bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Cultivated Meat in Millennial and Generation X Consumers Resident in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Giezenaar Caroline , Godfrey A. Jonathan R. , Ogilvie Olivia J. , Coetzee Petra , Weerawarna N.R.P. Maheeka , Foster Meika , Hort Joanne
Published: February 2023

Evidence suggests that consumer perceptions and acceptance of cultivated meat (CM) differ between countries, cultures, and consumer groups. Limited research specific to Aotearoa New Zealand (A-NZ) is available. Survey responses from 592 A-NZ residents were analysed to determine CM awareness, willingness to engage with CM, and perceived CM product attributes relative to conventional meat and plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). The effects of gender, age, meat/PBMA consumption frequency, CM awareness, and food neophobia on CM perceptions were determined. The statements were rated on a seven-point Likert scale. Half (52%) of the respondents agreed they were aware of CM. The awareness was higher in men compared to women (p = 0.036), higher in Millennials compared to Generation X (p = 0.022), and higher in regular compared to infrequent PBMA consumers (p = 0.0003). The willingness to engage with CM and perceived CM product attributes were consistently more positive in consumers who were aware, compared with consumers not aware of CM (p < 0.05). Being male, Millennial, low neophobic and a low meat, or high PBMA consumer was also associated with higher potential engagement and perceptions of CM to varying extents. Segmentation divided the respondents into three groups. The ‘positive’ cluster (41%) consumed more PBMAs and less meat and was more aware of CM than the ‘neutral’ (50%) and ‘negative’ (9%) clusters. In conclusion, consumers in A-NZ are not a homogenous group with regards to their perceptions and potential engagement with CM. Increasing awareness and familiarity with CM will be an important strategy to increase engagement with CM.
Tourism Stakeholder Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in Serbia: The Perception of Hotel Employees
Authors: Mijatov Ladičorbić Maja , Dragin Aleksandra S. , Jovanović Tamara , Solarević Milica , Munitlak Ivanović Olja , Stojanović Vladimir , Košić Kristina , Ivkov Džigurski Anđelija , Tomić Slavica , Vujičić Miroslav D. , Nedeljković Knežević Milena , Blešić Ivana , Anđelković Željko , Zadel Zrinka , Tepavčević Jelena , Stoiljković Aleksandra
Published: February 2023

Individual values shaped in the early years of each individual might be reflected in the perception of the business environment. Therefore, this research explored whether there are significant differences in employees’ perceptions of the established dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR), namely philanthropic, legal, economic and ethical, based on differences in the importance of individual values (IV). The research results show that each of the CSR dimensions differs according to the respondents’ IVs. More precisely, there are significant differences in the respondents’ perceptions of the philanthropic dimension of CSR based on differences in the evaluation of sense of belonging, warm relationships, being well respected, fun and enjoyment of life, security, self-respect and sense of accomplishment. Differences in perceptions of the legal dimension of CSR exist only in the case of differences in the evaluation of self-respect. The research results also show that there are significant differences in perceptions of the economic dimension of CSR, based on differences in the evaluation of sense of belonging, warm relationships, fun and enjoyment in life, security, self-respect and sense of accomplishment. Finally, significant differences in the perception of the ethical dimension of CSR exist in the case of differences in sense of belonging, excitement, warm relationships, being well respected, fun and enjoyment of life, security, self-respect and sense of accomplishment. The results could provide the basis of information on how IVs can motivate employees to understand and participate in the proactive management of CSR activities in sensitive environments, such as national parks or other protected areas that become a central meeting place for tourists and employees.
The Role of Digital Transformation in High-Quality Development of the Services Trade
Authors: Zhou Lei , Xia Qing , Sun Huaping , Zhang Ling , Jin Xu
Published: February 2023

China’s economy began as one of high-speed development and has since advanced into a period of high-quality enhancement as driven by the services trade. Data elements are important for promoting services trade. In this paper, we present a literature review of the digital services trade and its development, as well as the main mechanisms of the data factors influencing the services trade. Second, by adopting methods for the combination of qualitative research with quantitative research, we summarize the main advantages of China’s high-quality services trade and identify the key data elements involved. We find data elements play a key role in China’s services trade development. Third, we analyze the main path of data affecting services trade development at the micro level. We then examine the specific case of the Meorient digital innovation service through a case analysis method. From this analysis, we conclude that digital internal and external dual wheels drive enterprise development and that the digital platform unlocks a new business model for the exhibition of science and technology investment to build a digital ecological symbiotic group. These findings provide a reference for the digital transformation of other service trade enterprises. Finally, we propose a means by which to strengthen digital infrastructure by consolidating the industrial foundation of the services trade and by improving the tradability of service products, domestic digital supervision, and the governance system.
Numerical Simulation of Steel Fiber Pull-Out Process Based on Cohesive Zone Model and Unified Phase-Field Theory
Authors: Wu Guozheng , Wang Huiming
Published: February 2023

In steel fiber reinforced concrete, the interface is a very complex and weak structure. It is because of the weak interface layer between the steel fiber and the matrix that the reinforcing and toughening properties of the steel fiber cannot be fully exerted. The interface bond performance is the core of the meso-mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete. To study its influence on the mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete, three-phase finite element models of steel fiber pull-out are established based on the cohesive zone model and unified phase-field theory by means of FEM in this paper. The interface bond is simulated by a zero-thickness cohesive element, and the pull-out process of steel fiber in the concrete matrix is analyzed to provide a basis for the fracture research of steel fiber reinforced concrete. In this paper, the influence of factors such as the embedment depth, length–diameter ratio, embedment angle, and interface properties of steel fibers on the pull-out mechanical properties of steel fibers are considered, and the relevant finite element models are established to conduct numerical simulations of the pull-out process of steel fibers. The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, and this verifies the reliability of the model. The results show that the steel fiber pull-out finite element model established by the cohesive zone model and phase-field regularized cohesive zone model (PF-CZM) has a certain reliability; the peak pull-out load of the steel fiber increases with an increase in the embedment depth of the steel fiber, and decreases with an increase in the length–diameter ratio and embedment angle of the steel fiber; by controlling the strength of the interface layer and the concrete matrix, the reinforcement effect of the steel fiber on the concrete matrix can be improved; and the PF-CZM has a good characterization of the damage and failure evolution process of the concrete matrix.
Optimizing Emergency Shelter Selection in Earthquakes Using a Risk-Driven Large Group Decision-Making Support System
Authors: Bakhshi Lomer Amir Reza , Rezaeian Mahdi , Rezaei Hamid , Lorestani Akbar , Mijani Naeim , Mahdad Mohammadreza , Raeisi Ahmad , Arsanjani Jamal Jokar
Published: February 2023

This study presents a novel risk-based decision support system for helping disaster risk management planners select the best locations for emergency shelters after an earthquake. The system starts by identifying 18 criteria, based on stakeholder analysis, that are important for selecting shelter sites. These criteria are then standardized to reflect their importance in the site selection process. Next, a Large Group Decision-Making (LGDM) model is used to determine the weight of each criterion based on collective intelligence. Finally, the Ordered Weighted Average (OWA) method is used to assess the suitability of different geographical locations for emergency shelters, resulting in a suitability map. The factors that were most significant for selecting the best emergency shelters were the distance from the fault, population density, access to green spaces, and building quality. The area of the optimal sites for emergency shelters in the region varied depending on the decision-maker’s risk attitude, ranging from 4% in an extremely pessimistic scenario to 28% in an extremely optimistic scenario. This system combines Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LGDM to help decision-makers identify the optimal sites for emergency shelters under different risk levels, which can contribute to better-informed decision-making regarding disaster resilience.
The Road to Common Prosperity: Can the Digital Countryside Construction Increase Household Income?
Authors: Li Heng , Yang Shangguang
Published: February 2023

With the rapid development of China’s digital economy, promoting the digital countryside construction has become the strategic focus and priority development direction of rural revitalization and common prosperity. This paper combines the county-level digital countryside index with the data from the China Household Finance Survey to empirically analyze the impact and mechanism of the digital countryside construction on household income. The results show that the digital countryside construction can significantly improve the level of household income. After the endogenous analysis and the robustness test, this core conclusion is still valid. From the perspective of mechanism test, the digital countryside construction can increase household income by promoting household entrepreneurship and nonagricultural employment. Heterogeneity analysis shows that there is no significant difference in the income-increasing effect of the digital countryside construction, whether urban or rural households, or households with different human capital and social relations, which means that the digital countryside development has the characteristics of inclusiveness and sharing. Under the background of unswervingly taking the road of common prosperity for all Chinese people, this paper provides some micro-evidence for how the digital economy can contribute to household income growth, as well as provides a useful reference for the implementation of the digital China strategy.
Do Green Transfer Payments Contribute to Carbon Emission Reduction?
Authors: Shi Mingxia , Wang Yibo
Published: February 2023

Reducing carbon emissions is the top priority for mankind for dealing with climate issues. The Chinese government selected 30 demonstration cities in three batches and provided these cities green special transfer payment funds for three years to build green projects and achieve energy saving and emission reduction (ESER). This policy provides a great opportunity to study whether green transfer payments play an important role in carbon reduction, which has received little attention before. Additionally, the central government set a series of fiscal performance assessment indicators, including the ESER effect, the completion of green projects, and long-term mechanism construction in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of funds. This article creatively conducts theoretical analysis from the perspective of performance assessment, takes ESER special transfer payment policy as a quasi-natural experiment, and uses the panel data of 284 cities in China from 2007 to 2017 and 2019 to verify the impact of the green transfer payment on carbon emissions in and after demonstration periods and its mechanisms with the staggered DID method and the new DID Multiplegt (DIDM) model. This article found that green transfer payments could reduce carbon emissions in demonstration cities, and this effect still existed even after policy withdrawal. Mechanism analysis further corroborates that the carbon-reduction effect of green transfer payments could be achieved by increasing the urban green area and improving energy efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that green transfers have a greater carbon reduction effect on demonstration cities, which receives more green transfer payment funds and has a higher level of financial development. Recommendations related to setting proper performance assessment ESER indicators include improving the management of ESER transfer funds and maximizing the cost–benefit ratio of fiscal funds, which are proposed according to the research conclusions.
Graffiti Paint on Urban Trees: A Review of Removal Procedures and Ecological and Human Health Considerations
Authors: Roviello Valentina , Gilhen-Baker Melinda , Roviello Giovanni N.
Published: February 2023

Mature trees play a fundamental role in nature and are crucial to maintaining good air quality in the urban ecosystem where they reduce air pollution, lower the surface temperature, and emit medicinal volatile organic compounds which combine to improve human health and mental wellbeing. From an aesthetic and cultural point of view, they are true living monuments to be preserved. In both rural and city environments, it takes numerous years for trees to become mature enough to have a significant impact on our health and the current global climate changes together with high levels of pollution in urban environments and other anthropic factors such as vandalism constitute important obstacles to new tree growth. This clearly makes existing trees, especially old growth, far more valuable than we often realize. Regardless of their artistic quality and in some instances their positive messages, graffiti are still unacceptable on living organisms, especially older urban trees. They also have a significant environmental impact due to the emissions related to graffiti that are primarily based on anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. We reviewed the literature on graffiti and paintings applied on tree bark and ultimately found that oil-based paints in particular can damage tree life support systems. We herein also discuss graffiti prevention, the potential impact on human health related with graffiti removal, as well as methods for tree bark cleaning including, as suggested by different urban forestry specialists, the application of citrus-based products for 20–60 min before rubbing and rinsing or multiple 1–2 h treatments, in the case of recent or old graffiti, respectively.
Building Inclusive Smart Cities through Innovation Intermediaries
Authors: Lepore Dominique , Testi Niccolò , Pasher Edna
Published: February 2023

To be inclusive, smart cities should be built on Industry 4.0 technologies within a quadruple helix model involving governments, academia, industry, and citizens. Innovation intermediaries facilitating collaborative innovation could foster this model of smart city. This paper identifies digital innovation hubs (DIHs) as innovation intermediaries that can help build inclusive smart cities. A screening of DIHs in European and extra-European countries through desk research finds 48 DIHs linked to smart city projects or policies, of which 23 are involved in building inclusive smart cities and mostly addressing the areas of smart environment and government. This paper suggests a framework for boosting their functions as transformation leaders, knowledge brokers, and technical mediators to facilitate the use of Industry 4.0 technologies for building inclusive smart cities.
In Vitro Seed and Clonal Propagation of the Mediterranean Bee Friendly Plant Anthyllis hermanniae L.
Authors: Martini Aikaterini N. , Papafotiou Maria
Published: February 2023

Anthyllis hermanniae L. (Fabaceae) is a perennial Mediterranean shrub with the potential to be used as a bee-friendly ornamental plant in arid and semi-arid regions, valued for its tolerance of barren soils, winds, and strong temperature changes. With the aim of facilitating the introduction of the species into the horticulture industry, its in vitro seed and clonal propagation was investigated for the first time, to our knowledge. Seeds stored in the dark at room temperature for 4, 7, 9, 12, and 18 months germinated at percentages higher than 80% after scarification, when incubated in vitro in solid half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium at temperatures from 10 to 25 °C, while photoperiod (continuous darkness or 16 h light period/8 h dark) during incubation did not affect germination. Explants excised from in vitro grown seedlings established at higher percentages compared to explants from adult native plants, more efficiently in MS medium with 1.0 mg L−1 6 N benzyladenine (BA). During subcultures in the same medium, juvenile explants formed more and longer shoots than adult ones. Almost all adult explants formed shoots when subcultured in MS medium with 0.0 to 4.0 mg L−1 BA, zeatin, kinetin or 6-(γ,γ-dimethylallylamino)purine (2iP). ΒA at 0.5 to 2.0 mg L−1 induced many more shoots (17–21) per explant and much higher multiplication indices compared to all other cytokinins, while longer shoots were produced in a medium without hormones or with 0.5–1.0 mg L−1 2iP. Microshoots cultured in half-strength MS medium with 0.0–4.0 mg L−1 indole-3-butyric acid rooted at highest percentage (around 70%) in the medium containing 4.0 mg L−1 IBA, while microshoots of juvenile origin developed more and longer roots compared to adult ones. Micropropagated plantlets were successfully acclimatized ex vitro (>97%), regardless of their origin. The efficient micropropagation of A. hermaniae will facilitate its sustainable exploitation as a bee-friendly landscape plant, a forage plant for honeybees in Mediterranean areas, and a medicinal plant.
Sense of Competence and Feelings of Stress of Higher Education Faculty in the Transition to Remote Teaching: What Can We Learn from COVID-19 Pandemic in the Long Run
Authors: Raveh Ira , Morad Sigal , Shacham Miri
Published: February 2023

This study focuses on measuring and characterizing the sense of competence and feelings of stress of higher education faculty in the transition to ‘Emergency Remote Teaching’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their willingness to adopt it in future. A total of 318 higher education faculty responded to a new questionnaire, developed and validated by the researchers. The findings show that the faculty experience a high sense of competence, related to positive feedback on remote teaching, a tighter trust relationship with the students, and their personal and professional development in the field of techno-pedagogy. Higher education faculty indicate feelings of stress on a medium-low level manifested by frustration and overburden due to difficulties in their interaction with the students, lack of reward, vague home–work boundaries, and techno-pedagogical challenges. The findings show that the more competent and the less stress higher education faculty feel regarding remote teaching, the more they wish to adopt it in future. The findings outline a desirable way to support higher education faculty and their professional development, aiming to reduce feelings of stress and enhance their sense of competence in remote teaching. Thus, they can implement changes, facing the challenges and expectations of higher education’s “new normal” in which technology will play a key role.
Success Factors Influencing Peer-to-Peer Lending to Support Financial Innovation
Authors: Chulawate Natnara , Kiattisin Supaporn
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study is to identify success factors that are conducive to developing the ability to create financial innovation within developing countries for the sake of sustainability. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the identification of success factors. The case study involves a peer-to-peer lending (P2P Lending) business operator in Thailand and focuses on the lender perspective. The results consist of 13 potential factors driving financial innovation in process improvement. The study collected data from 300 respondents through a structured questionnaire. The structural equation model was used to analyze the data via Mplus version 7. In order to gain a better understanding, we emphasize that each country’s financial business may show different success factors due to different situations and environments, which might pose a challenge when drawing conclusions from the survey and building sustainability in the financial industry. The research summarizes the factors of success in 3 contexts with 13 factors; namely, the risk context consists of a higher interest rate, inflation increase, macroeconomics, regulation laws, and legal, liquidity, and finance and credit status. The trust context includes demographic characteristics, biological characteristics, and an individual’s reputational capital, and the lender perspective information context includes loan delinquencies, funded loans, politics, and culture. According to our results, the investor or lender will benefit from bringing concepts and methods that involve adopting international loans.
Analyzing Geotechnical Characteristics of Soils in Erbil via GIS and ANNs
Authors: Qader Zhvan Baqi , Karabash Zuheir , Cabalar Ali Firat
Published: February 2023

The aim of this study is to analyze and model the geotechnical characteristics of soils in Erbil city using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The study used GIS to analyze the geotechnical properties of soils by collecting data from 102 boreholes in three different depth levels (1.5 m–3.5 m, 3.5 m–6.5 m and 6.5 m–9.5 m) to visualize and analyze soil characteristics such as fines content, moisture content, soil plasticity, shear strength parameters, compressibility, Standard penetration test (SPT), and bearing capacity. The paper also establishes the prediction of SPT-N value and bearing capacity based on geotechnical properties of soils using ANN methods and made correlations between SPT values and shear strength parameters with the bearing capacity of the soil. The results analyzed via GIS indicated that the soil classification was silty clay with a small amount of sandy gravel (CL) in most of the study area. According to the SPT–N values, most of the soils in Erbil City ranged between 33 and 50; a higher SPT value generally indicates denser and stronger soil. The value of the shear strength parameter for the maximum friction angle of the soil layers was found to be 36°, and the predominant cohesion was approximately 100 kPa. The compression index of soils ranged between 0.11 to 0.31. The results showed that the ANN models were able to accurately predict the geotechnical parameters of the soil types in the study area. In addition, the use of GIS and ANN techniques allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the geotechnical characteristics of the soils in Erbil, providing valuable information for future construction and development projects.
Digitalization and Firm Financial Performance in Healthcare: The Mediating Role of Intellectual Capital Efficiency
Authors: Scafarto Vincenzo , Dalwai Tamanna , Ricci Federica , della Corte Gaetano
Published: February 2023

The digitalization of processes in healthcare sector firms is expected to reduce costs, improve the quality of healthcare service, customer care experience, and patient safety, and attain efficiency and efficacy in project implementation. This research investigates the impact of digitalization on the financial performance of healthcare-sector firms in the European Union. The study also examines whether a firm’s intellectual capital efficiency mediates the process of digitalization’s impact on a firm’s financial performance. Using a sample of 965 firm observations from 2017 to 2021, we find that digitalization positively affects financial performance. Further analysis suggests that capital-employed efficiency fully mediates the relationship between digitalization and firm performance. Partial mediation is also reported for intellectual capital efficiency, human capital efficiency, and structural capital efficiency in the process of digitalization impacting firm performance. These findings provide fresh insight into how digitalization impacts a firm’s financial performance, establishing intellectual capital efficiency as a mediating mechanism that may explain this impact.
Review of the Effects of Fossil Fuels and the Need for a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Policy in Malaysia
Authors: Azni Muhammad Asyraf , Md Khalid Rasyikah , Hasran Umi Azmah , Kamarudin Siti Kartom
Published: February 2023

The world has relied on fossil fuel energy for a long time, producing many adverse effects. Long-term fossil fuel dependency has increased carbon emissions and accelerated climate change. In addition, fossil fuels are also depleting and will soon be very costly. Moreover, the expensive national electricity grid has yet to reach rural areas and will be cut off in inundation areas. As such, alternative and carbon-free hydrogen fuel cell energy is highly recommended as it solves these problems. The reviews find that (i) compared to renewable energy such as solar, biomass, and hydropower, a fuel cell does not require expensive transmission through an energy grid and is carbon-free, and hence, it is a faster agent to decelerate climate change; (ii) fuel cell technologies have reached an optimum level due to the high-efficiency production of energy, and they are environmentally friendly; (iii) the absence of a policy on hydrogen fuel cells will hinder investment from private companies as they are not adequately regulated. It is thus recommended that countries embarking on hydrogen fuel cell development have a specific policy in place to allow the government to fund and regulate hydrogen fuel cells in the energy generation mix. This is essential as it provides the basis for alternative energy governance, development, and management of a country.
Developing an MCDM Model for the Benefits, Opportunities, Costs and Risks of BIM Adoption
Authors: Zakeri Seyed Mohammad Hossein , Tabatabaee Sanaz , Ismail Syuhaida , Mahdiyar Amir , Wahab Mohammad Hussaini
Published: February 2023

Building information modeling (BIM) offers various deterministic and uncertain benefits and costs. Although there are similarities between such costs and benefits in developed and developing countries, these factors should be analyzed carefully for each region/country due to differences in economic and technical status as well as available policies and regulations. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits and shortcomings of BIM adoption around the globe; however, there is scarce comprehensive research focusing on Iran with unique financial circumstances. The aim of this research is to investigate the benefits, opportunities, costs and risks (BOCRs) offered by BIM implementation in Iran as a developing country with high potential in but less adoption of BIM in construction projects. After identifying the BOCRs of BIM adoption from the literature, the Interval-Valued Fuzzy Delphi Method was used to identify the BOCRs while a novel multi-criteria decision-making approach (i.e., fuzzy parsimonious analytic hierarchy process) was employed to analyze BOCRs, respectively. The results showed that 4 out of 46 BOCRs gathered from the literature were not significant for Iran and should be omitted from further analysis, while one cost factor was added to the list. Also, it was revealed that “Facilitates project communication among stakeholders”, “Integrating life-cycle assessment dimensions to the decision-making process”, “Cost/efforts required to personnel training” and “Lack of national standard, procedures and guidelines” were the most significant BOCRs, respectively. These findings contributed to filling the research gap in BIM adoption in Iran using a novel methodology that provides deep insights into BIM adoption for practitioners and can be used as a basis for developing theoretical and conceptual research frameworks. The findings of this study are built upon the opinions of experts within the context of Iran and should be considered as a snapshot of the BOCRs of the adoption of BIM in Iranian construction projects while these are not futureproofed.
How and When Does Big Data Analytics Capability Boost Innovation Performance?
Authors: Zhang Hua , Yuan Shaofeng
Published: February 2023

The diffusion of big data in recent years has stimulated many companies to develop big data analytics capability (BDAC) to boost innovation performance. However, research regarding how and when BDAC can increase innovation performance is still scant. This study aims to test how (i.e., the mediating role of strategic flexibility and strategic innovation) and when (i.e., the moderating role of environmental uncertainty) BDAC can boost a firm’s innovation performance drawing on resource-based theory. Through a survey of 421 Chinese managers and employees who are engaged in the field of big data analytics, this study reveals that (1) BDAC has a positive effect on innovation performance, (2) strategic flexibility and strategic innovation play a significant serial mediating role in this relationship, and (3) the positive effect of BDAC on innovation performance is more significant under high (vs. low) environmental uncertainty conditions. This study contributes to the extant literature by verifying how BDAC can increase a firm’s innovation performance through the serial mediating role of strategic flexibility and strategic innovation. It also confirms a contingent factor (i.e., environmental uncertainty) regarding the positive effect of BDAC on innovation performance.
Development of Performance Measurement Models for Two-Lane Roads under Vehicular Platooning Using Conjugate Bayesian Analysis
Authors: Samadi Hossein , Aghayan Iman , Shaaban Khaled , Hadadi Farhad
Published: February 2023

Vehicular platooning is one of the most challenging issues affecting the level of service (LOS) of two-lane roads. This phenomenon has been involved with variables governing performance measures. Thus, to improve the quality of these roads and predict a comprehensive model for future plans under this phenomenon, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of vehicular platooning variables on performance measures and then identify the critical headways of vehicular platooning associated with the vehicle-gap-acceptance behavior. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and Bayesian linear regression (BLR) models were used to develop performance measurement models that are based on conjugate Bayesian analysis. The vehicular platooning was formed in the threshold of a time headway of 2.4 s. According to a comparative evaluation of the developed models, the best predictive model was found between the traffic flow and the number of followers per capacity (NFPC). In addition, the BLR model showed a higher accuracy rate in predicting NFPC compared with the MLR model due to low errors and high prediction performance. Thus, NFPC was introduced as a surrogate performance measure, which had a premier capability to predict the LOS for unsaturated and saturated traffic conditions compared with the two performance measures from the Highway Capacity Manual (2010), including percent time spent following and average travel speed.
Inherited Patience and the Taste for Environmental Quality
Authors: Davis Lewis , Garrido Dolores , Missura Carolina
Published: February 2023

Environmental-quality and environmental-protection actions vary worldwide. Investing in environmental quality often involves intertemporal trade-offs, with present costs and future rewards. A growing body of literature finds that patience, a measure of time preference, is positively associated with pro-environmental policies, attitudes, and behaviors. However, much of this work relies on contemporaneous measures of patience that may be jointly determined with environmental attitudes, and thus may give rise to spurious correlations, calling the validity of these results into question. This paper contributes to the discussion on the determinants of environmental quality by addressing this methodological concern. We propose an individual measure of patience in the form of inherited cultural values, which is derived from information on the countries of origin of an individual’s parents. We argue that this inherited-patience measure is plausibly an exogenous event in an individual’s life. Using this measure, we find a strong, positive relationship between inherited patience and concern for the environment. Our results are robust to the inclusion of variables reflecting an individual’s demographic and socioeconomic status, religious identity, trust, political ideology, and location, as well as period and country fixed effects.
Indoor Air Quality and Smoking Control in Healthcare Environments in Northern China
Authors: Zhang Shuya , Song Kexin , Ban Qichao , Gong Puyue , Li Ruisi , Peng Zhen
Published: February 2023

Background: Air pollution has adverse effects on human health, while people experience regular contact with air pollutants in a high concentration via inhalation and ingestion. Nowadays, the average person spends more than 90% of their lifetime inside both private and public buildings, and this figure can reach close to 100% for the sick or elderly who cannot take care of themselves. Attention should be paid to indoor air quality (IAQ), especially for certain groups in specific places. Purpose: This study intends to investigate indoor air quality in a large general hospital in Northern China, where people desire clean air for good nursing, and then propose solutions to any air pollution present. Methods: Some influential factors related to air pollution, including PM2.5 and PM10, were measured in winter. Observations were applied to indicate that the smoking behaviors of medical staff were an important contributor to air pollution. Experimental measurements were designed to test the concentration of airborne nicotine. Questionnaire surveys and follow-up interviews were conducted to understand attitudes towards smoking behaviors and offer design strategies. Results: The scopes of 24 h mean concentrations of PM2.5 (10.2~57.8 µg/m3, 17.5~45.5 µg/m3, and 20.5~91.1 µg/m3) and PM10 (17.7~81.8 µg/m3, 13.0~83.8 µg/m3, and 31.7~188.1 µg/m3) exceeded relevant guideline values, and the airborne nicotine concentrations (1.29 µg/m3 and 1.62 µg/m3) confirmed that smoking behaviors occurred in the consulting room. Conclusions: To control tobacco to ensure good indoor air quality, smoking behaviors should be managed instead of forbidden. This will also provide greater satisfaction to medical staff. Smoking behavior management requires a comprehensive consideration based on ambient conditions and psychological demands. As there is a lack of specific requirements in relevant design regulations that are tailored to ensure the environmental satisfaction of medical staff, the findings from this study can be used as evidence to inform the design of healthcare environments for public health in future.
Sustainable Development in Higher Education—What Sustainability Skills Do Industry Need?
Authors: Finnveden Göran , Schneider André
Published: February 2023

Higher education must provide students with tools for a broad and holistic understanding of the complex situations they will meet in their careers after they graduate. This also includes issues related to sustainable development. Few studies have however been conducted where industry representatives specify what sustainability skills they require. The aim of the present study is to achieve a better understanding of the needs of industry related to a student’s sustainability skills and knowledge. Industry opinions on sustainability skills were gathered in two ways: interviews were conducted with executives in different positions at companies and a workshop with sustainability directors from different sectors was organized. Companies expressed primarily two needs regarding sustainability skills: (1) sustainability professionals/specialists are needed and, (2) there is an equal need for all managers and leaders to have a general and basic competence regarding sustainable development within a number of different areas. While sustainability specialists are well represented in industry, the latter skills are rarer. Higher education institutions must therefore make sure that sustainable development is integrated into all educational programs.
Factors Associated with Mortality in Patients with COVID-19 from a Hospital in Northern Peru
Authors: Valladares-Garrido Mario J. , Alvarez-Risco Aldo , Vasquez-Elera Luis E. , Valdiviezo-Morales Christopher G. , Martinez-Rivera Raisa N. , Cruz-Zapata Annel L. , Pereira-Victorio César Johan , Garcia-Peña Elian , Failoc-Rojas Virgilio E. , Del-Aguila-Arcentales Shyla , Davies Neal M. , Yáñez Jaime A.
Published: February 2023

We aimed to identify the factors associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 from the hospitalization service of the Cayetano Heredia Hospital, Piura, Peru, from May to June 2020. A prospective study was conducted in hospitalized patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 through serological and/or molecular reactive testing. The dependent variable was death due to COVID-19, and the independent variables were the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patient. The chi-square test and the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test were used, with a significance level of 5%. Of 301 patients with COVID-19, the majority of them were male (66.1%), and the mean age was 58.63 years. Of the patients analyzed, 41.3% of them died, 40.2% of them were obese and 59.8% of them had hepatic steatosis. The three most frequent signs/symptoms were dyspnea (90.03%), fatigue (90.03%) and a cough (84.72%). Being an older adult (p = 0.011), being hospitalized in the ICU (p = 0.001), overweight (p = 0.016), obese (p = 0.021) and having compromised consciousness (p = 0.039) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.024) were associated with mortality due to COVID-19. Overall, the mortality rate due to COVID-19 was 41.3%. Having an older age, being hospitalized in the ICU, overweight, obese and having compromised consciousness and thrombocytopenia were positively associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19. These findings highlight the need to establish an adequate system of surveillance and epidemiological education in hospitals and communities in the event of new outbreaks, especially in rural and northern Peru.
Effect of Green Intellectual Capital Practices on the Competitive Advantage of Companies: Evidence from Polish Companies
Authors: Bombiak Edyta
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of Green Intellectual Capital practices on the competitive advantages of companies in Poland. The study included 150 Polish producing enterprises located across Poland. The first stage of the analysis was an assessment of the level of impact of GIC practices on the competitiveness of the studied organizations with the use of the 5-point Likert scale. The second stage involved an investigation into the correlation between the rating of the impact of GIC practices and their implementation on the basis of the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and the regression function. In the course of this research, it was determined that GIC practices had an impact on the competitiveness of organizations and that the impact varied according to the GIC component. Polish managers hold that the major impact was attributed to Green Organizational Capital. The impact of the component was rated at 2.4 on the adopted 5-point scale. In turn, the impact of Green Human Capital and Green Relational Capital was only 2.1. The identification of the correlation between GIC practices and the competitiveness of organizations provides an opportunity for the managers to better understand how companies can achieve a competitive advantage through investment in green intellectual capital. The research findings may, therefore, generate increased interest in GIC development in companies.
University Experiences of Students in a Gender Minority
Authors: Pérez-Martín Miriam , Villardón-Gallego Lourdes
Published: February 2023

Academic and social-emotional experiences during the university years influence students’ academic achievement and emotional well-being. However, there is insufficient evidence on how the numerical representation of same-gendered persons affects such experiences in each group. The aim of this research was to analyze university experiences within degree programs where there is a large gender gap in students enrolled. The study is descriptive and cross-sectional and uses a mixed approach. An adaptation of the QVAr (questionnaire on academic experiences-reduced version) was administered to 726 students enrolled in degree programs with a large gender gap. Additionally, ten individual interviews were carried out with students belonging to minority gender groups. The obtained results show that, in these degree programs, students’ adaptation and coexistence processes are different, especially in interpersonal relationships between the majority and minority groups. Women in the minority require support from their female classmates in the early years of the degree program. Men in the minority, however, feel like part of the group from the start.
Memorable Tourism Experiences’ Formation Mechanism in Cultural Creative Tourism: From the Perspective of Embodied Cognition
Authors: Yin Ziyan , Huang Anmin , Wang Jiashu
Published: February 2023

Drawing on embodied cognition theory, this study treated embodied engagement as an antecedent to memorable tourism experiences. Grounded theory and content analysis methods were used to construct the formation mechanism model of memorable tourism experiences in cultural creative tourism. The concept and characteristics of memorable tourism experiences were also discussed. The results indicated that embodied and thinking engagements had positive effects on cognitive evaluation and emotion, which further led to memorable tourism experiences. Visitor interaction played a regulating role in the influence of embodied and thinking engagements on cognitive evaluation and emotion. This study provided important implications for tourism research and practice.
Combating Climate Change through Network Governance in Singapore’s and Australia’s Air, Land and Water Sectors from 2000 to 2019
Authors: Kwa Kai Xiang
Published: February 2023

Reversing the detrimental effects of climate change requires governments worldwide to collaborate with academia and industry to pursue more environmentally friendly socio-economic national policies. Towards these ends, Singapore and Australia provide useful but currently lacking insights. This warrants case-study-driven interrogations into the government/industry/academia-oriented success and risk factors respectively informing their well-performing climate change policies and under-performing climate change policies in the air, land and water sectors from 2000 to 2019 (n = 8). By employing the Triple Helix Theory to analyse the policies, the notable success factors found are government-industry organizational belief in the long-term commercial potential of scientific climate change potential; government-industry-academia recognition of collective intellectual and technological collaboration as necessary; government-industry-academia commitment to methodically pre-empt and mitigate potential conflicts. In contrast, the notable risk factors involve inadequate/un-sustained organizational will by governments to pursue long-term environmentally friendly economic development; government-industry-academia managerial oversight in climate change resource allocation. Finally, implications for future climate change research and policy are discussed.
Developing an Urban Computing Framework for Smart and Sustainable Neighborhoods: A Case Study of Alkhaledia in Jizan City, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Binsaedan Lolwah , Alshuwaikhat Habib M. , Aina Yusuf A.
Published: February 2023

Urban computing is the incorporation of computing, sensors, and actuation technology into urban life. In Saudi Arabia, the neighborhoods lack an integrated approach to social, economic, and environmental values, thereby creating consequences, such as inefficient mobility, poor environmental protection, low quality of life, and inadequate services or facilities. This article aims to develop a smart sustainable neighborhood framework (SSNF) to create districts that contribute to a healthy environment, sustain a strong community, and thrive in economic value. The framework is created by two main factors, first is identifying and analyzing the categories of urban computing. Second is choosing the appropriate indicators from sets of standards, including sustainable development goal (SDG) 11, as developed by the United Nations. These two factors shaped the proposed “smart and sustainable urban computing framework (SSUCF)” of “people”, “prosperity”, and “environment” dimensions, and it has been applied to the Alkhaledia district as a case study. The result indicates that urban computing can be used as the basis of support, along with smart and sustainable standards to produce an SSNF. Furthermore, with the analysis of relevant data, this framework can be used in similar neighborhoods to enhance the quality of residents’ lives, environmental protection, and economic values.
Experimental Study on the Mechanical Behavior of Sandy Soil Reinforced by Disposable Face Mask Chips under Different Stress Paths
Authors: Hu Xiangqi , Chen Mingliang , Hu Bo , Du Guangzhen , Li Kaihui
Published: February 2023

Since 2020, with the global spread of major respiratory infectious diseases, such as COVID–19, the demand and consumption of personal protective equipment, such as masks, have increased dramatically worldwide. The environmental pollution caused by numerous waste disposable face masks has gradually attracted people’s attention. In this study, the mechanical properties of mask–chip–reinforced soil are evaluated from a new perspective, through the uniaxial, biaxial, conventional triaxial, and true triaxial compression tests on reshaped sandy soil samples mixed with different contents of mask chips. The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of the sandy soil can be improved by the mask chips. With the proper content of mask chips, the failure strength is substantially improved, and the failure of soil is delayed. Meanwhile, the strength and stiffness are significantly affected by the stress path and the content of mask chips, even if the soil samples with the same mask–chip content can also show different mechanical properties under different stress paths. Additionally, the mechanical properties of soil are not necessarily improved constantly with the increasing content of mask chips. The failure strength of sandy soil samples under conventional and true triaxial stress paths decreases when the mass content of mask chips exceeds 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. This study confirms the potential of mask chips applied to subgrade, slope, and other engineering construction fields in a sustainable way.