bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Aeolian Desertification Using Google Earth Engine
Authors: Chen Ang , Yang Xiuchun , Xu Bin , Jin Yunxiang , Guo Jian , Xing Xiaoyu , Yang Dong , Wang Ping , Zhu Libo
Published: April 2021

Northern China has been long threatened by aeolian desertification. In recent years, all levels of the Chinese government have performed a series of ecological protection and sand control projects. To grasp the implementation effects of these projects and adjust policies in time, it is necessary to understand the process of aeolian desertification quickly and accurately. Remote sensing technologies play an irreplaceable role in aeolian desertification monitoring. In this study, the Zhenglan Banner, which is in the hinterland of the Hunshandake Sandy Land, was considered as the research area. Based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, ground survey data, and Landsat images called in Google Earth Engine (GEE), the aeolian desertified land (ADL) in 2000, 2004, 2010, 2015, and 2019 was extracted using spectral mixture analysis. A desertification index (DI) was constructed to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of the ADL in the Zhenglan Banner. Finally, a residual analysis explored the driving forces of aeolian desertification. The results showed that (1) the ADL area in the Zhenglan Banner has been trending downwards over the past 20 years but rebounded from 2004 to 2010; (2) over the past 20 years, the area of slightly, moderately, and severely desertified land has decreased at annual rates of 0.4%, 2.7%, and 3.4%, respectively; (3) human activities had significantly positive and negative impacts on the aeolian desertification trend for 20.0% and 21.0% of the study area, respectively, but not for the rest. This paper explored new techniques for rapid aeolian desertification monitoring and is of great significance for controlling and managing aeolian desertification in this region.
Simultaneous Time-Varying Vibration and Nonlinearity Compensation for One-Period Triangular-FMCW Lidar Signal
Authors: Wang Rongrong , Wang Bingnan , Xiang Maosheng , Li Chuang , Wang Shuai , Song Chong
Published: April 2021

Frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) Lidar inevitably suffers from vibration and nonlinear frequency modulation, which influences the ranging and imaging results. In this paper, we analyze the impact of vibration error coupled with nonlinearity error on ranging for FMCW Lidar, and propose a purely theoretical approach that simultaneously compensates for time-varying vibration and nonlinearity in one-period triangular FMCW (T-FMCW) signals. We first extract the localized characteristics of dechirp signals in time-frequency domain by using a second-order synchro-squeezing transform (second-order SST), and establish an instantaneous ranging model based on second-order SST which can characterize the local distributions of time-varying errors. Second, we estimate the nonlinearity error by using time-frequency information of an auxiliary channel and then preliminarily eliminate the error from the instantaneous measurement range. Finally, we construct a particle filtering (PF) model for T-FMCW using the instantaneous ranging model to compensate for the time-varying vibration error and the residual nonlinearity error, and calculate the range of target by using triangular symmetry relations of T-FMCW. Experimental tests prove that the proposed method can accurately estimate the range of target by compensating for the time-varying vibration and the nonlinearity errors simultaneously in one-period T-FMCW signal.
Dynamic Acoustic Unit Augmentation with BPE-Dropout for Low-Resource End-to-End Speech Recognition
Authors: Laptev Aleksandr , Andrusenko Andrei , Podluzhny Ivan , Mitrofanov Anton , Medennikov Ivan , Matveev Yuri
Published: April 2021

With the rapid development of speech assistants, adapting server-intended automatic speech recognition (ASR) solutions to a direct device has become crucial. For on-device speech recognition tasks, researchers and industry prefer end-to-end ASR systems as they can be made resource-efficient while maintaining a higher quality compared to hybrid systems. However, building end-to-end models requires a significant amount of speech data. Personalization, which is mainly handling out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words, is another challenging task associated with speech assistants. In this work, we consider building an effective end-to-end ASR system in low-resource setups with a high OOV rate, embodied in Babel Turkish and Babel Georgian tasks. We propose a method of dynamic acoustic unit augmentation based on the Byte Pair Encoding with dropout (BPE-dropout) technique. The method non-deterministically tokenizes utterances to extend the token’s contexts and to regularize their distribution for the model’s recognition of unseen words. It also reduces the need for optimal subword vocabulary size search. The technique provides a steady improvement in regular and personalized (OOV-oriented) speech recognition tasks (at least 6% relative word error rate (WER) and 25% relative F-score) at no additional computational cost. Owing to the BPE-dropout use, our monolingual Turkish Conformer has achieved a competitive result with 22.2% character error rate (CER) and 38.9% WER, which is close to the best published multilingual system.
Characterization of Inkjet-Printed Digital Microfluidics Devices
Authors: Chen Shiyu , He Zhidong , Choi Suhwan , Novosselov Igor V.
Published: April 2021

Digital microfluidics (DMF) devices enable precise manipulation of small liquid volumes in point-of-care testing. A printed circuit board (PCB) substrate is commonly utilized to build DMF devices. However, inkjet printing can be used to fabricate DMF circuits, providing a less expensive alternative to PCB-based DMF designs while enabling more rapid design iteration cycles. We demonstrate the cleanroom-free fabrication process of a low-cost inkjet-printed DMF circuit. We compare Kapton and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as dielectric coatings by measuring the minimal droplet actuation voltage for a range of actuation frequencies. A minimum actuation voltage of 5.6 V was required for droplet movement with the PMMA layer thickness of 0.2 μm and a hydrophobic layer of 0.17 μm. Significant issues with PMMA dielectric breakdown were observed at actuation voltages above 10 V. In comparison, devices that utilized Kapton were found to be more robust, even at an actuation voltage up to 100 V.
Simultaneous Recognition of Dopamine and Uric Acid in the Presence of Ascorbic Acid via an Intercalated MXene/PPy Nanocomposite
Authors: You Qiannan , Guo Zhongyang , Zhang Rui , Chang Zhimin , Ge Mingfeng , Mei Qian , Dong Wen-Fei
Published: April 2021

Two-dimensional (2D) MXenes have shown a great potential for chemical sensing due to their electric properties. In this work, a Ti3C2Tx/polypyrrole (MXene/PPy) nanocomposite has been synthesized and immobilized into a glassy carbon electrode to enable the simultaneous recognition of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) under the interference of ascorbic acid (AA). The multilayer Ti3C2Tx MXene was prepared via the aqueous acid etching method and delaminated to a single layer nanosheet, benefiting the in-situ growth of PPy nanowires. The controllable preparation strategy and the compounding of PPy material remain great challenges for further practical application. A facile chemical oxidation method was proposed to regulate magnitude and density during the forming process of PPy nanowire, which promotes the conductivity and the electrochemical active site of this as-prepared nanomaterial. The MXene/PPy nanocomposite-modified electrode exhibited the selective determination of DA and UA in the presence of a high concentration of AA, as well as a wide linear range (DA: 12.5–125 μM, UA: 50–500 μM) and a low detection limit (DA: 0.37 μM, UA: 0.15 μM). More importantly, the simultaneous sensing for the co-existence of DA and UA was successfully achieved via the as-prepared sensor.
Spectral Analysis of Muscle Hemodynamic Responses in Post-Exercise Recovery Based on Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Tan Qitao , Wang Yan , Li Zengyong , Wang Daifa , Lam Wing-Kai , Wong Duo Wai-Chi , Peng Yinghu , Zhang Guoxin , Zhang Ming
Published: April 2021

Spectral analysis of blood flow or blood volume oscillations can help to understand the regulatory mechanisms of microcirculation. This study aimed to explore the relationship between muscle hemodynamic response in the recovery period and exercise quantity. Fifteen healthy subjects were required to perform two sessions of submaximal plantarflexion exercise. The blood volume fluctuations in the gastrocnemius lateralis were recorded in three rest phases (before and after two exercise sessions) using near-infrared spectroscopy. Wavelet transform was used to analyze the total wavelet energy of the concerned frequency range (0.005–2 Hz), which were further divided into six frequency intervals corresponding to six vascular regulators. Wavelet amplitude and energy of each frequency interval were analyzed. Results showed that the total energy raised after each exercise session with a significant difference between rest phases 1 and 3. The wavelet amplitudes showed significant increases in frequency intervals I, III, IV, and V from phase 1 to 3 and in intervals III and IV from phase 2 to 3. The wavelet energy showed similar changes with the wavelet amplitude. The results demonstrate that local microvascular regulators contribute greatly to the blood volume oscillations, the activity levels of which are related to the exercise quantity.
Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions
Authors: Sun Xiaoli , Cremons Daniel R. , Mazarico Erwan , Yang Guangning , Abshire James B. , Smith David E. , Zuber Maria T. , Storm Mark , Martin Nigel , Hwang Jacob , Beck Jeff D. , Huntoon Nathan R. , Rawlings Dick M.
Published: April 2021

We report the development of a new type of space lidar specifically designed for missions to small planetary bodies for both topographic mapping and support of sample collection or landing. The instrument is designed to have a wide dynamic range with several operation modes for different mission phases. The laser transmitter consists of a fiber laser that is intensity modulated with a return-to-zero pseudo-noise (RZPN) code. The receiver detects the coded pulse-train by correlating the detected signal with the RZPN kernel. Unlike regular pseudo noise (PN) lidars, the RZPN kernel is set to zero outside laser firing windows, which removes most of the background noise over the receiver integration time. This technique enables the use of low peak-power but high pulse-rate lasers, such as fiber lasers, for long-distance ranging without aliasing. The laser power and the internal gain of the detector can both be adjusted to give a wide measurement dynamic range. The laser modulation code pattern can also be reconfigured in orbit to optimize measurements to different measurement environments. The receiver uses a multi-pixel linear mode photon-counting HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) array with near quantum limited sensitivity at near to mid infrared wavelengths where many fiber lasers and diode lasers operate. The instrument is modular and versatile and can be built mostly with components developed by the optical communication industry.
Towards Privacy-Preserved Aging in Place: A Systematic Review
Authors: Gochoo Munkhjargal , Alnajjar Fady , Tan Tan-Hsu , Khalid Sumayya
Published: April 2021

Owing to progressive population aging, elderly people (aged 65 and above) face challenges in carrying out activities of daily living, while placement of the elderly in a care facility is expensive and mentally taxing for them. Thus, there is a need to develop their own homes into smart homes using new technologies. However, this raises concerns of privacy and data security for users since it can be handled remotely. Hence, with advancing technologies it is important to overcome this challenge using privacy-preserving and non-intrusive models. For this review, 235 articles were scanned from databases, out of which 31 articles pertaining to in-home technologies that assist the elderly in living independently were shortlisted for inclusion. They described the adoption of various methodologies like different sensor-based mechanisms, wearables, camera-based techniques, robots, and machine learning strategies to provide a safe and comfortable environment to the elderly. Recent innovations have rendered these technologies more unobtrusive and privacy-preserving with increasing use of environmental sensors and less use of cameras and other devices that may compromise the privacy of individuals. There is a need to develop a comprehensive system for smart homes which ensures patient safety, privacy, and data security; in addition, robots should be integrated with the existing sensor-based platforms to assist in carrying out daily activities and therapies as required.
A Technique for Improving the Precision of the Direct Measurement of Junction Temperature in Power Light-Emitting Diodes
Authors: Iero Demetrio , Merenda Massimo , Carotenuto Riccardo , Pangallo Giovanni , Rao Sandro , Brezeanu Gheorghe , Corte Francesco G. Della
Published: April 2021

Extending the lifetime of power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is achievable if proper control methods are implemented to reduce the side effects of an excessive junction temperature, TJ. The accuracy of state-of-the-art LED junction temperature monitoring techniques is negatively affected by several factors, such as the use of external sensors, calibration procedures, devices aging, and technological diversity among samples with the same part number. Here, a novel method is proposed, indeed based on the well-known technique consisting in tracking the LED forward voltage drop when a fixed forward current is imposed but exploiting the voltage variation with respect to room temperature. This method, which limits the effects of sample heterogeneity, is applied to a set of ten commercial devices. The method led to an effective reduction of the measurement error, which was below 1 °C.
Smart Parking Systems: Reviewing the Literature, Architecture and Ways Forward
Authors: Biyik Can , Allam Zaheer , Pieri Gabriele , Moroni Davide , O’Fraifer Muftah , O’Connell Eoin , Olariu Stephan , Khalid Muhammad
Published: April 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT) has come of age, and complex solutions can now be implemented seamlessly within urban governance and management frameworks and processes. For cities, growing rates of car ownership are rendering parking availability a challenge and lowering the quality of life through increased carbon emissions. The development of smart parking solutions is thus necessary to reduce the time spent looking for parking and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The principal role of this research paper is to analyze smart parking solutions from a technical perspective, underlining the systems and sensors that are available, as documented in the literature. The review seeks to provide comprehensive insights into the building of smart parking solutions. A holistic survey of the current state of smart parking systems should incorporate the classification of such systems as big vehicular detection technologies. Finally, communication modules are presented with clarity.
“Involved Is an Interesting Word”: An Empirical Case for Redefining School-Based Parental Involvement as Parental Efficacy
Authors: Gibbs Benjamin G. , Marsala Miles , Gibby Ashley , Clark Miriam , Alder Craig , Hurst Bryce , Steinacker Dustin , Hutchison Brent
Published: April 2021

School-based parental involvement is a common practice in the United States, and yet there is an emerging view that parents’ involvement in schools may have little if any academic benefit for their children. However, such conclusions are often based on narrowly construed survey questions, such as “Did you attend PTA in the past year?”. In our study, we re-examine commonly used measurements of school-based parental involvement using 130 interviews with parents and administrators across three diverse elementary schools. We compare conventional survey measures of school-based parental involvement with our own qualitative assessments of parental efficacy. Notably, we find that highly efficacious parents employed a wide range of involvement strategies, undetected by some traditional metrics of involvement (i.e., attending PTA meetings). As expected, we also find that efficacious parents were largely advantaged themselves and concentrated in advantaged schools. However, school contexts can play a powerful role in shaping the reception of parents’ engagement with schools—the presence of a Spanish immersion program transformed how teachers and administrators interpreted the involvement activities of Latinx parents. Our results point to the importance of (1) recasting parental involvement as parental efficacy and (2) integrating school contexts to understand how efficacy can be more effectively encouraged and deployed.
Making with Shenzhen (Characteristics)—Strategy and Everyday Tactics in a City’s Creative Turn
Authors: Chen Siyu , Lin Jian
Published: April 2021

This paper investigates the government-led maker movement in Shenzhen, China by deploying Michel de Certeau’s concepts of “strategy” and “tactics”. While there is a growing body of literature surrounding the maker movement, the discrepancy between the maker movement presented in urban policies and its participants’ actual practices is underexplored. Situating the exploration in the Chinese context, this article looks into how state intervention shapes the maker movement and actors’ participation. This work starts with considerations of political economy to demonstrate how the “Make with Shenzhen” campaign as a strategy fits into the government’s creative city agenda. It then draws upon the findings of a longitudinal ethnographic study to illuminate how discourses, institutions and apparatuses are tactically appropriated by individuals to mobilize symbolic, monetary, social and political resources to serve their interests. We argue that these tactical practices can potentially lead to meaningful changes in the city of Shenzhen and the everyday life of its people. By juxtaposing the strategy of the “Make with Shenzhen” campaign with the tactical practices surrounding it, this study offers insight into the challenges and possibilities brought about by the city-wide learning and making in the Chinese context.
Integration of Sustainability Awareness in Entrepreneurship Education
Authors: Hsu Jane Lu , Pivec Maja
Published: April 2021

Compared to topics such as creativity and strategic implementation in entrepreneurship education, sustainability has not been profoundly emphasized in programs. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining cross-cultural differences between the Austrian and Taiwanese educational contexts in terms of sustainability awareness in entrepreneurship among students in higher education. To conduct the study, students from both Austria and Taiwan were interviewed after developing a procedure to cross-examine their activities in programs, workshops, and team projects. The results indicated that students’ perception of sustainability differed according to sociocultural background: Taiwanese students tended to prefer individual responsibility and action, whereas Austrian students were more aware of the impact of industry and food production on sustainability. Such an approach could help students in both Taiwan and Austria to attain a better understanding of the sustainability problems that require entrepreneurial solutions. The uniqueness of this study lies in its cross-examination and cross-comparisons of sustainability integration in entrepreneurship education in Austria and Taiwan. Such comparisons provide educators and policymakers the opportunity to engage in cross-cultural exchanges of knowledge and experiences from which they can learn and adapt.
The Sustainability of Institutional Policies Starts with “Know Thyself”
Authors: Alghazo Runna , Pilotti Maura A. E.
Published: April 2021

In the present research, faculty at a university in the Middle East were asked to report their attitudes towards learning and grades through the LOGO: F scale. At the selected university, faculty are required to apply a student-centered approach to instruction, which is expected to be driven by active learning of key academic and professional competencies. Although the institutional policies explicitly emphasize active learning, the broader educational system in which the university is embedded puts a premium on grades to assess students’ academic success. The present research examined how faculty might respond to these institutional inconsistencies, which are typical of universities across the globe. Participants were the faculty of a university located in Saudi Arabia, which conforms to a US curriculum and a student-centered instructional model. The evidence collected underscored the faculty’s struggle between emphasizing learning and recognizing the undeniable relevance of grades in the educational marketplace. The usefulness of the evidence collected is discussed from the perspectives of the institution and individual faculty with an eye on sustainable objectives and outcomes.
Institutional Reforms and Their Impact on Economic Growth and Investment in Developing Countries
Authors: Zhao Jin , Madni Ghulam Rasool , Anwar Muhammad Awais , Zahra Syeda Masooma
Published: April 2021

It is widely accepted that the economic and social system may be more efficient by reforming institutions. Institutional reforms are attempts to change the rules affecting human interactions and these reforms are fundamental for development and economic prosperity. The reforms can be divided into two categories; political and economic institutional reforms. It is need of the hour to determine the category of reform that is more suitable for developing countries. Moreover, a vast literature describes the impact of institutional reforms but little focused on exploring their impacts on macroeconomic activities. So, this study is an effort to determine the impact of institutional reforms on macroeconomic variables by considering the panel data of 122 developing countries covering the time span from 1996 to 2019. The study applied treatment analysis using the difference-in-differences technique to gauge the effects of reforms. Besides, it will be interesting to know the causes triggering the institutional reforms in developing countries. The findings of the study reveal that economic reforms are more important as compared with political reforms to grow the economies. The countries focusing on political reforms are not able to overcome the economic crisis. Moreover, both types of reforms do not cause each other in these countries.
Using a Board Game to Teach about Sustainable Development
Authors: Tsai Jen-Che , Liu Shiang-Yao , Chang Chun-Yen , Chen Shih-Yeh
Published: April 2021

Examining and developing courses of education for sustainable development (ESD) is the goal of this study. Building on the theory of game-based learning, this study develops teaching strategies that employ board games for ESD. The design context of the board game, entitled “Be Blessed Taiwan”, is situated in the dilemma between biological conservation and economic development. It incorporates four core systemic concepts: the economy, policies, society, and ecology. Students from two high schools played the game for 200 min and 400 min, respectively (100 min per week). The study collected complete pre-game and post-game data from 34 high school students, including the test of scientific concepts, and gameplay results. The research results indicate that students’ test scores significantly increased after the gameplay with a medium effect size; specifically, a large effect on the dimension of biodiversity concepts and a medium effect on the dimension of biological conservation concepts. The analysis of students’ gameplay results shows the difficulty for high-school students to achieve all four ESD goals.
Selecting a Contextualized Set of Urban Quality of Life Indicators: Results of a Delphi Consensus Procedure
Authors: Al-Qawasmi Jamal
Published: April 2021

Although indicators are commonly used to measure/assess urban quality of life (QOL), there is no consensus in the literature on the core indicators of urban QOL. This paper aims to identify a set of key indicators that will be used to assess/measure urban QOL in the Saudi Arabia (SA) context. For this purpose, a three-round online Delphi procedure is used. A group of 92 local experts were asked to rate the importance of a set of pre-defined indicators in assessing/measuring urban QOL. The results reveal that the panel of experts reached consensus and agreed on the high importance of 53 indicators for assessing/measuring urban QOL. These indicators provide appropriate coverage of the three core dimensions of urban QOL: environmental, social and economic. However, the results also show that the social indicators are perceived as more essential than economic and environmental indicators. This finding has practical implications for designing and developing QOL assessment tools to better capture and measure urban QOL in the SA context. Furthermore, research findings also identified some methodological limitations associated with using the Delphi approach, which need to be addressed to ensure the development of comprehensive QOL assessment tools.
Engineering Design Process of Face Masks Based on Circularity and Life Cycle Assessment in the Constraint of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Boix Rodríguez Núria , Formentini Giovanni , Favi Claudio , Marconi Marco
Published: April 2021

Face masks are currently considered key equipment to protect people against the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for such devices is considerable, as is the amount of plastic waste generated after their use (approximately 1.6 million tons/day since the outbreak). Even if the sanitary emergency must have the maximum priority, environmental concerns require investigation to find possible mitigation solutions. The aim of this work is to develop an eco-design actions guide that supports the design of dedicated masks, in a manner to reduce the negative impacts of these devices on the environment during the pandemic period. Toward this aim, an environmental assessment based on life cycle assessment and circularity assessment (material circularity indicator) of different types of masks have been carried out on (i) a 3D-printed mask with changeable filters, (ii) a surgical mask, (iii) an FFP2 mask with valve, (iv) an FFP2 mask without valve, and (v) a washable mask. Results highlight how reusable masks (i.e., 3D-printed masks and washable masks) are the most sustainable from a life cycle perspective, drastically reducing the environmental impacts in all categories. The outcomes of the analysis provide a framework to derive a set of eco-design guidelines which have been used to design a new device that couples protection requirements against the virus and environmental sustainability.
Land Cover Changes in Ghana over the Past 24 Years
Authors: Ampim Peter A. Y. , Ogbe Michael , Obeng Eric , Akley Edwin K. , MacCarthy Dilys S.
Published: April 2021

Changes in land cover (LC) can lead to environmental challenges, but few studies have investigated LC changes at a country wide scale in Ghana. Tracking LC changes at such a scale overtime is relevant for devising solutions to emerging issues. This study examined LC changes in Ghana for the past almost two and half decades covering 1995–2019 to highlight significant changes and opportunities for sustainable development. The study used land cover data for six selected years (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019) obtained from the European Space Agency. The data was analyzed using R, ArcGIS Pro and Microsoft Excel 365 ProPlus. The original data was reclassified into eight LC categories, namely: agriculture, bare area, built-up, forest, grassland, other vegetation, waterbody, and wetland. On average, the results revealed 0.7%, 131.7%, 23.3%, 46.9%, and 11.2% increases for agriculture, built-up, forest, waterbody, and wetland, respectively, across the nation. However, losses were observed for bare area (92.8%), grassland (51.1%), and other vegetation (41%) LCs overall. Notably, agricultural land use increased up to 2015 and decreased subsequently but this did not affect production of the major staple foods. These findings reveal the importance of LC monitoring and the need for strategic efforts to address the causes of undesirable change.
Crash- and Simulation-Based Safety Performance Evaluation of Freeway Rest Area
Authors: Kim Hyeonseo , Kwon Kyeongjoo , Park Nuri , Park Juneyoung , Abdel-Aty Mohamed
Published: April 2021

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the safety effects caused by altering the lengths of deceleration and acceleration lanes at rest areas on expressways in Korea. Although general conclusions can be found through crash-based safety analysis, to examine more specific optimal conditions considering various traffic conditions, this study proposes a novel framework to explore and evaluate crash-based and simulation-based safety performances. For this purpose, the safety performance function (SPF) and crash modification factor (CMF) were developed to reflect real-world safety impacts. To consider nonlinear trends of the parameters, nonlinearizing link functions were introduced into the analysis. Two types of simulation analyses were conducted to (1) find the combination of surrogate safety measures (SSMs) that best fit with the crash-based safety performance results and (2) determine the optimal lengths of deceleration lane and acceleration lanes for different traffic conditions. The results showed that the best length of deceleration lane of a rest area is between 240 and 260 m, depending on the traffic conditions. The results also indicated that the optimal length of acceleration lane of a rest area is between 385 and 400 m, depending on the traffic parameters. The findings of this study could be used to determine the safety solutions with a micro-traffic simulator.
Expansion of the Fuel and Energy Balance Structure in Russia through the Development of a Closed-Loop Recycling
Authors: Novikova Olga , Vladimirov Iaroslav , Bugaeva Tatiana
Published: April 2021

The goal of the study is to propose the basis for the concept of expanding the fuel balance in Russia through the development of a closed-loop resource cycle. We propose to use the criterion of energy potential of waste to generate new data on the resource base of the fuel and energy complex at the regional level. In order to form a reliable source for replenishment of the resource potential of the fuel and energy complex through waste recovery, the basic principles of data collection are proposed and the methodology for determining the energy potential at the city level is demonstrated using municipal solid waste (MSW) in 11 Russian cities as an example. The results of the evaluation have shown that due to energy recycling, MSW can cover from 2.11% to 6.01% of the heat demand of the territory under consideration. In the study, we propose to supplement the maximum involvement of waste in the fuel and energy balance (FEB) in Russia with the criterion of optimization of the energy balance at all levels and to distinguish a separate column “energy potential of waste” in the balance structure. This approach fundamentally changes the structure of the balance and gives the grounds for revision of plans for production and transportation of traditional energy resources.
A Review on Effective Use of Daylight Harvesting Using Intelligent Lighting Control Systems for Sustainable Office Buildings in India
Authors: Odiyur Vathanam Gnana Swathika , Kalyanasundaram Karthikeyan , Elavarasan Rajvikram Madurai , Hussain Khahro Shabir , Subramaniam Umashankar , Pugazhendhi Rishi , Ramesh Mehana , Gopalakrishnan Rishi Murugesan
Published: April 2021

Lighting is a fundamental requirement of our daily life. A lot of research and development is carried out in the field of daylight harvesting, which is the need of the hour. One of the most desirable attributes of daylight harvesting is that daylight is available universally and it is a very clean and cost-efficient form of energy. By using the various methods of daylight harvesting, it is possible to attain the global Sustainable Development Goals. Daylight harvesting in the most fundamental sense is the lighting strategy control of the artificial light in an interior space where daylight is also present so that the required illumination level is achieved. This way, a lot of energy can be saved. Recently, in addition to energy efficiency, other factors such as cost-efficiency, user requirements such as uniform illuminance, and different levels of illuminance at different points are being considered. To simulate the actual daylight contribution for an office building in urban Chennai, India before construction, ECO TECH software is used by providing the inputs such as building orientation, and reflectance’s values of the ceiling, wall, and floor to analyze the overall percentage of daylight penetration available versus the percentage prescribed in the Indian Green Building Council to obtain the credit points. Thus, the impact of architectural design on daylight harvesting and daylight predictive technology has experimented with office building in Chennai, India. This article will give an insight into the current trends in daylight harvesting technology and intends to provide a deeper understanding and spark a research interest in this widely potential field.
Framing the Values of Vernacular Architecture for a Value-Based Conservation: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Olukoya Obafemi A. P.
Published: April 2021

While a growing number of researchers have provided series of tough critiques of the typology-led heritage value assessment over the recent years, the impacts have been constrained by the continued obsession with expanding the list of the predetermined value typologies rather than escaping its limitations. While these sustained debates have provided important insights, this article argues that operationalizing these predetermined ‘one-size-fits-all’ value typologies is symptomatic of a number of shortcomings, especially in the context of capturing the pluralities of values in contextualized heritage such as vernacular architecture. It also often undermines inclusivity and participation in the valuing processes. However, rather than simply rejecting the values-based paradigm, this article proposes a conceptual value assessment framework that is informed by the theorization of vernacular architecture as a contextualized heritage. The proposed Vernacular Value Model (VVM) puts forward the ‘when(s)’ and ‘how(s)’ of amalgamating both technical and normative processes to capture the range of contextual values present in built vernacular heritage. To this end, this article posits that by drawing on such a proposed flexible framework, the conservation strategy for built vernacular heritage can be propagated as an inclusive and participatory process which captures the wide range of values for a more sustainable practices for conservation.
Impacts of Simulated Acid Rain on the Growth and the Yield of Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the Mountains of Northern Vietnam
Authors: Pham Ha T. T. , Nguyen An Thinh , Do Anh T. Ngoc. , Hens Luc
Published: April 2021

In the mountains of Northern Vietnam, frequent and intense acid rain affects the crops. This paper assesses the impacts of simulated acid rain (SAR) on the growth and the yield of soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in Hoa Binh province. A field study in the summer–autumn seasons in 2017 (from May to August) in an area of 189 square meters was arranged according to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three repetitions including six treatments and a control. The experimental area was protected from ambient rain. Soybean plants were exposed three times a week to SAR at pH 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 (control). The results show that the growth parameters such as germination rate, stem length, and the number of main branches of the plants dramatically decreased in a dose–effect experiment. Gradual declines in the chlorophyll content (indirectly determined by SPAD) and the leaf area index (LAI) were observed as the acidity increased. The actual yield and yield components also tended to decrease when the pH of the rainwater fell, especially in the experimental plots treated at pH 3.0. The growth and yield of soybean were adversely affected when the plants were exposed to simulated acid rain, especially from a pH value of 3.5 and lower. This is the first study to evaluate the effects of acid rain on the growth and the yield of soybean grown in the mountains of Northern Vietnam.
Using Internet of Things and Distributed Ledger Technology for Digital Circular Economy Enablement: The Case of Electronic Equipment
Authors: Magrini Chiara , Nicolas Jana , Berg Holger , Bellini Alberto , Paolini Enrico , Vincenti Nazarena , Campadello Luca , Bonoli Alessandra
Published: April 2021

Nowadays, high expectations are set for a digitally enabled circular economy (CE), to enhance resource efficiency. Tracing, tracking, and storing information is most important for this. In this paper, the application of Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain) are hence discussed by presenting the case of professional Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in Italy. Within the context of CE, prevention of electronic waste (WEEE) is extremely relevant as it is a fast-growing waste stream, and the products contain environmentally damaging substances as well as valuable and rare materials. The use of a proper combination of IoT and blockchain can help the producers to keep control on products until EEE end-of-life, while promoting CE strategies and supporting decision-making. Based on the outcomes of five interviews conducted in 2019 to companies of the EEE sector, potential improvements in the EEE end-of-use management are discussed. After providing the definition of requirements for both the technical solution and its testing are provided, three solution variations and the related business models are created and presented, as well as considerations on their environmental and economic impacts. The study shows how digital technologies can support the appropriate and circular management of EEE products and WEEE.
Analysis of the Visual Perception of the Competences of Project Managers
Authors: Poveda-Bautista Rocio , Diego-Mas Jose-Antonio , Alcaide-Marzal Jorge
Published: April 2021

Based on the appearance of their faces, we attribute to people personality traits, moods, capacities, or competences. This unconscious process plays a central role in our everyday decisions and how we choose partners or our favorite candidate. This work is the first approach to the analysis of the influence of appearance-driven judgments of faces in the project management field. The main objective of this study was to obtain an approximate image of the general mental prototype of the face of a project manager using noise-based reverse correlation. The obtained image shows the features of the faces that drive the perception of a good project manager. The face shows very high average scores for all the competences recognized in the IPMA Individual Competence Baseline when assessed by a sample of project management practitioners. From these results, it can be stated that people have clearly defined prototypes of facial features that convey the perception of being a competent project manager, and this finding may have implications in the project management field.
Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Classrooms: A Case Study on Foreigners in South Korea Using Applied Machine Learning
Authors: Aiyanyo Imatitikua D. , Samuel Hamman , Lim Heuiseok
Published: April 2021

In this study, we qualitatively and quantitatively examine the effects of COVID-19 on classrooms, students, and educators. Using a new Twitter dataset specific to South Korea during the pandemic, we sample the sentiment and strain on students and educators using applied machine learning techniques in order to identify various topical pain points emerging during the pandemic. Our contributions include a novel and open source geo-fenced dataset on student and educator opinion within South Korea that we are making available to other researchers as well. We also identify trends in sentiment and polarity over the pandemic timeline, as well as key drivers behind the sentiments. Moreover, we provide a comparative analysis of two widely used pre-trained sentiment analysis approaches with TextBlob and VADER using statistical significance tests. Ultimately, we analyze how public opinion shifted on the pandemic in terms of positive sentiments about accessing course materials, online support communities, access to classes, and creativity, to negative sentiments about mental fatigue, job loss, student concerns, and overwhelmed institutions. We also initiate initial discussions about the concept of actionable sentiment analysis by overlapping polarity with the concept of trigger management to assist users in coping with negative emotions. We hope that insights from this preliminary study can promote further utilization of social media datasets to evaluate government messaging, population sentiment, and multi-dimensional analysis of pandemics.
Intelligence and Green Total Factor Productivity Based on China’s Province-Level Manufacturing Data
Authors: Zhang Yining , Wu Zhong
Published: April 2021

The application of intelligent technology has an important impact on the green total factor productivity of China’s manufacturing industry. Based on the provincial panel data of China’s manufacturing industry from 2008 to 2017, this article uses the Malmquist–Luenburger (ML) model to measure the green total factor productivity of China’s manufacturing industry, and further constructs an empirical model to analyze the impact mechanism of intelligence on green total factor productivity. The results show that intelligence can increase the green total factor productivity of the manufacturing industry. At the same time, mechanism analysis shows that intelligence can affect manufacturing green total factor productivity by improving technical efficiency. However, the effect of intelligence on the technological progress of the manufacturing industry is not significant. In addition, the impact of intelligence has regional heterogeneity. It has significantly promoted the green total factor productivity in the eastern and central regions of China, while its role in the western region is not obvious. The research in this article confirms that intelligence has a significant positive impact on the green total factor productivity of the manufacturing industry, and can provide suggestion for the current further promotion of the deep integration of intelligence and the green development of the manufacturing industry to achieve the strategic goal of industrial upgrading.
From Fragility through Agility to Resilience: The Role of Sustainable Improvement in Increasing Organizational Maturity
Authors: Stachowiak Agnieszka , Pawłyszyn Irena
Published: April 2021

Nowadays, due to a large number of changes in the external environment, as well as increased competition, organizations must actively support business processes. Internal management processes must be constantly improved. To understand whether a company is developing in the right direction, it is necessary to conduct a maturity assessment. The directions of changes in enterprises should be well designed and based on analysis of the gap between the present and expected state definition. The diagnosis for the present state definition should be holistic, reliable and for the expected state-based strategy and goal recognition. Hence, the goal of the paper is to present the methodology of a company’s self-assessment and definition of an individualized improvement strategy to strengthen the company’s ability to thrive and prosper. The paper includes a presentation of the diagnosis methodology based on maturity models and the resilience concept and its validation based on experts’ opinions and a case study. Companies need a diagnosis to know where they are, and guidance to move in the right direction, which makes the results of the research utilitarian. The methodology can be used for self-assessment, benchmarking and designing an improvement strategy.
The COVID-19 Outbreak and Psychological Distress in Healthcare Workers: The Role of Personality Traits, Attachment Styles, and Sociodemographic Factors
Authors: Mazza Cristina , Colasanti Marco , Ricci Eleonora , Di Giandomenico Serena , Marchetti Daniela , Fontanesi Lilybeth , Verrocchio Maria Cristina , Ferracuti Stefano , Roma Paolo
Published: April 2021

The COVID-19 outbreak has exposed healthcare professionals (HPs) to increased workloads and a high risk of contagion. The present study aimed at examining the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the mental health of HPs in Italy, investigating the role of attachment style, personality traits, and sociodemographic variables. An online survey was administered from 18 to 22 March 2020. Respondents were 296 HPs (77% female, 23% male; aged 21–77 years). The measures employed were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-BF (PID-5-BF), the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21). The findings showed that PID-5-BF Negative Affect, female gender, and ASQ Preoccupation with Relationships predicted high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Furthermore, PID-5-BF Detachment predicted higher psychological distress, as captured in the DASS-21 total score and DASS-21 Depression score, and having an infected loved one was associated with high psychological distress. Overall, the results suggest that HPs are experiencing high rates of psychological distress during the pandemic, and that specific attachment styles and personality traits might be useful in identifying those at greatest risk for developing mental health symptoms.
Prejudice towards Immigrants: The Importance of Social Context, Ideological Postulates, and Perception of Outgroup Threat
Authors: Vallejo-Martín Macarena , Canto Jesús M. , San Martín García Jesús E. , Perles Novas Fabiola
Published: April 2021

Recent years have witnessed a rise in support for political parties with an anti-immigration sentiment and nationalistic rhetoric as their distinguishing traits. Within this context, our study, through a survey, analyses the relation of prejudice toward immigrants with ideological postulates of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance and outgroup threat. With a sample of 247 individuals (54.7% men and 45.3% women), our results reveal that positions favouring right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance and perception of realistic and symbolic threat have an influence on negative attitudes toward immigrants. At the same time, greater prejudice is found in those individuals scoring high in authoritarianism and symbolic threat. These results confirm, on one hand, the dual process motivation model of ideology and prejudice, and on the other, the bifactor structure of outgroup threat. As a conclusion, we propose that in order to foment peaceful coexistence and reduce hostility towards minority groups within today’s social context, it is important to consider the relevance of ideological postulates and outgroup threat. It is a priority to design public policies that favour the inclusion and integration of minority groups with the goal of building more sustainable societies that respect human rights.