bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Fiscal Policy Promote Third-Party Environmental Pollution Control in China? An Evolutionary Game Theoretical Approach
Authors: Zhou Caihua , Xie Hualin , Zhang Xinmin
Published: August 2019

To promote third-party environmental pollution control in China, it is necessary to dissect the mechanism of fiscal policy in third-party environmental pollution control. This study first discusses the acting paths of fiscal policies on third-party environmental pollution control in theory. A tripartite evolutionary game model involving the local government, the polluting enterprise, and the third-party enterprise is established. The replicator dynamics, evolutionary stability strategies, and numerical simulation of the behavior of the three participants are analyzed to further study the acting mechanism of fiscal policy in third-party environmental pollution control. In addition, the influences of other parameters on the implementation of third-party environmental pollution control are evaluated. The results show that the behaviors of the local government, the polluting enterprise, and the third-party enterprise influence each other. Furthermore, strengthening the relevant fiscal policy, reducing the risks of the polluting enterprise and third-party enterprise, and improving the benefit to the local government are conducive to promoting third-party environmental pollution control in China. Based on these results, this study proposes the following policy implications: formulating fiscal policies for third-party environmental pollution control, implementing fiscal policies in a dynamic and progressive manner, improving the market mechanism of third-party environmental pollution control, and strengthening the environmental performance assessment of the local government.
Fostering Social Sustainability through Intergenerational Engagement in Australian Neighborhood Parks
Authors: Washington Tracy L. , Flanders Cushing Debra , Mackenzie Janelle , Buys Laurie , Trost Stewart
Published: August 2019

Social sustainability includes aspects of equity and is associated with two of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals focused on promoting good health and well-being for all ages. Yet, this pillar of sustainability is considered the least understood, as compared to economic and environmental components. To address this, our study focused on intergenerational engagement within residential neighborhood parks to foster social sustainability and encourage healthy and active living. This study included an intercept survey with open-ended questions of 386 adult park users within 12 parks in South-East Queensland, one of Australia’s fastest-growing areas. Approximately two-thirds (68%) of adult participants visited the park with one or more children, primarily to use the playground. Further thematic analysis shows that intergenerational interactions predominantly include adults playing with or teaching children. However, intergenerational interactions were limited in numerous situations, such as when adults accompany older children. This paper concludes with a discussion on potential ways to increase intergenerational interactions in parks to promote health and well-being for all ages, thus increasing social sustainability within residential developments.
Performance Measurement for Sustainability: Does Firm Ownership Matter
Authors: Luong Thi Cam Tu , Jorissen Ann , Paeleman Ine
Published: August 2019

Based on contingency and agency insights, this study examines the influence of ownership characteristics on performance measurement systems (PMSs) and outcome-based compensation systems driven by differences in organizational goals and objectives between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) in Vietnam. The influence of ownership characteristics on the design of PMSs received little attention from researchers so far. Moreover, the few studies that are available so far only examined the relationship between firm ownership characteristics and the presence and use of economic performance indicators and economic outcome-based compensation in firms. In this study, the scope of PMSs is broader, and sustainability indicators focusing on community programs, ethical behavior, and government regulation are included in addition to economic based indicators. Analyzing survey data with the use of partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM), we find that the higher the share of the government in an organization’s capital is, the significantly more governmental duty indicators and significantly fewer ethical indicators and economic indicators are included in the PMS and outcome-based compensation systems. The inclusion of community indicators is not associated with firm ownership characteristics. Meanwhile, non-SOEs include significantly more economic value indicators, but no societal measures, like ethical, community-oriented, and governmental duty indicators.
The Relationship between User Perception and Preference of Greenway Trail Characteristics in Urban Areas
Authors: Lee Junga , Lee Hyung-Sook , Jeong Daeyoung , Shafer C. Scott , Chon Jinhyung
Published: August 2019

Greenways provide multiple benefits for trail users’ individual experiences based on users’ background environment and their perceptions of characteristics such as the trail width, vegetation, water, and facilities. Although greenway trail characteristics are important factors that affect users’ preferences, only a few studies have examined individuals’ experiences of greenways based on their perceptions and preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine how greenway trails can be designed to improve users’ experiences in relation to their perceptions and preferences by considering trail characteristics. We examine the relationship between greenway trail characteristics and likability using t-tests as well as correlation and multiple regression analyses. In the current study, virtual tour surveys of greenway users were conducted, with two urban greenway trails as the study sites: Town Lake Trail in Austin, Texas, and Buffalo Bayou Trail in Houston, Texas. Perceptions of all eight greenway trail characteristics, except for background buildings, were significantly different between the trails, and a significant difference in likability was found for five characteristics (the presence of water, trail facilities, trail width, adjacent automobile traffic, and built structures on the trail). In addition, the results of the correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that the presence of water, amount of vegetation, automobile traffic, and built structures were correlated with likability. These findings suggest that designing appropriate types of greenway trails can help increase users’ likeability ratings of urban greenways. This study contributes to the enhancement of trail environments by providing strategies for practitioners to effectively design and manage greenways.
Internet Public Opinion Risk Grading under Emergency Event Based on AHPSort II-DEMATEL
Authors: Mei Yanlan , Tu Yan , Xie Kefan , Ye Yicheng , Shen Wenjing
Published: August 2019

The internet often serves as a communication platform for users to freely express opinions. However, as it supports the quick and wide spread of public opinions, it often results in great uncertainty and is very difficult to control. As a result, evaluating the risk levels of internet public opinion becomes very challenging. The safety of internet public opinion affects the sustainability and stability of society. In this paper, a novel conceptual model of internet public opinion governance is proposed. The model can be used to grade risk levels by combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process Sort II (AHPSort II) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) under a fuzzy environment with triangular fuzzy sets. A numerical example is provided to verify the efficiency of the proposed method, and some managerial implications are also discussed.
The Effect of Heterogeneity and Leadership on Innovation Performance: Evidence from University Research Teams in China
Authors: Huang Shufang , Chen Jin , Mei Liang , Mo Weiqiao
Published: August 2019

Interdisciplinary cooperation is an important way to achieve scientific innovation breakthrough. Currently, great scientific innovation often occurs in interdisciplinary areas. However, they still face challenges in relation to theoretical support and strategic choices. This paper identifies the extent to which interdisciplinary cooperation-induced heterogeneity affects team innovation performance in Chinese universities. The questionnaire survey is employed in this study and the samples selection covers a wide range of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaboration. This study used Poisson regression analysis to create a new method to evaluate innovation performance. Then, the relationship between team heterogeneity and innovation performance was examined and the moderating role of transformational leadership was also introduced. The empirical results show that three independent variables (disciplinary heterogeneity, cognitive heterogeneity, and organisational heterogeneity) all had a significant positive effect on the team innovation performance. Transformational leadership has a significant positive effect on cognitive heterogeneity and innovation performance, but moderating effects did not appear to be seen in the other two relationships. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the value of interdisciplinary research collaboration.
Biogas Production and Fundamental Mass Transfer Mechanism in Anaerobic Granular Sludge
Authors: Afridi Zohaib Ur Rehman , Jing Wu , Younas Hassan
Published: August 2019

Anaerobic granules are responsible for organic degradation and biogas production in a reactor. The biogas production is entirely dependent on a mass transfer mechanism, but so far, the fundamental understanding remains poor due to the covered surface of the reactor. The study aimed at investigating the fundamental mass transfer characteristics of single anaerobic granules of different sizes using microscopic imaging and analytical monitoring under single and different organic loadings. The experiment was conducted in a micro reactor and mass transfer was calculated using modified Fick’s law. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to observe biogas production zones in the granule, and a lab-scale microscope equipped with a camera revealed the biogas bubble detachment process in the micro reactor for the first time. In this experiment, the granule size was 1.32, 1.47, and 1.75 mm, but 1.75 mm granules were chosen for further investigation due to their large size. The results revealed that biogas production rates for 1.75 mm granules at initial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 586, 1700, and 6700 mg/L were 0.0108, 0.0236, and 0.1007 m3/kg COD, respectively; whereas the mass transfer rates were calculated as 1.83 × 10−12, 5.30 × 10−12, and 2.08 × 10−11 mg/s. It was concluded that higher organic loading and large granules enhance the mass transfer inside the reactor. Thus, large granules should be preferred in the granule-based reactor to enhance biogas production.
Organizational Slack, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Integrated Reporting: Evidence from Korea
Authors: Kim Su-In , Shin Hyejeong , Shin Heejeong , Park Sorah
Published: August 2019

This paper examines whether organizational slack is associated with firms’ voluntary disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, and integrated reporting. This is an empirical research study using archival data based on a sample of public firms listed on the Korea Exchange from 2005 to 2016. We manually collected CSR reports, sustainability reports, and integrated reports (IRs) that were published during our sample period. We found that human resource slack was highly related to the publication of corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and integrated reports. Firms initiating such disclosure in their industry groups were likely to have slack in permanent employees as well as financial slack. Additionally, integrated reporting, which is a recent improvement in the delivery of financial and non-financial information, was positively associated with an excess number of regular employees. This study provides evidence that slacks in regular employees are related to a greater degree of voluntary disclosure via standalone CSR or sustainability reporting as well as integrated reporting. These findings suggest that slacks or excess human resources play a crucial role in voluntary corporate disclosure.
Sibling Rivalry vs. Brothers in Arms: The Contingency Effects of Involvement of Multiple Offsprings on Risk Taking in Family Firms
Authors: Chen Jin , Wang Chengyuan , Wang Qiong , Luo Biao
Published: August 2019

Succession process is a significant matter that is vital to the sustainability of a family firm. Families are generous in involving the offspring(s) into the family business so as to fulfill inter-generational succession. In this paper, we concentrate on the issue on the results of the involvement of multiple offsprings in family firms. By using data collected from China listed family firms between 2009 and 2015, we reveal that there exist contingency effects of the involvement of multiple offsprings on risk taking in different phrases. The involvement of new offspring(s) that leads the sibling rivalry to happen would increase risk taking of the family firm in a short-term. While for those family firms in which offsprings serve together as brothers in arms, risk taking is even lower than that of family firms with no more than one offspring. Our findings have managerial implications for dealing with succession process and maintaining sustainability of family businesses.
Cool Pavement Strategies for Urban Heat Island Mitigation in Suburban Phoenix, Arizona
Authors: Sen Sushobhan , Roesler Jeffery , Ruddell Benjamin , Middel Ariane
Published: August 2019

Urban areas are characterized by a large proportion of artificial surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt, which absorb and store more heat than natural vegetation, leading to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Cool pavements, walls, and roofs have been suggested as a solution to mitigate UHI, but their effectiveness depends on local land-use patterns and surrounding urban forms. Meteorological data was collected using a mobile platform in the Power Ranch community of Gilbert, Arizona in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, a region that experiences harsh summer temperatures. The warmest hour recorded during data collection was 13 August 2015 at 5:00 p.m., with a far-field air temperature of about 42 ∘ C and a low wind speed of 0.45 m/s from East-Southeast (ESE). An uncoupled pavement-urban canyon Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed and validated to study the microclimate of the area. Five scenarios were studied to investigate the effects of different pavements on UHI, replacing all pavements with surfaces of progressively higher albedo: New asphalt concrete, typical concrete, reflective concrete, making only roofs and walls reflective, and finally replacing all artificial surfaces with a reflective coating. While new asphalt surfaces increased the surrounding 2 m air temperatures by up to 0.5 ∘ C, replacing aged asphalt with typical concrete with higher albedo did not significantly decrease it. Reflective concrete pavements decreased air temperature by 0.2–0.4 ∘ C and reflective roofs and walls by 0.4–0.7 ∘ C, while replacing all roofs, walls, and pavements with a reflective coating led to a more significant decrease, of up to 0.8–1.0 ∘ C. Residences downstream of major collector roads experienced a decreased air temperature at the higher end of these ranges. However, large areas of natural surfaces for this community had a significant effect on downstream air temperatures, which limits the UHI mitigation potential of these strategies.
Detection of Seasonal Inundations by Satellite Data at Shkoder Urban Area, North Albania for Sustainable Management
Authors: Morelli Stefano , Del Soldato Matteo , Bianchini Silvia , Pazzi Veronica , Krymbi Ervis , Shpori Eriklida , Casagli Nicola
Published: August 2019

The European Space Agency satellites Sentinel-1 radar and Sentinel-2 optical data are widely used in water surface mapping and management. In this work, we exploit the potentials of both radar and optical images for satellite-based quick detection and extent mapping of inundations/water raising events over Shkodër area, which occurred in the two last years (2017–2018). For instance, in March 2018 the Shkodër district (North Albania) was affected twice by the overflow of the Drin and Buna (Bojana) Rivers and by the Shkodër lake plain inundation. Sentinel-1 radar data allowed a rapid mapping of seasonal fluctuations and provided flood extent maps by discriminating water surfaces (permanent water and flood areas) from land/non-flood areas over all the informal zones of Shkodër city. By means of Sentinel-2 data, two color composites maps were produced and the Normalized Difference Water Index was estimated, in order to further distinguish water/moisturized soil surfaces from built-up and vegetated areas. The obtained remote sensing-based maps were combined and discussed with the urban planning framework in order to support a sustainable urban and environmental management. The provided multi-temporal analysis could be easily exploited by the local authorities for flood prevention and management purposes in the inherited territorial context. The proposed approach outputs were validated by comparing them with official Copernicus EMS (Emergency Management Service) maps available for one of the chosen events. The comparison shows good accordance results. As for a further enhancement in the future perspective, it is worth to highlight that a more accurate result could be obtained by performing a post-processing edit to further refine the flooded areas, such as water mask application and supervised classification to filter out isolated flood elements, to remove possible water-lookalikes and weed out false positives.
Ontology-Enhanced Educational Annotation Activities
Authors: Gayoso-Cabada Joaquín , Goicoechea-de-Jorge María , Gómez-Albarrán Mercedes , Sanz-Cabrerizo Amelia , Sarasa-Cabezuelo Antonio , Sierra José-Luis
Published: August 2019

Information and communications technology and technology-enhanced learning have unquestionably transformed traditional teaching–learning processes and are positioned as key factors to promote quality education, one of the basic sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda. Document annotation, which was traditionally carried out with pencil and paper and currently benefits from digital document annotation tools, is a representative example of this transformation. Using document annotation tools, students can enrich the documents with annotations that highlight the most relevant aspects of these documents. As the conceptual complexity of the learning domain increases, the annotation of the documents may require comprehensive domain knowledge and an expert analysis capability that students usually lack. Consequently, a proliferation of irrelevant, incorrect, and/or poorly decontextualized annotations may appear, while other relevant aspects are completely ignored by the students. The main hypothesis proposed by this paper is that the use of a guiding annotation ontology in the annotation activities is a keystone aspect to alleviate these shortcomings. Consequently, comprehension is improved, exhaustive content analysis is promoted, and meta-reflective thinking is developed. To test this hypothesis, we describe our own annotation tool, @note, which fully implements this ontology-enhanced annotation paradigm, and we provide experimental evidence about how @note can improve academic performance via a pilot study concerning critical literary annotation.
A Systemic Design Method to Approach Future Complex Scenarios and Research Towards Sustainability: A Holistic Diagnosis Tool
Authors: Battistoni Chiara , Giraldo Nohra Carolina , Barbero Silvia
Published: August 2019

This article aims to frame the role of Systemic Design (SD) as an alternative design model for the future of design for sustainability, by defining and assessing a structured process to execute Holistic Diagnosis (HD), an innovative context framework. Taking as its background a deep understanding of the design for sustainability and systems thinking concepts that frame SD as a field where HD is rooted, multiple case-study analyses were performed. HD demonstrates its ability to overcome the design boundaries in different fields such as industrial production, local communities, and policy-making, thereby providing a more in-depth understanding of complex environments with an iterative process: assess, research, collect, visualize, and interpret. This framework is a relevant tool for designers to address problem framing in complex scenarios to obtain future sustainable solutions with an innovative and transdisciplinary approach, thereby promoting a horizontal dialogue among all involved components.
Opinion Mining on Social Media Data: Sentiment Analysis of User Preferences
Authors: Păvăloaia Vasile-Daniel , Teodor Elena-Mădălina , Fotache Doina , Danileţ Magdalena
Published: August 2019

Any brand’s presence on social networks has a significant impact on emotional reactions of its users to different types of posts on social media (SM). If a company understands the preferred types of posts (photo or video) of its customers, based on their reactions, it could make use of these preferences in designing its future communication strategy. The study examines how the use of SM technology and customer-centric management systems could contribute to sustainable business development of companies by means of social customer relationship management (sCRM). The two companies included in the study provide a general consumer good in the beverage industry. As such, it may be said that users interacting with the posts these companies make on their official channels are in fact customers or potential customers. The study aims to analyze customer reaction to two types of posts (photos or videos) on six social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and Youtube. It brings evidence on the differences and similarities between the SM customer behaviors of two highly competitive brands in the beverage industry. Drawing on current literature on SM, sCRM and marketing, the output of this study is the conceptualization and measurement of a brand’s SM ability to understand customer preferences for different types of posts by using various statistical tools and the sentiment analysis (SA) technique applied to big sets of data.
Factors Affecting Traditional Medicinal Plant Knowledge of the Waorani, Ecuador
Authors: Weckmüller Holger , Barriocanal Carles , Maneja Roser , Boada Martí
Published: August 2019

This paper explores how medicinal plant knowledge of the Waorani (Ecuador) varies with socio-economic and demographic factors. Medicinal plant knowledge was compared at individual and community levels. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 56 informants (men N= 29, women N= 27) between 15 and 70 years old in five Waorani communities located within the Yasuní National Park and Waorani Ethnic Reserve. We found a positive correlation between an informant’s medicinal plant knowledge and age, and a negative correlation between informant’s medicinal plant knowledge and the years of schooling. Reasons behind these findings are thought to be in the rapid socio-cultural changes of the Waorani due to globalization processes. Increased accessibility to health centers and improved transportation infrastructure result in a loss of ethnobotanical knowledge.
Understanding the Impact of Opinion Leaders’ Characteristics on Online Group Knowledge-Sharing Engagement from In-Group and Out-Group Perspectives: Evidence from a Chinese Online Knowledge-Sharing Community
Authors: Liu Jiaqi , Zhang Zhenping , Qi Jiayin , Wu Hong , Chen Manyi
Published: August 2019

Opinion leaders often play key roles in online knowledge-sharing communities, which has intrigued a lot of researchers and practitioners worldwide. However, it is not clear how various characteristics of opinion leaders may affect different online groups’ knowledge-sharing engagement. This paper aims to answer this question by building upon social capital theory to examine the differential influences of opinion leaders’ characteristics (interactivity, authority, and activity) on online groups. In-groups and out-groups were distinguished, and the study used the context of an investment-oriented online knowledge-sharing community. By leveraging a unique aggregated group-level secondhand dataset collected from Snowball.com, we conducted log-linear and Poisson regression models. The results revealed that the intensity of online group knowledge-sharing engagement was heavily contingent upon the types of characteristics of opinion leaders. We found that in-group knowledge-sharing engagement (generating new knowledge) was driven by an opinion leader’s interactivity and authority, whereas out-group knowledge-sharing engagement (developing new members) could not be facilitated by these types of characteristics. Instead, the opinion leader’s activity hindered out-group users from joining in-groups. The study also identified a “mutual promotion” issue, which was generated from the association between in-group and out-group knowledge-sharing engagement.
Drought Risk Assessment and Estimation in Vulnerable Eco-Regions of China: Under the Background of Climate Change
Authors: Chou Jieming , Xian Tian , Zhao Runze , Xu Yuan , Yang Fan , Sun Mingyang
Published: August 2019

Drought risk analysis can help improve disaster management techniques, thereby reducing potential drought risk under the impacts of climate change. This study analyses observed and model-simulated spatial patterns of changes in drought risk in vulnerable eco-regions in China during 1988–2017 and 2020–2050 using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. To perform a risk assessment and estimation of a drought disaster, three subsystems—namely hazard, vulnerability and exposure—are assessed in terms of the effects of climate change since the middle of the 21st century: (i) Hazards, represented by climate anomalies related to the drought process, such as changes in rainfall averages, temperature averages and evaporation averages; (ii) vulnerability, encompassing land use and mutual transposition between them; (iii) exposure, consisting of socioeconomic, demographic, and farming. The results demonstrated that high hazards continue to be located in the arid zone, high vulnerability levels occur in the Junggar Basin and Inner Mongolia Plateau, and high exposure levels occur Loess Plateau and southern coastal area. In this way, the results provide exhaustive measures for proactive drought risk management and mitigation strategies.
The Opportunities and Risks of the Soil Security Metaphor: A Review
Authors: Allan Catherine
Published: August 2019

Language both represents and constructs our reality. Soil Security is a proposed new frame for encouraging the systematic and interdisciplinary approaches to soil research needed to address complex needs. This bold attempt at reframing may, however, have numerous consequences in addition to its central intent. This review paper explores words and discourses related to ‘Soil Security’. Current understanding of how language frames reality is presented, emphasising the roles of metaphor and entailments. Soil Security is then situated in relation to the broader construct of Environmental Security, with references to security of water, food and energy. Against this background, aspects of Soil Security are explored, and some cautions issued to users of the term. The soil science community is urged to actively consider the implications and nuances of any discourse, including that of Soil Security, with which it engages, or risk being led to operate in unintended or unwelcome ways. To guide this engagement, the review paper concludes with suggestions on how to reflect on the practice of soil science and its role in the future of humanity.
Mind the Gap: The Potential Transformative Capacity of Social Innovation
Authors: Dias Joana , Partidário Maria
Published: August 2019

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the potential of Social Innovation (SI) for social transformation. Being a popular concept, SI has been discussed for decades, increasingly recognized for its complexity. A systematic review of the literature on SI was undertaken to understand the state-of-the-art, the evolution of the concept and its core underpinnings in order to meet the research aim of this paper. The literature is relatively broad in relation to general characteristics of SI and contexts where it is happening, but the use of the ‘social innovation’ term often reveals semantic problems, generating multiple, interchangeable and mixed understandings. In this paper, we identify and discuss two ways of using SI in the literature: (i) one that favours the materialization of SI, as something tangible that can be observed, measured and systematically analysed; we called this a cartesian approach; and (ii) another that uses systemic thinking focussing on successful factors of SI to enhance its transformative capacity in existing system(s) through change in routines, resources, and beliefs; we called this a disruptive approach. While still emerging in SI literature the academic discussion about SI dynamics and its transformative capacity is increasingly addressed by scholars. We conclude the paper by arguing that more transformative-driven and systemic SI may enhance its potential to lead change, while it only creates transformation when it scales-up or out, and when it has durability and transformative impact.
Allocation Methodology of Process-Level Carbon Footprint Calculation in Textile and Apparel Products
Authors: Li Xin , Chen Lizhu , Ding Xuemei
Published: August 2019

Textile and apparel industrial processes generate a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a severe environmental issue for China. Aiming at greenhouse reduction, a carbon footprint calculation method is presented. In carbon footprint calculations, allocation methodology is among the most significant and controversial issues; it can be a major reason for the LCA uncertainty and robustness caused. What is more, allocation methodology impacts directly on the preparation of data collection and system boundary. Different outcomes can be achieved even for apparently similar systems by using a different allocation approach. Textile production has a large range of production process. During textile production process, it may be a single product production with co-products. The current CF calculation only evaluates GHGs emissions at product or plant level, so the difference of the technology on different processes cannot be deduced. Hence, the choice of proper allocation methodology is a crucial issue to be considered in textile and apparel industry. In this paper, based on characteristics of textile and apparel industry, process-level allocation methodology in textile and apparel industry was put forward. The application of allocation methodology was investigated and analyzed with a case study on cotton T-shirts. Firstly, case study results show that greenhouse gases of the ironing and sewing process are the two largest emissions (ironing, 40.82%, and sewing, 34.85%, respectively). Energy-saving refrigeration equipment needs to be chosen to reduce the greenhouse gases significantly. Secondly, for most processes, CF of S2 (auxiliary CF) accounts for the highest proportion of total CF. Preferred to S1, more attention should be paid to reduce the S2 emissions. Thirdly, GHGs emissions of the polo shirt in the sewing process are significantly higher than that of the T-shirt in the sewing stage (T-shirt, 0.167 kg CO2 eq/piece, and polo shirt, 0.371 kg CO2 eq/piece, respectively). This is the consequence that polo shirt’s style and structure determine the complexity of its sewing process. Finally, based on the pearson correlation coefficient, T-shirt production (kg) has a significant negative linear correlation (correlation coefficient: −0.868) with the CF (kg CO2 eq/kg T-shirts), the similar with that (correlation coefficient: −0.963) of all production. Improving the textile and garment production efficiency is significant to reduce the CF of products (per mass) by technological innovation and management optimization. In this study, we demonstrate that the process-level allocation is a feasible method, and can serve as the basis for a textile-specific allocation approach in LCA. Process-level allocation may help to address textile allocation problems and might lead to more detailed LCA results for products. We recommend broad applications and testing of this new allocation approach.
Assessing the Greenness of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems through Green IT Solutions: A Romanian Perspective
Authors: Ursacescu Minodora , Popescu Dan , State Cristina , Smeureanu Ion
Published: August 2019

Businesses and technology play an important role in the global economy, where the achievement of sustainability goals has a positive impact on society and companies. In this regard, there is a need to integrate information technology and sustainability to enable companies to act in a greener manner. Knowing that the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is one of the most powerful business solutions for companies, it is crucial to align its use with sustainability elements through the use of green information technology (IT). We explored the relationship between ERP systems and green IT practices to assess how green IT provides an opportunity for organizations to improve ERP systems in more environmentally responsible initiatives. For that purpose, we empirically analyzed four Romanian economic sectors based on an online survey that contained criteria to explore organizational awareness about developing green ERP systems. The findings indicate that companies are generally focused on the key benefits of ERP systems related to operational aspects and less on the sustainability benefits. Based on these results, the main conclusion highlights the strong need to embed IT in business sustainability initiatives by adopting green IT solutions.
Motivations for Volunteerism, Satisfaction, and Emotional Exhaustion: The Moderating Effect of Volunteers’ Age
Authors: Aranda Mercedes , Zappalà Salvatore , Topa Gabriela
Published: August 2019

This investigation aims to explore the moderating role of volunteers’ age in the relation between motivations for volunteering and, respectively, satisfaction with volunteerism and emotional exhaustion. A longitudinal study was conducted with a sample of 241 Spanish healthcare volunteers. Results show that volunteers’ age moderates the relations between social motivations and satisfaction, and social motivations and volunteers’ emotional exhaustion, and also between growth motivations and satisfaction, and volunteers’ emotional exhaustion. The relationships between security motivations and satisfaction and emotional exhaustion are not moderated by age. Our findings underline that, for younger volunteers, satisfaction decreases when social motives are high, rather than low, and, in the opposite, emotional exhaustion increases when growth motives are high, rather than low. For older volunteers, instead, the only significant effect concern satisfaction, which is higher when social motives are high, rather than low.
Can More Accurate Night-Time Remote Sensing Data Simulate a More Detailed Population Distribution?
Authors: Gao Nannan , Li Fen , Zeng Hui , van Bilsen Daniël , De Jong Martin
Published: August 2019

Aging, shrinking cities, urban agglomerations and other new key terms continue to emerge when describing the large-scale population changes in various cities in mainland China. It is important to simulate the distribution of residential populations at a coarse scale to manage cities as a whole, and at a fine scale for policy making in infrastructure development. This paper analyzes the relationship between the DN (Digital number, value assigned to a pixel in a digital image) value of NPP-VIIRS (the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) and LuoJia1-01 and the residential populations of urban areas at a district, sub-district, community and court level, to compare the influence of resolution of remote sensing data by taking urban land use to map out auxiliary data in which first-class (R1), second-class (R2) and third-class residential areas (R3) are distinguished by house price. The results show that LuoJia1-01 more accurately analyzes population distributions at a court level for second- and third-class residential areas, which account for over 85% of the total population. The accuracy of the LuoJia1-01 simulation data is higher than that of Landscan and GHS (European Commission Global Human Settlement) population. This can be used as an important tool for refining the simulation of residential population distributions. In the future, higher-resolution night-time light data could be used for research on accurate simulation analysis that scales down large-scale populations.
Board Directors’ Expertise and Corporate Corruption Disclosure: The Moderating Role of Political Connections
Authors: Masud Md. Abdul Kaium , Bae Seong Mi , Manzanares Javier , Kim Jong Dae
Published: August 2019

Professional expert directors extensively influence corporate corruption disclosure (CCD), while higher political connections may exacerbate corporate management. This study investigates the relationship between the presence of external experts on a board and CCD, as well as the moderating effect of political connections, on the positive role of legal experts in CCD. The study combines agency, resource dependence and stakeholder theories to show how resourceful directors on the board can promote corruption disclosure. Using data on listed firms in the Bangladeshi financial sector, the study analyzes 247 firm-year observations from 2012 to 2016. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicate that accounting experts, legal experts, political connections and corporate media visibility each have a positive and significant influence on CCD. Moreover, the moderating effect of political connections on the relationship between legal experts and CCD is negative and significant due to their higher political influences. The study has significant implications for corporate governance and for policies concerning the development of the economy while reducing corruption.
Pinch Methods for Efficient Use of Water in Food Industry: A Survey Review
Authors: Nemati-Amirkolaii Keivan , Romdhana Hedi , Lameloise Marie-Laure
Published: August 2019

The implementation of sustainable water management practices, through the recycling and reuse of water, is essential in terms of minimizing production costs and the environmental impact of the food industry. This problem goes beyond the classical audit and housekeeping practices through developing a systemic water-using reduction strategy. The implementation of such an approach needs R&D development, especially for the food industry, where there is a lack of knowledge on: (a) process integration and (b) data on the pollutant indicators or (c) volumes of water used and discharged at specific steps of the food processing line. Since energy pinch analysis emerged, different variations of pinch methods have been developed. As a variation of pinch, Water pinch analysis is a global and systematic approach to minimize water consumption and discharges, especially for the most energy-intensive and water-consuming factories. Based on the nature of the food industry, the real systems are complex, multi-source multi-contaminant systems, the problem should be well formulated, including mathematical constraints (inequalities thresholds). Current work has reviewed comprehensive literature about different variations of pinch analysis. In continue, water pinch method deeply discussed and some relevant data concerning the water using process and pollutant indicators have been reviewed with emphasis on the food industry sector.
Collective Intelligence: An Emerging World in Open Innovation
Authors: Yun JinHyo Joseph , Jeong EuiSeob , Zhao Xiaofei , Hahm Sung Deuk , Kim KyungHun
Published: August 2019

Responding to the lack of empirical research on the effect of collective intelligence on open innovation in the fourth industrial revolution, we examined the relationship between collective intelligence and open innovation. Collective intelligence or crowd innovation not only produces creative ideas or inventions, but also moderates any firm to innovate inside-out, outside-in, or in a coupled manner. We asked the following research questions: Does collective intelligence (or crowd innovation) motivate open innovation? Is there any difference in the effect of collective intelligence on open innovation by industry? These research questions led to the following three hypotheses: (1) Collective intelligence increases the performance of a firm, (2) collective intelligence will moderate the effect of open innovation, and (3) differences exist between the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industry in these two effects. To empirically examine these three hypotheses, we analyzed the registered patents of these two industries from 2000 to 2014 over a 15-year period. These automotive and pharmaceutical patents were registered in the B60 category and the A61K category of the Korea Patent office, respectively. Collective intelligence was measured by co-invention. We found differences in the effects of collective intelligence on open innovation between the two industries. In the automotive industry, collective intelligence not only directly increased the performance, but also indirectly moderated the open innovation effect. However, this was not the case for the pharmaceutical industry.
Forecasting Efficient Risk/Return Frontier for Equity Risk with a KTAP Approach—A Case Study in Milan Stock Exchange
Authors: Dolfin Marina , Leonida Leone , Muzzupappa Eleonora
Published: August 2019

We introduce and discuss a dynamics of interaction of risky assets in a portfolio by resorting to methods of statistical mechanics developed to model the evolution of systems whose microscopic state may be augmented by variables which are not mechanical. Statistical methods are applied in the present paper in order to forecast the dynamics of risk/return efficient frontier for equity risk. Specifically, we adopt the methodologies of the kinetic theory for active particles (KTAP) with stochastic game-type interactions and apply the proposed model to a case study analyzing a subset of stocks traded in Milan Stock Exchange. In particular, we evaluate the efficient risk/return frontier within the mean/variance portfolio optimization theory for 13 principal components of the Milan Stock Exchange and apply the proposed kinetic model to forecast its short-term evolution (within one year). The model has the aim to pave the way to many different research perspectives and applications discussed eventually in the paper. In particular, the case of efficient frontier obtained by minimizing the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) is introduced and a preliminary result is proposed.
Symmetry Analysis of an Interest Rate Derivatives PDE Model in Financial Mathematics
Authors: Kaibe Bosiu C. , O’Hara John G.
Published: August 2019

We perform Lie symmetry analysis to a zero-coupon bond pricing equation whose price evolution is described in terms of a partial differential equation (PDE). As a result, using the computer software package SYM, run in conjunction with Mathematica, a new family of Lie symmetry group and generators of the aforementioned pricing equation are derived. We furthermore compute the exact invariant solutions which constitute the pricing models for the bond by making use of the derived infinitesimal generators and the associated similarity reduction equations. Using known solutions, we again compute more solutions via group point transformations.
Refinement Asymptotic Formulas of Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions of a Fourth Order Linear Differential Operator with Transmission Condition and Discontinuous Weight Function
Authors: Qadir Rando Rasul , Jwamer Karwan Hama Faraj
Published: August 2019

In this paper, we promote the refinement method for estimating asymptotic expression of the fundamental solutions of a fourth order linear differential equation with discontinuous weight function and transmission conditions. These refinement solutions utilize more accurate asymptotic formulas for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the problem.
A Multi-Methodology Approach to Creating a Causal Loop Diagram
Authors: Dhirasasna NiNa , Sahin Oz
Published: August 2019

Developing causal loop diagrams (CLDs) involves identifying stakeholders and endogenous variables and formulating variable causal relationships. Traditionally, the CLDs are developed mainly using a qualitative approach such as literature review, observations and interviews with stakeholders. However, modellers may question which stakeholders should be approached, whether the relevant variables are selected, and what to do when stakeholders perceive different variable relationships in the CLDs differently. Applying in a case study, this research proposes a multi-method approach by combining both quantitative and qualitative methods to select stakeholders, identify endogenous/exogenous variables, and develop the CLDs. The proposed quantitative method is expected to provide modellers with a justifiable stakeholder and variable selection process. The method also highlights possible hidden variables and relationships, which were further explored with a traditional qualitative approach.
Smart Cities and Healthcare: A Systematic Review
Authors: Pacheco Rocha Nelson , Dias Ana , Santinha Gonçalo , Rodrigues Mário , Queirós Alexandra , Rodrigues Carlos
Published: August 2019

Objectives: The study reported in this article aimed to identify: (i) the most relevant applications supported by smart city infrastructure with an impact on the provision of healthcare; (ii) the types of technologies being used; (iii) the maturity levels of the applications being reported; and (iv) major barriers for their dissemination. Methods: A systematic review was performed based on a literature search. Results: A total of 44 articles were retrieved. These studies reported on smart city applications to support population surveillance, active ageing, healthy lifestyles, disabled people, response to emergencies, care services organization, and socialization. Conclusions: Most of the included articles were either of a descriptive and conceptual nature or in an early stage of development, which means that a major barrier for their dissemination is their lack of concreteness.
Suppressive Effects of Bee Venom-Derived Phospholipase A2 on Mechanical Allodynia in a Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain
Authors: Woo Seunghui , Chung Geehoon , Bae Hyunsu , Kim Sun Kwang
Published: August 2019

Bee venom (BV) has a long history of being used in traditional Korean medicine to relieve pain. Here, we investigated the effect of BV-derived phospholipase A2 (bvPLA2), a major component of BV, on peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain in rats. Spinal nerve ligation (SNL) was performed in Sprague Dawley rats to induce neuropathic pain, and paw withdrawal thresholds were measured using von Frey test. Mechanical allodynia, the representative symptom of neuropathic pain, was manifested following SNL and persisted for several weeks. The repetitive bvPLA2 treatment (0.2 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for two days significantly relieved the SNL-induced mechanical allodynia. The antiallodynic effect of bvPLA2 was blocked by spinal pretreatment with α1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin (30 μg, i.t.) but not with α2-adrenergic antagonist idazoxan (50 μg, i.t.). Also, the spinal application of α1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (50 μg, i.t.) reduced mechanical allodynia. These results indicate that bvPLA2 could relieve nerve injury-induced neuropathic mechanical allodynia through the activation of spinal α1-adrenergic receptors.