on the use of hybrid AC/DC grids and solid-state transformers technologies. Regarding hybrid AC/DC grids in particular, they are analyzed in detail in the context of unipolar and bipolar DC grids (i.e., two-wire or three-wire DC grids), as well as the different structures concerning coupled and decoupled AC configurations with low-frequency or high-frequency isolation. The contextualization of the possible configurations of solid-state transformers and the different configurations of hybrid transformers (in the perspective of offering benefits for increasing power quality in terms of currents or voltages) is also analyzed within the perspective of the smart transformers. Additionally, the paper also presents unified multi-port systems used to interface various technologies with hybrid AC/DC grids, which are also foreseen to play an important role in future power grids (e.g., the unified interface of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems), including an analysis concerning unified multi-port systems for AC or DC grids. Throughout the paper, these topics are presented and discussed in the context of future power grids. An exhaustive description of these technologies is made, covering the most relevant and recent structures and features that can be developed, as well as the challenges for the future power grids. Several scenarios are presented, encompassing the mentioned technologies, and unveiling a progressive evolution that culminates in the cooperative scope of such technologies for a disruptive vision of future power grids.
Sustaining Astronauts: Resource Limitations, Technology Needs, and Parallels between Spaceflight Food Systems and those on Earth
Authors: Douglas Grace L. , Wheeler Raymond M. , Fritsche Ralph F.
Published: August 2021

Food and nutrition are critical to health and performance and therefore the success of human space exploration. However, the shelf-stable food system currently in use on the International Space Station is not sustainable as missions become longer and further from Earth, even with modification for mass and water efficiencies. Here, we provide a potential approach toward sustainability with the phased addition of bioregenerative foods over the course of NASA’s current mission plans. Significant advances in both knowledge and technology are still needed to inform nutrition, acceptability, safety, reliability, and resource and integration trades between bioregenerative and other food systems. Sustainability goals on Earth are driving similar research into bioregenerative solutions with the potential for infusion across spaceflight and Earth research that benefits both.
Evaluating Institutional Dichotomy between Urban and Rural Land Administration in Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Authors: Nega Worku , Tenaw Mulugeta , Hunie Yeneneh , Agegnehu Sayeh Kassaw , Mansberger Reinfried
Published: August 2021

Institutional setup in the land administration system plays a crucial role in the successful functioning of modern land administration. The institutional setup, whether separated for urban and rural land administration or unified, is responsible for implementing the legal and policy framework. In most regions of Ethiopia, including the Amhara National Regional State, the institutional setup is separated, which results in increasing difficulties to administer land efficiently. The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges and opportunities of the institutional dichotomy between urban and rural land administration in the Amhara region. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. Questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews with key informants were applied to collect the data. As the findings of the study revealed, about 55% of the respondents agreed that the integration between urban and rural land administration institutions is weak. In addition, 38% of the respondents also confirmed that the integration between the two independent institutions is very weak. The institutional separation between urban and rural land has opened the door for land invasion and informal settlement in peri-urban areas. The study also identifies overlapping job titles, wastage of human and material resources, and promulgation of contradicting urban and rural land laws as the challenges in the region due to the dichotomy of land administration between urban and rural. Although administering urban and rural land in separate institutions helps for minimizing the workload, the findings tend to administer land in a unified institution and within an independent ministry.
An Evaluation of the Importance of Smart Tourism Tools in the Riobamba Canton, Ecuador
Authors: Castillo Vizuete Danny Daniel , Gavilanes Montoya Alex Vinicio , Muñoz Jácome Eduardo Antonio , Chávez Velásquez Carlos Renato , Borz Stelian Alexandru
Published: August 2021

The use of the state-of-art information and communication technology has been found to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the tourism industry and many countries have chosen to implement smart tourism tools as a strategy to adapt to the continuously changing profile of tourists. While there are many tools which could be implemented for such endeavors, the evaluation of the tourist preferences in relation to their use and importance needs to be done so as to ensure at least the sustainability of investments and of the local development strategies. The Chimborazo Fauna Reserve (canton of Riobamba, Ecuador) was selected for the application of a questionnaire survey to evaluate the importance of 38 smart tourism tools based on the experience of Ecuadorian and international tourists with them. The survey considered more than 700 respondents and 500 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis which was done mainly by developing distributions of the relative frequencies of ratings given on a 5-point Likert scale and by a correspondence analysis at the level of two subsamples: national and international tourists. There were obvious differences between these two groups in terms of importance placed on the smart tourism tools. The first difference was that the Ecuadorian tourists found less utility in the smart tools as compared to the international tourists. The second difference was that the best rated tools in terms of importance were different among the two groups, with the international tourists placing, for instance, more importance on safety-related tools. Correspondence analysis has shown the similarities of profiles and data association, being a useful tool of associating the ratings to the evaluated tools. The knowledge gained by the survey may be helpful in supporting the development of local tourist strategies, providing at the same time valuable data to support preference comparisons with other tourist destinations and countries.
Effects of Amendment with Various Vermicomposts on the Soil Fertility, Growth of Brassica chinensis L., and Resistance of Spodoptera litura Fabricius larvae
Authors: Fong Chang-Jun , Chuang Yi-Yuan , Lai Hung-Yu
Published: August 2021

Amendments with vermicomposts can reduce the incidence of pests. In this study, earthworms were fed different foods to produce four vermicomposts. A pot experiment was then conducted to assess different vermicomposts’ effects on soil fertility, and the secondary metabolite content and antioxidant capacity of Brassica chinensis L., and on the growth of Spodoptera litura larvae. The results showed that the characteristics of vermicomposts are mainly affected by food supplements, and that the application of vermicomposts can improve soil fertility, whereas increasing the soil and leaf sulfur content can decrease the relative growth rate of S. litura larvae. However, there were no significant differences in the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), nor the DPPH free radical scavenging ability under the different treatments.
Green Energy—Green for Whom? A Case Study of the Kabinakagami River Waterpower Project in Northern Canada
Authors: Tsuji Stephen R. J. , McCarthy Dan D. P. , Quilley Stephen
Published: August 2021

Green energy has become a term that heralds efforts of environmental conservation and protection worldwide; however, much of it is marred with questions of what it means to be green. More precisely, it has become a question of Green for whom? While many of the impacts of supposed green energy projects are local in their reach, some may be more regional in their scope, such as hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power generation negatively impacts the environment and people who rely on the environment for sustenance, such as, Indigenous peoples of northern Canada. Taking into account their position with respect to the areas impacted by these green projects, many Indigenous peoples have voiced their concerns and doubts concerning green energy, which is purported to be a mode of energy production that champions the environment. The Kabinakagami River Waterpower Project serves as a case study for both the potential effects of the project and the different views associated with these endeavors. If nothing else, the accounts and testimonies found within shall stand as a testament to the hubris of calling an energy project green without properly assessing and considering the impacts. While these statements relate to the case presented, they also carry significance in the wider world due to the numerous Indigenous communities around the world that are having their spaces slowly being encroached upon in the name of sustainable growth, or green energy. This will especially be true in the post-COVID-19 period where green energy and a green economy are being touted as a way towards state and worldwide recovery.
Generalized Interface Shear Strength Equation for Recycled Materials Reinforced with Geogrids
Authors: Udomchai Artit , Hoy Menglim , Suddeepong Apichat , Phuangsombat Amornrit , Horpibulsuk Suksun , Arulrajah Arul , Thanh Nguyen Chi
Published: August 2021

In this research, large direct shear tests were conducted to evaluate the interface shear strength between reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and kenaf geogrid (RAP–geogrid) and to also assess their viability as an environmentally friendly base course material. The influence of factors such as the gradation of RAP particles and aperture sizes of geogrid (D) on interface shear strength of the RAP–geogrid interface was evaluated under different normal stresses. A critical analysis was conducted on the present and previous test data on geogrids reinforced recycled materials. The D/FD, in which FD is the recycled materials’ particle content finer than the aperture of geogrid, was proposed as a prime parameter governing the interface shear strength. A generalized equation was proposed for predicting the interface shear strength of the form: α = a(D/FD) + b, where α is the interface shear strength coefficient, which is the ratio of the interface shear strength to the shear strength of recycled material, and a and b are constants. The constant values of a and b were found to be dependent upon types of recycled material, irrespective of types of geogrids. A stepwise procedure to determine variable a, which is required for analysis and design of geogrids reinforced recycled materials in roads with various gradations was also suggested.
The Governance Challenge within Socio-Technical Transition Processes: Public Bicycles and Smartphone-Based Bicycles in Guangzhou, China
Authors: Tan Hongze , Du Shengchen
Published: August 2021

In urban China, utilitarian cycling plays a significant role in achieving sustainable mobility. Within this context, different kinds of sharing-bicycle programs equipped with new technologies/devices emerge and extend. By comparing two generations of them in Guangzhou (China), this paper explores how new technologies impact existing modes of mobility governance. First, the technical innovations, e.g., app-based bicycle locks and micro-GPS equipment, contribute to liberating emerging private companies from existing governmental regulations based on land control. Second, the adoption of these innovations not only contributes to the accumulation of cultural and symbolic capitals based on a fashionable lifestyle but also links bicycles to personal point-to-point travel data that could be translated to economic capital. Third, the discrepancy between the dispositions of the government and private companies regarding the innovations opens an opportunity for the quick extension of sharing bicycles, which brings both positive and negative consequences on citizens’ daily travel and life. The absence of other civic actors in the decision-making process accelerates the negative consequences caused by the profit-driven fast extension of sharing bicycles and the governmental top-down governing logic. These findings provide academia with implications for understanding the impact of innovations on achieving sustainable mobility.
Effects of Fog in a Brazilian Road Segment Analyzed by a Driving Simulator for Sustainable Transport: Drivers’ Visual Profile
Authors: Calsavara Felipe , Kabbach Junior Felipe Issa , Larocca Ana Paula C.
Published: August 2021

Visibility is a critical factor for drivers to perceive roadway information, and fog is an inclement weather condition that directly impacts their vision, since it reduces both overall contrast and visibility of the driving scene. Visual attention has been considered a contributing factor to traffic crashes, and fog-related accidents are prone to be more severe and involve multiple vehicles. The literature lacks studies on the influence of fog on drivers’ visual performance and environment’s infrastructure design. This article investigates the effects of fog on drivers’ performance in a Brazilian curved road segment through a driving simulator experiment – more precisely, whether the presence of fog (foggy scenario) or its absence (clear scenario) significantly affects the visual profile. In the foggy scenario, the results showed the tracked area was concentrated in a smaller region, despite an increase in the number of fixations compared with the clear scenario. The fixation duration did not change between the scenarios and the pupil dilation was shorter in the foggy one. The study shows the influence of environmental conditions on the driver’s performance and is one of the first on the use of driving simulators with realistic representations of the road infrastructure and its surrounding for the understanding of driving under fog in the Brazilian scenario. Besides roadway geometry elements, driving simulator studies enable analyses of features related to the interaction between route environment and driver’s answer, and can improve safety in places with visibility problems caused by fog, reducing their environmental impact and preserving drivers’ lives.