bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Workplace Flexibility for Sustainable Career Satisfaction: Case of Handling in the Aviation Sector in North Cyprus
Authors: Karsili Huseyin , Yesiltas Mehmet , Berberoglu Aysen
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this research was to find out how workplace flexibility affects the employees’ flexibility in order to increase their career satisfaction while reducing their workplace stress with the mediating role of goal orientation. Employees need workplace flexibility to develop a better sustainable career. In doing so, the relationship between workplace flexibility and career satisfaction can be affected by two different factors. One of them is job stress, which can be a mediating factor, and the second is goal orientation, which in this study was considered as a moderator between two variables. For this research, a quantitative research method was applied, and a survey was distributed to 216 respondents, namely, everyone working in handling in a single aviation sector of North Cyprus, to obtain better and clearer results from the respondents. A pilot test was completed and data were collected face-to-face in order to observe the reaction of respondents to develop better results and reduce any mistakes that could arise by answering the questionnaire. Moreover, in order to test the reliability of questionnaires, a pilot test was completed with 14% of the respondents and the results were evaluated by examining Cronbach’s alpha. Job stress is a negative term; therefore, surprisingly, there was a positive correlation between workplace flexibility and job stress in the findings. The results were discussed and specifically analyzed with the literature review. Findings of the article clarify that workplace flexibility, along with goal orientation, is expected to positively contribute to the sustainable career satisfaction of employees in the handling sector. This research will make an important contribution to the existing literature pertaining to flexible arrangements in the workplace, sustainable career satisfaction, job stress, and goal orientation, and will contribute to further theories in this field.
Foliar Urea with N-(n-butyl) Thiophosphoric Triamide for Sustainable Yield and Quality of Pineapple in a Controlled Environment
Authors: Haque Mohammad Amdadul , Sakimin Siti Zaharah , Ding Phebe , Jaafar Noraini Md. , Yusop Mohd Khanif , Sarker Babul Chandra
Published: June 2021

In agricultural production, nitrogen loss leads to economic loss and is a high environmental risk affecting plant growth, yield, and quality. Use of the N fertilizer with a urease inhibitor is thus necessary to minimize N losses and increase the efficiency of N. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of N-(n-butyl) Thiophosphoric Triamide (NBPT) on the growth, yield, and quality of pineapple. The experiment involved two foliar fertilizer treatments: 1% (w/v) urea solution with NBPT (2.25 mL kg−1 urea) was treated as NLU (NBPT Liquid Urea), and the same concentration of urea without NBPT served as the control. Both were applied 12 times, starting 1 month after planting (MAP) and continuing once a month for 12 months. The application of urea with NBPT notably increased the above-ground dry biomass per plant (20% and 10% at 8 and 12 MAP, respectively), leaf area per plant (23% and 15% at 8 and 12 MAP, respectively), N accumulation per plant (10%), PFPN (Partial Factor Productivity) (13%), and average fruit weight (15%) compared to the treatment with urea alone (control). The analysis of quality parameters indicated that urea with NBPT improves TSS (Total Soluble Solids) (19%), ascorbic acid (10%), and sucrose (14%) but reduces the total organic acid content (21%) in pineapple. When using urea with a urease inhibitor (NBPT), there was a significant improvement in growth, yield, quality, and nitrogen use efficiency, with the additional benefit of reduced nitrogen losses, in combination with easy handling. Hence, urea with a urease inhibitor can be used as a viable alternative for increasing pineapple yield by boosting growth with better fruit quality.
Delamination-and Electromigration-Related Failures in Solar Panels—A Review
Authors: Hasan Abdulwahab A. Q. , Ahmed Alkahtani Ammar , Shahahmadi Seyed Ahmad , Nur E. Alam Mohammad , Islam Mohammad Aminul , Amin Nowshad
Published: June 2021

The reliability of photovoltaic (PV) modules operating under various weather conditions attracts the manufacturer’s concern since several studies reveal a degradation rate higher than 0.8% per year for the silicon-based technology and reached up to 2.76% per year in a harsh climate. The lifetime of the PV modules is decreased because of numerous degradation modes. Electromigration and delamination are two failure modes that play a significant role in PV modules’ output power losses. The correlations of these two phenomena are not sufficiently explained and understood like other failures such as corrosion and potential-induced degradation. Therefore, in this review, we attempt to elaborate on the correlation and the influence of delamination and electromigration on PV module components such as metallization and organic materials to ensure the reliability of the PV modules. Moreover, the effects, causes, and the sites that tend to face these failures, particularly the silicon solar cells, are explained in detail. Elsewhere, the factors of aging vary as the temperature and humidity change from one country to another. Hence, accelerated tests and the standards used to perform the aging test for PV modules have been covered in this review.
Decentralization for Increased Sustainability in Natural Resource Management? Two Cautionary Cases from Ghana
Authors: Adam James Natia , Adams Timothy , Gerber Jean-David , Haller Tobias
Published: June 2021

In Sub-Saharan African countries, governments are increasingly devolving natural resource management from central administration to the local government level as a trend toward subsidiarity. In parallel, efforts to implement formalization processes have resulted in a puzzling institutional arena, wherein mixed actors are struggling to influence the paths of institutional change and the associated distribution of land and land-related resources. Relying on political ecology and new institutionalism in social anthropology, we investigate how the decentralization of formalization of rights in artisanal and small-scale gold mining can lead to paradoxical outcomes, often negatively impacting social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Two comparative case studies are performed in Ghana. Our results show that the negative effects of formalization efforts for resource end users are to be understood in the broad context of actors’ repositioning strategies following the selective implementation of decentralization. The authors conclude that increasing the power of the central government and line ministries to control local resources can influence the disenfranchisement of local people’s participation and control of natural resources, resulting in a relentless environmental crisis.
Temporal and Spatial Distributions of Waste Facilities and Solid Waste Management Strategies in Rural and Urban Saskatchewan, Canada
Authors: Ghosh Abhijeet , Ng Kelvin Tsun Wai
Published: June 2021

Saskatchewan has the highest number of landfills per capita in Canada. Given the lower population density and the skewed spatial population distribution, comprehensive analysis of municipal solid waste management systems in Saskatchewan is inherently difficult. Most of the published waste studies however focus on city-level waste management, and there is a lack of literature with respect to the rural areas. In this study, landfills and transfer stations are examined temporally and spatially using Geographic Information System. Landfills and transfer stations from 2017 and 2020 were plotted against census division land area, annual budget, and population density to study temporal changes. Saskatchewan witnessed a 54% reduction in the number of landfills and a 55% increase in number of transfer stations between 2017 and 2020. The replacement of landfills with transfer stations are more noticeable in divisions 8, 9, and 16. Regression analysis is conducted, and landfill closure operation show no obvious correlation to division land area, annual budget, or population density. Rural division 18, representing Northern Saskatchewan, has approximately 45% of the land area in the province and has the lowest population density. The findings suggest different waste management strategies are required for urban and rural areas. The results of this study will help policy makers to better implement solid waste management strategies in urban and rural areas.
Value Creation of Business Incubator Functions: Economic and Social Sustainability in the COVID-19 Scenario
Authors: Lin-Lian Cristina , De-Pablos-Heredero Carmen , Montes-Botella José Luis
Published: June 2021

Spain has encouraged support to sustain entrepreneurs in the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, the usefulness of the functions of business incubators regarding the social benefits derived from enhancing the sustainability of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is studied in the context of the COVID-19 scenario. Due to the lack of academic literature on the subject, an analysis based on the application of structural equation models (SEMs) has been carried out using a theoretical framework built and empirically validated using a representative sample of Spanish entrepreneurs. The results show that, according to stakeholders, the functionalities of business incubators were oriented to drive entrepreneurial initiatives to have highly positive effects on society. This research evidences that business incubators are key mechanisms to make entrepreneurship, growth and economic development more sustainable in society.
Analysis of Lightning-Induced Voltages Effect with SPD Placement for Sustainable Operation in Hybrid Solar PV-Battery Energy Storage System
Authors: Ahmad Nor Izzati , Ali Zaipatimah , Ab. Kadir Mohd Zainal Abidin , Osman Miszaina , Zaini Nur Hazirah , Roslan Muhammad Hakirin
Published: June 2021

This paper discusses the lightning-induced voltage effect on a hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV)-battery energy storage system with the presence of surge protection devices (SPD). Solar PV functions by utilizing solar energy, in generating electricity, to supply to the customer. To ensure its consistency, battery energy storage is introduced to cater to the energy demand. For the countries located at the Equator, lightning has always become a major issue for the system to operate at maximum efficiency, due to its nature of installation in open space areas where the equipment may suffer serious damage that may stop the operation abruptly. To minimize the possible damages, insulation coordination on the lightning protection system is needed. Hence, three case studies, i.e., lightning current amplitude, lightning strike distance, and cable length are presented in this paper, which the quantified analysis is taking into account, to identify the performance of the system with the single installation of SPD Class II at DC and AC sides. The simulation results have contributed towards a better understanding of the importance of SPDs, and the need to properly coordinate according to the standard, taking into account the quantified information obtained from this work, hence providing the necessity of proper installation of SPD will provide better maintenance and prolong the lifespan of the equipment.
Comparison of Usage and Influencing Factors between Governmental Public Bicycles and Dockless Bicycles in Linfen City, China
Authors: Guo Xiaojia , Lu Chengpeng , Sun Dongqi , Gao Yexin , Xue Bing
Published: June 2021

Automobile traffic has shifted the use of bicycles in many developed regions to being mainly for sport, recreation and commuting. Due to the desire to mitigate the impacts of climate change and alleviate traffic jams, bicycle sharing is booming in China. Governmental public bicycles and dockless bicycles are the main types of bicycle sharing in China, each with different types of management and pricing. Field research has found that many bicycle sharing networks are idle and wasteful, and thus we investigated which type is more popular and suitable for Chinese cities. This research comparatively analyzes the application of governmental public bicycles and dockless bicycles, mainly focusing on the cycling destination, cycling frequency, and cycling factors, taking Linfen City as an example. The results show that: (1) The purpose is different between governmental public bicycles and dockless bicycles. On the one hand, the aim of riding a governmental public bicycle to work represents the largest proportion at about 29%, mainly because of the fixed route of travel, and the fact that the fixed placement of governmental public bicycles makes them more available compared to the random arbitrariness of dockless bicycles. On the other hand, the aim of riding a dockless bicycle for entertainment accounts for the largest proportion, at about 34%, mainly due to the ease of borrowing and returning a bike, and mobile payment. (2) In terms of frequency, the public’s choice of riding a dockless bicycle or a governmental public bicycle has no essential difference, given that there are only two options for citizens in Linfen. (3) The response to the two kinds of bicycle sharing is different; the governmental public bicycle has the advantage of lower cost, but the dockless bicycle has more advantages in the procedure of borrowing and returning the bicycle.
A Cross-National Comparative Policy Analysis of the Blockchain Technology between the USA and China
Authors: Kuo Chu-Chi , Shyu Joseph Z.
Published: June 2021

Blockchain technology can achieve decentralization, multi-party verification, anti-tampering, anonymity, traceability of transactions and distributed ledger applications. Countries around the world continue to seek blockchain business models, technologies and applications and have different visions and policies for the development of blockchain. This study provides a comparative policy framework for the theoretical analysis of blockchain technology between the USA and China. Using the innovative policy tools proposed by Rothwell and Zegveld, these two countries are analyzed from the viewpoint of twelve policy tools. The results show that the USA and China both prefer to use “Environmental-side” policies. The USA has focused more on “Legal and regulatory”, “Public services” and “Procurement”. China has the highest proportion of policies in “Political tools”, followed by “Legal and regulatory”, while “Scientific and technical”, “Education” and “Overseas agent” come in third. Blockchain technology has developed vigorously among industries and its applications have gradually diversified. The results can provide a reference for policy planning for various stakeholders.
How Does China’s Economic Policy Uncertainty Affect the Sustainability of Its Net Grain Imports?
Authors: Li Yuee , Li Jingdong
Published: June 2021

China is a considerable grain importer in the world. However, the sustainability of China’s grain imports has been greatly challenged by its increasing economic policy uncertainty (EPU).This paper constructs the indicators of economic and environmental sustainability of China’s net grain imports and analyzes the impact of its EPU index on these indicators with a Time-Varying Parameter Stochastic Volatility Vector Autoregression (TVP-SV-VAR) model to explore how China’s EPU affects the sustainability of its net grain imports. The main conclusions are as follows.(1) The sustainability of China’s net grain imports fluctuated from 2001 to 2019. (2) China’s EPU has a negative impact on the economic sustainability of its net grain imports. A higher EPU index leads to a lower net import potential ratio and higher trade cost. (3) China’s EPU has a significant negative impact on the environmental sustainability of its net grain imports. It has the greatest negative impact on virtual water imports and smaller impact on virtual land imports and embodied carbon emission. Therefore, China’s EPU affects the sustainability of its net grain imports negatively through its impact on its net grain import potential ratio, trade cost, and virtual land, virtual water, and embodied carbon emissions in net grain imports.
A Comprehensive Security Framework Proposal to Contribute to Sustainability
Authors: Espinosa García Javier , Hernández Encinas Luis , Peinado Domínguez Alberto
Published: June 2021

Well-known international security frameworks try to eliminate or mitigate different kinds of risks on the assets covered by their scopes (e.g., people, goods, information, and reputation). To date, to the best of our knowledge, any of these approaches neither provide a comprehensive perspective on security (considered as the merge of physical and logical security) nor consider sustainability as one of the levers for their design, implementation, and execution. This work presents a comprehensive security proposal through a framework that fits to the organizational security needs and contributes to the achievement of the sustainability objectives of an organization by avoiding duplicities and large security gaps from disjointed approaches. The work is supported by a methodology, which is the result of the wide and long work experience of the co-authors on security over the years in different organizations, businesses, and scopes. As it is shown in the theoretical exemplification included in the paper, the proposed framework combines the complementary and joint action of various actors for the protection of assets capable of achieving efforts and dedication efficiency, by merging the aspects of physical and logical security.
Promoting Food Safety in Local Value Chains: The Case of Vegetables in Vietnam
Authors: Enthoven Laura , Van den Broeck Goedele
Published: June 2021

Background: Food quality and safety concerns in low- and middle-income countries are often addressed using stringent standards and formal contracts between farmers and buyers. Many studies have investigated the welfare implications of these control mechanisms for small-scale farmers in modern value chains, including exports and supermarkets. Conversely, few studies have focused on the potential of certification and contracts to tackle food safety issues within local traditional value chains. Methods: This study uses a discrete choice experiment to explore the preferences of vegetable farmers (n = 301) in northern Vietnam for different types of certification schemes–including third-party certification and participatory guarantee systems–and contracts. Results: Farmers are willing to accept a 49% lower price per kilogram for their vegetables to enter into a contract with a buyer, provided that pesticide use restrictions are feasible and the buyer is fully committed and trustworthy. However, they are strongly averse to organic farming, as they would require a 40% premium per kilogram to produce organically. They would also request a 21% premium to accept selling to an unknown buyer. Farmers highly value contracts that entail large purchase quantities, long duration and pesticide provision. Although the estimated willingness-to-accept values may seem very large, they make sense in the context of highly perishable produce. Conclusion: Our findings urge both policy makers and researchers to not only focus on modern value chains but also on local traditional value chains to tackle food safety issues in low- and middle-income countries, as we show that farmers are willing to produce safe vegetables for the local market when trading with buyers under beneficial conditions.
How Do International Conflicts Impact China’s Energy Security and Economic Growth? A Case Study of the US Economic Sanctions on Iran
Authors: Hu Xiaoxiao , He Ling , Cui Qi
Published: June 2021

International conflicts cause global energy price fluctuations and supply disruptions, which can threaten energy security and economic growth in energy-importing countries, including China. However, the implications and impact mechanisms of international conflicts on the energy security and economy of oil-importing countries have been poorly explored. Using US economic sanctions on Iran as a case, a global energy-extended computable general equilibrium model, GTAP-E, is employed to assess the impacts of international conflicts on China’s energy production, trade and supply, sectoral outputs, and economic growth. The results indicate that the USA–Iran tension would threaten China’s energy security, mainly due to the instability of the energy supply and the consequent upsurge of energy prices. However, if increased oil exports from other Persian Gulf countries compensate for the global oil supply shortages, China’s energy supply would be generally assured. Moreover, because of the close energy cooperation links between Iran and China, the sanctions could decrease the Chinese outputs of non-energy sectors and economic growth. Nevertheless, compared with sole-sanction situations, the results from a possible USA–Iran tension escalation, going as far as Iran’s closure of the Hormuz Strait, could pose a more serious risk to China’s energy security and economic growth.
Is Agriculture Always a GHG Emitter? A Combination of Eddy Covariance and Life Cycle Assessment Approaches to Calculate C Intake and Uptake in a Kiwifruit Orchard
Authors: Rossi Federica , Chieco Camilla , Virgilio Nicola Di , Georgiadis Teodoro , Nardino Marianna
Published: June 2021

While a substantial reduction of GHG (greenhouse gases) is urged, large-scale mitigation implies a detailed and holistic knowledge on the role of specific cropping systems, including the effect of management choices and local factors on the final balance between emissions and removals, this last typical of cropping systems. Here, a conventionally managed irrigated kiwifruit orchard has been studied to assess its greenhouse gases emissions and removals to determine its potential action as a C sink or, alternately, as a C source. The paper integrates two independent approaches. Biological CO2 fluxes have been monitored during 2012 using the micrometeorological Eddy covariance technique, while life cycle assessment quantified emissions derived from the energy and material used. In a climatic-standard year, total GHG emitted as consequence of the management were 4.25 t CO2-eq−1 ha−1 yr−1 while the net uptake measured during the active vegetation phase was as high as 4.9 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1. This led to a positive contribution of the crop to CO2 absorption, with a 1.15 efficiency ratio (sink-source factor defined as t CO2 stored/t CO2 emitted). The mitigating activity, however, completely reversed under extremely unfavorable climatic conditions, such as those recorded in 2003, when the efficiency ratio became 0.91, demonstrating that the occurrence of hotter and drier conditions are able to compromise the capability of Actinidia to offset the GHG emissions, also under appropriate irrigation.
Revitalization and Branding of Rural Communities in Cameroon Using a Circular Approach for Sustainable Development—A Proposal for the Batibo Municipality
Authors: Mbah Mudoh , Franz Anna
Published: June 2021

Rural communities in Cameroon have high levels of poverty, poor living conditions and lagging sustainable development. Lack of economic, social and physical infrastructure opportunities make these communities unsustainable and impact the quality of life for residents. Existing conditions render these areas unattractive for visitors and external and local investors. Initiatives to reduce poverty and improve living standards have had limited impact to reducing poverty or improving quality of life. The recent signing of Cameroon’s decentralization law, giving authority for planning and investments to local council governments now provides an opportunity to rethink existing strategies. Using Batibo, a representative community in the north western region of Cameroon, this paper examines the status of development initiatives and identifies new priorities for planning and steps to improve economic status. Guided by the Theory of Ecological Design and Five Pillars of Economic Development, and using a circular city approach, this paper outlines a concept for town planning and architectural flagship projects that can project the image, culture and heritage of the community and strategies for improving markets. With decentralized governance and re-envisioned priorities, Batibo has an opportunity to become a prototype for sustainable development and model of a quality future in rural Cameroon.
CO2 Emissions Reduction Measures for RO-RO Vessels on Non-Profitable Coastal Liner Passenger Transport
Authors: Vidas Sandro , Cukrov Marijan , Šutalo Valentina , Rudan Smiljko
Published: June 2021

Reducing CO2 emissions from ships in unprofitable coastline transport using electricity and hydrogen has potential for island development to improve transport and protect biodiversity and nature. New technologies are a challenge for shipping companies and their introduction should be accompanied by a system of state aid for alternative energy sources. The energy requirements of an electric ferry for a route of up to 6 km were considered, as well as the amount of hydrogen needed to generate the electricity required to charge the ferry batteries to enable a state aid scheme. For a daily ferry operation, a specific fuel consumption of 60.6 g/kWh of liquid hydrogen is required in the system fuel cell with a total of 342.69 kg of hydrogen. Compared to marine diesel, the use of electric ferries leads to a reduction of CO2 emissions by up to 90%, including significantly lower NOx, Sox, and particulate matter (PM) emissions, and operating costs by up to 80%.
Towards Understanding Variability in Droughts in Response to Extreme Climate Conditions over the Different Agro-Ecological Zones of Pakistan
Authors: Dilawar Adil , Chen Baozhang , Arshad Arfan , Guo Lifeng , Ehsan Muhammad Irfan , Hussain Yawar , Kayiranga Alphonse , Measho Simon , Zhang Huifang , Wang Fei , Sun Xiaohong , Ge Mengyu
Published: June 2021

Here, we provided a comprehensive analysis of long-term drought and climate extreme patterns in the agro ecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan during 1980–2019. Drought trends were investigated using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at various timescales (SPEI-1, SPEI-3, SPEI-6, and SPEI-12). The results showed that droughts (seasonal and annual) were more persistent and severe in the southern, southwestern, southeastern, and central parts of the region. Drought exacerbated with slopes of −0.02, −0.07, −0.08, −0.01, and −0.02 per year. Drought prevailed in all AEZs in the spring season. The majority of AEZs in Pakistan’s southern, middle, and southwestern regions had experienced substantial warming. The mean annual temperature minimum (Tmin) increased faster than the mean annual temperature maximum (Tmax) in all zones. Precipitation decreased in the southern, northern, central, and southwestern parts of the region. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a robust increase in temperature extremes with a variance of 76% and a decrease in precipitation extremes with a variance of 91% in the region. Temperature and precipitation extremes indices had a strong Pearson correlation with drought events. Higher temperatures resulted in extreme drought (dry conditions), while higher precipitation levels resulted in wetting conditions (no drought) in different AEZs. In most AEZs, drought occurrences were more responsive to precipitation. The current findings are helpful for climate mitigation strategies and specific zonal efforts are needed to alleviate the environmental and societal impacts of drought.
New Governance Path through Digital Platforms and the Old Urban Planning Process in Italy
Authors: Bellone Cinzia , Naselli Fabio , Andreassi Fabio
Published: June 2021

Current acceleration in digital practices, unexpected challenges in our social and spatial interactions, and sudden limitations in our physical spaces, mark unpredictable changes in our old normal. A different normal—as generated nowadays from the global pandemic 2020—is setting out, indeed, a mixed physical/virtual framework of the modification humanity is undertaking in being pushed into a new “digital age”; or better, as many scholars are saying, into the New Normal. A new normal in which the balance between physical and virtual interactions became in vantage of the second one in just one year, by increasing, at the same time, both the quantity and the quality of exchanging digital data. It is drafted a bi-dimensional enlarging that re-calls and stresses moreover the value of certain qualitative multi-data-based analyses aimed in reading the people’s common-sense to extrapolate wishes and needs within their daily lives; as the sentiment analysis applied to the urban planning processes wants to do. In synthesis, the bigger number of qualitative data coming from the web (from Socials mainly) became more affordable and more reliable (due to the new larger number of digital flows) in shaping new ways for a more effective public participation within the conventional planning process. In the pages of this article authors, through different but shared viewpoints, propose a possible answer to the topic of a new “Governance 3.0” addressing the attempt of a change of those consolidated paradigms within which the spatial dimension—in which we live and we act day by day—is shaped through planning processes consolidate over the years. Analyzing the relationship between Technocracy and Democracy, as defined by Khanna, it is argued that it is possible to realize new forecasts and to acquire a more democratic and participatory (inclusive) dimension of Governance, thanks to new digital technologies by exploring the general unconscious “feeling” of people, through anonymous data collection from Socials and similar platforms and without any direct or indirect interference with it. The Sentiment Analysis can “define automatic tools able to extract subjective information from texts in natural languages, such as opinions and sentiments, in order to create structured and actionable knowledge to be used by either a decision-support system or a decision-maker.
Linking Luxury Brand Perceived Value, Brand Attachment, and Purchase Intention: The Role of Consumer Vanity
Authors: Petravičiūtė Kristina , Šeinauskiené Beata , Rūtelionė Aušra , Krukowski Krzysztof
Published: June 2021

The current study adds to the literature on the indirect effect of luxury brand perceived value on purchase intention via the brand attachment under the boundary conditions of consumer vanity. The authors employed a quantitative method approach, conducting an online survey with 508 respondents in Lithuania. Empirical research analysis reveals that the greater the perceived value of a luxury brand, the greater the consumer purchase intention. The latter is most strongly affected by the luxury brand perceived functional value. The study demonstrates that the greater the luxury brand perceived value among consumers, the greater their brand attachment, which in turn leads to a greater purchase intention. As there is a positive emotional relationship between a luxury brand and the consumer, the consumer’s purchase intention is also affected by the luxury brand perceived symbolic value, i.e., the capacity of the brand to communicate the consumer’s success, leadership, and power. Consumer vanity was not statistically significant to the nature of the relationship between luxury brand perceived value, brand attachment, and purchase intention. Luxury car marketers may benefit by focusing on the social and symbolic value of luxury car brand value in communication with brand-attached consumers in Lithuania.
Can Environmental Regulations Promote Greenhouse Gas Abatement in OECD Countries? Command-and-Control vs. Market-Based Policies
Authors: Guo Xu , Fu Lin , Sun Xiaohua
Published: June 2021

In response to global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement has been one of the top priorities of governments, and a large variety of environmental regulation policies have been implemented in past decades. Using panel data from 27 OECD countries over the period of 2005–2012, this study measures and compares the stringency level of command-and-control and market-based environmental regulations. The differentiated impacts and indirect effects of environmental regulations on GHG emissions are tested empirically. The results show that: (1) Both command-and-control and market-based environmental regulations have effects on GHG abatement in OECD countries, and there is a non-linear relationship between environmental regulations and GHG discharge, in which stringent command-and-control environmental regulations and mild market-based regulation policies are preferred; (2) Command-and-control environmental regulations reduce GHG emissions by improving the technological level, rather than the energy consumption structure. In contrast, market-based environmental regulations can promote GHG abatement through the intermediary effects of both technological progress and the energy consumption structure. The findings provide implications for OECD countries to further reduce GHG emissions.
The Water Footprint of Primary and Secondary Processing of Beef from Different Cattle Breeds: A Value Fraction Allocation Model
Authors: Maré Frikkie Alberts , Jordaan Henry
Published: June 2021

The high water intake and wastewater discharge of slaughterhouses have been a concern for many years. One neglected factor in previous research is allocating the water footprint (WF) to beef production’s different products and by-products. The objective of this article was to estimate the WF of different cattle breeds at a slaughterhouse and cutting plant and allocate it according to the different cuts (products) and by-products of beef based on the value fraction of each. The results indicated a negative relationship between the carcass weight and the processing WF when the different breeds were compared. Regarding a specific cut of beef, a kilogram of rib eye from the heaviest breed had a processing WF of 614.57 L/kg, compared to the 919.91 L/kg for the rib eye of the lightest breed. A comparison of the different cuts indicated that high-value cuts had higher WFs than low-value cuts. The difference between a kilogram of rib eye and flank was 426.26 L/kg for the heaviest breed and 637.86 L/kg for the lightest breed. An option to reduce the processing WF of beef is to lessen the WF by slaughtering heavier animals. This will require no extra investment from the slaughterhouse. At the same time, the returns should increase as the average production inputs per kilogram of output (carcass) should reduce, as the slaughterhouse will process more kilograms.
Sustainable Governance on the Intention of Medical Tourism in Uzbekistan
Authors: Choi Yongrok , Ashurova Zamira , Lee Hyoungsuk
Published: June 2021

Medical tourism is a growing niche market with huge potential as the 6th industry of medical services, including an unforgettable trip. Due to these advantages, Uzbekistan hopes to be a leader in central Asia concerning medical tourism. Contrary to this ambitious goal, Uzbekistan patients still prefer going abroad for medical services. Therefore, in order for Uzbekistan to be a hub for medical tourism, the sustainable governance factors of medical tourism need to be found for local patients going overseas. Under this research motivation, this study evaluates how the medical, tourism, and information sharing factors influence behavioral intention based on the structural equation model (SEM) with a random sample of 498 residents in Uzbekistan. Perceived value and behavioral intention are used as a mediating variable and a dependent variable, respectively. The main findings are summarized as follows. First, the medical factor and information sharing are very important factors for behavioral intention, with high coefficient values of 0.399 and 0.516, respectively, while the tourism factor is not influential on the behavioral intention statistically. This implies that Uzbekistani patients do not consider tourism factors as a core condition, instead focusing on the service quality of the medical operation and convenience for foreign patients. Second, in the indirect model, we found that perceived value takes a fully mediating role between medical factors and behavioral intention, while it takes a partially mediating role between information sharing and behavioral intention, implying that strong promotion policies are required for the advantages of tourism and enhanced access to information.
A Suggested Methodology for Assessing the Failure Risk of the Final Slopes of Former Open-Pits in Case of Flooding
Authors: Apostu Izabela-Maria , Lazar Maria , Faur Florin
Published: June 2021

Some valuable minerals, such as lignite, are extracted through open-pit mining works. After the cessation of mining activity, large-scale gaps result in the landscape. These gaps, also called “remaining gaps”, represent some of the roughest types of environmental impacts. After the cessation of mining activity, recovery and ecological restoration works are required. However, it is first necessary to carry out risk assessment studies considering the possible future influences on the final slopes. For this study, flooding of the remaining lignite open-pits gaps was considered as the ecological restoration option. The study was based on extensive research, including sampling, laboratory tests, statistical-mathematical processing, hypothesis formulation, evaluations, interpretations, and field observations, regarding the rock behavior and occurrence of negative geotechnical phenomena (geotechnical phenomena that have a negative impact and a risk on the integrity of the environment and local communities, such as landslides, rockfalls, liquefaction, suffosis) during the flooding process. This paper’s originality consists of combining the methods and methodologies developed with the help of classic methods (Fellenius, Janbu, and Bishop methods) and probabilistic ones (Rosenblueth method) existing in the specialized literature for solving the proposed problem and structuring the information similar to a guide.
Optimizing Assistive Technology Operations for Aging Populations
Authors: de Armas Jesica , Rodríguez-Pereira Jessica , Vieira Bruno , Ramalhinho Helena
Published: June 2021

The combination of increasing life spans and low birth rates is accelerating the pace at which the share of older adults in the population worldwide is rising. As people age, their autonomy tends to decrease which leads frequently to the need to use support equipment to perform their daily living activities. Governments, at all levels, are establishing programs to enable this population to live with dignity at home, receive more proper care, and to participate in all life’s activities in a joyful and independent way. Within these programs, we can find the Assistive Technology (AT) organizations that makes available to the population assistive technology equipment as wheelchairs or hospital beds. These organizations collect and store donated products for lend them to needed users. The management of these products’ flow, the location of the access centers, and design of the transportation schemes is not straightforward, due to several complexities, such as a highly uncertain demand and offer, budget limitations, and restricted availability of human resources within the organizations, most of which are volunteers. In this paper, we analyze the AT operations, based on a Circular Economy perspective, and we develop tools that can help the managers of these programs to make better logistics decisions. These tools are based on mathematical models and efficient algorithms that have been developed to solve location, inventory, and routing operational problems in the AT organizations. We have been inspired by the social program of the Barcelona City Council, Banc del Moviment, but the tools can be used and extended to other programs around the world.
The Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI): A Critical Analysis of the Indicator Grid
Authors: Rossitti Marco , Dell’Ovo Marta , Oppio Alessandra , Torrieri Francesca
Published: June 2021

The National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI) is a public policy designed to tackle depopulation in inner areas, defined according to the distance from centers offering essential services. Such a policy’s success is crucial to address the new challenges for planning brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this sense, there is a need to adequately support its implementation by providing handy decision support tools, understanding the power balances among municipalities, and defining proper interventions. The Indicator Grid, already used by the SNAI for project areas selection, can answer this need. However, the Grid’s application to support public policy at the municipality level requires reviewing some of its features, such as the indicators’ large number and the impossibility of defining some of them at the municipal scale. Based on these premises, this paper aims at supporting inner areas policies by carrying out a critical analysis of the current SNAI Grid, aimed at improving its effectiveness. It relies on a hybrid methodology that merges qualitative data interpretations and statistical analyses. Thanks to this method, defining a parsimonious Grid by leaving its complexity and information level untouched is possible. The so-defined set of indicators can represent a valuable reference tool in pinpointing priorities for actions or selecting further territorial scopes from the SNAI perspective, even if it still brings some criticalities to be faced.
Utilizing User-Generated Content and GIS for Flood Susceptibility Modeling in Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of Jian City in China
Authors: Zeng Zhongping , Li Yujia , Lan Jinyu , Hamidi Abdur Rahim
Published: June 2021

Floods are threats seriously affecting people’s lives and property globally. Risk analysis such as flood susceptibility assessment is one of the critical approaches to mitigate flood impacts. However, the inadequate field survey and lack of data might hinder the mapping of flood susceptibility. The emergence of user-generated content (UGC) in the era of big data provides new opportunities for flood risk management. This research proposed a flood susceptibility assessment model using UGC as a potential data source and conducted empirical research in Ji’an County in China to make up for the lack of ground survey data in mountainous-hilly areas. This article used python crawlers to obtain the geographic location of the floods in Ji’an City from 2016 to 2019 from social media, and the state-of-the-art MaxEnt algorithm was adopted to obtain the flood occurrence map. The map was verified by the flood data crawled from reliable official media, which achieved an average AUC of 0.857% and an overall accuracy of 93.1%. Several novel indicators were used to evaluate the importance of conditioning factors from different perspectives. Land use, slope, and distance from the river were found to contribute most to the occurrence of floods. Our findings have shown that the proposed historical UG C-based model is practical and has good flood-risk-mapping performance. The importance of the conditioning factors to the occurrence of floods can also be ranked. The reports from stakeholders are a great supplement to the insufficient field survey data and tend to be valuable resources for flood disaster preparation and mitigation in the future. Finally, the limitations and future development directions of UGC as a data source for flood risk assessment are discussed.
Perceived Threats through COVID-19 and the Role of Organizational Capacity: Findings from Non-Profit Sports Clubs
Authors: Feiler Svenja , Breuer Christoph
Published: June 2021

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced non-profit sports clubs to shut their doors. As a consequence, neither sports activities nor social gatherings could take place for an indefinite period. This situation poses potential risks to sports clubs as clubs could lose members, volunteers, and revenue. The purpose of this study is to investigate how strong clubs have been affected so far by COVID-19 and which capacities help or hinder clubs in dealing with the crisis. (2) Methods: The study is based on large-scale primary data (n = 4295) collected among German sports clubs in autumn 2020. Three fractional regression models are applied to examine which organizational capacities are related to potential threats caused by COVID-19. (3) Results: Clubs perceive the risk of losing members as most threatening, followed by the challenge of retaining volunteers. Potential financial threats are perceived as smaller by clubs without their own sports facilities and paid employees. (4) Conclusions: Overall, sports clubs with a strong solidarity culture seem to be affected less by potential threats through COVID-19. To become more resilient to unexpected external influences, capacity building in specific areas of sports clubs should be considered. Support from public institutions and sports associations is needed.
δ2H and δ18O in Precipitation and Water Vapor Disentangle Seasonal Wind Directions on the Loess Plateau
Authors: Huang Fu-Qiang , Wei Jian-Zhou , Song Xin , Zhang Yong-Hong , Yang Qi-Feng , Kuzyakov Yakov , Li Feng-Min
Published: June 2021

In many areas of the Loess Plateau, groundwater is too deep to extract, making meteoric water (snow and rain) the only viable water resource. Here we traced the rainwater and water vapor sources using the δ2H and δ18O signature of precipitation in the northern mountainous region of Yuzhong on the Loess Plateau. The local meteoric water line in 2016 and 2017 was defined as δ2H = 6.8 (±0.3)∙δ18O + 4.4 (±2.0) and δ2H = 7.1 (±0.2)∙δ18O + 1.5 (±1.6), respectively. The temperature and precipitation amount are considered to be the main factor controlling the δ2H and δ18O variation of precipitation, and consequently, relationships were first explored between δ18O and local surface air temperature and precipitation amount by linear regression analysis. The temperature effect was significant in the wet seasons but was irrelevant in the dry seasons on daily and seasonal scales. The amount effect was significant in the wet seasons on a daily scale but irrelevant in the dry seasons. However, based on the data of the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) (1985–1987, 1996–1999) of Lanzhou weather station, the amount effects were absent at seasonal scales and were not useful to discriminate either wetter or drier seasons or even wetter or drier decades. Over the whole year, the resulting air mass trajectories were consistent with the main sources of water vapor were from the Atlantic Ocean via westerlies and from the Arctic region, with 46%, 64%, and 40% of water vapor coming from the westerlies, and 54%, 36%, and 60% water vapor from the north in spring, autumn and winter, respectively. In the summer, however, the southeast monsoon (21%) was also an important water vapor source in the Loess Plateau. Concluding, using the δ2H and δ18O signatures of precipitation water, we disentangled and quantified the seasonal wind directions that are important for the prediction of water resources for local and regional land use.