Sustainability, Volume 16, Issue 3 (February-1 2024) – 409 articles

In this study, the biomass expansion factor (BEF) method was combined with the tree growth function in order to obtain a more accurate growth function of tree species through the fitting of different growth functions to tree growth, and to determine the characteristics of the forest carbon stock as well as the carbon sink potential of Huangshan National Forest Park (HNFP) in China. The carbon sink potential of each tree species and the integrated influencing factors, such as the stand and soil, were directly represented by structural equation modelling (SEM) to clarify the size and path of each influencing factor against the carbon sink potential. The results showed the following: (1) the logistic growth function fitting results for the seven major tree species in HNFP were better than those from the Richard–Chapman growth function, and the R² was greater than 0.90. (2) In 2014, the total carbon stock of the forest in HNFP was approximately 9.59 × 10⁵ t, and the pattern of carbon density, in general, was higher in the central region and the northeastern region and lower in the northern and southern regions, while the distribution of carbon density was lower in the northern and southern regions. The carbon density pattern generally showed a higher distribution in the central and northeastern regions and a lower distribution in the northern and southern regions; most of the high-carbon-density areas were distributed in blocks, while the low-carbon-density areas were distributed sporadically. (3) The total carbon sink of the forest in HNFP was 8.26 × 10³ t in 2014–2015, and due to the large age structure of the regional tree species, the carbon sinks of each tree species and the total carbon sink of HNFP showed a projected downward trend from 2014 to 2060. (4) For different tree species, the influencing factors on carbon sink potential are not the same, and the main influence factors involve slope position, slope, altitude, soil thickness, etc. This study identified the carbon stock and carbon sink values of the forest in HNFP, and the factors affecting the carbon sink potential obtained by SEM can provide a basis for the selection of new afforestation sites in the region as well as new ideas and methods to achieve peak carbon and carbon neutrality both regionally and nationally in the future. Full article

Global warming may have a complex effect on soil carbon mineralization across mountain elevations. Elevational zonation governs the soil natural composition of mountain ecosystems due to different temperature conditions. Understanding the response of carbon mineralization to climate change, particularly the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀), is crucial for assessing the effects within mountain vertical zones. Despite this, the spatial variation and influencing factors of organic carbon mineralization at these zones remain unclear. We conducted a microcosm study in Changbai Mountain, Northeast China, to examine the response of soil carbon mineralization to warming across six different elevations (1000, 1400, 1600, 1800, 2000, and 2200 m). The soil samples were incubated at 5 °C, 15 °C, and 25 °C for 71 days. The results showed a significant elevation-dependent increase in the rate of soil organic carbon mineralization (C_min), with the birch forest exhibiting the highest values. Q₁₀ varied across elevations, with the highest value (1.57) in the coniferous forest (1400 m), and the lowest (1.32) in the tundra (2200 m). The potential of organic carbon mineralization (C₀) demonstrated an increasing trend from 5 °C to 25 °C across the six elevations. Elevation and soil properties, especially pH, bulk density (BD), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), emerged as critical factors influencing organic carbon mineralization; notably, elevation played a crucial role. In summary, our findings highlight the common regulatory role of elevation and soil properties in soil carbon mineralization dynamics within the vertical zones. Future research should pay attention to the distinctive features of vegetation zones to analyze how mountain carbon pool function responds to global climate change. Full article

The growing use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, has opened up new possibilities for gathering and analyzing patient data. In some cases, the elderly are exposed to significant risk and even mortality as a result of the global aging problem, which has become a burden in recent years. Numerous IoT devices are being created to monitor, track, and record the actions of the elderly to reduce these hazards. This study proposed a novel, dependable, cloud-based remote system patient monitoring framework for IoT health detection. The main distinguished part of this research is that we rarely can find a framework in the literature that is based on real-time systems by considering heartbeat (BPM), blood oxygen (SpO2), and body temperature at the same time. The implementation and testing of this real-time system is classified into six distinctly separated phases for developing both the hardware and software. To verify the performance of the suggested system, data were gathered from BOT-IoT datasets. The outcome enhances patient satisfaction, secure data transmission, and healthcare outcomes by showing that the proposed framework is more efficient than other compared protocols in terms of the decision time, which is 16.3 seconds for 46 features, with 100% accuracy. Full article

After joining the globalization initiative, countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have experienced an exponential growth in carbon emissions. The high carbon lock-in of the energy consumption structure and lagged energy infrastructure construction have led to high carbon emissions, which has put great pressure on ASEAN countries to reduce their carbon emissions. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by the middle of this century, ASEAN countries have successively formulated strategic guidelines for energy transformation and green development, focusing on the structural transformation of energy development and utilization, a coal decommissioning plan, grid interconnection, the electrification of urban transportation patterns, energy conservation, consumption reduction, and international technological cooperation. ASEAN countries still face many challenges in achieving their carbon neutrality targets, including unstable policies, poor environmental awareness among residents, poor guarantee for energy transformation, disconnection between technology and capital, and difficulties in regional coordination. These are reflected in the obvious carbon lock-in effect and the strong dependence on carbon in traditional industries. ASEAN countries are seeking a balance of interests in the Sino–US infrastructure game. In this context, China, as an advocate of South–South cooperation, is committed to expanding the cooperation with ASEAN countries on carbon neutrality in the following aspects: the development and utilization of renewable energy resources, formulation of a progressive grid interconnection plan, establishment of the green financial system, and research and development of green technologies. The purpose is to help ASEAN countries achieve their goals of carbon neutrality. Full article

Despite promising outcomes in higher education, the widespread adoption of learning analytics remains elusive in various educational settings, with primary and secondary schools displaying considerable reluctance to embrace these tools. This hesitancy poses a significant obstacle, particularly given the prevalence of educational technology and the abundance of data generated in these environments. In contrast to higher education institutions that readily integrate learning analytics tools into their educational governance, high schools often harbor skepticism regarding the tools’ impact and returns. To overcome these challenges, this work aims to harness learning analytics to address critical areas, such as school dropout rates, the need to foster student collaboration, improving argumentation and writing skills, and the need to enhance computational thinking across all age groups. The goal is to empower teachers and decision makers with learning analytics tools that will equip them to identify learners in vulnerable or exceptional situations, enabling educational authorities to take suitable actions that are aligned with students’ needs; this could potentially involve adapting learning processes and organizational structures to meet the needs of students. This work also seeks to evaluate the impact of such analytics tools on education within a multi-dimensional and scalable domain, ranging from individual learners to teachers and principals, and extending to broader governing bodies. The primary objective is articulated through the development of a user-friendly AI-based dashboard for learning. This prototype aims to provide robust support for teachers and principals who are dedicated to enhancing the education they provide within the intricate and multifaceted social domain of the school. Full article

In this paper, a decision-making tool is proposed that can utilize different strategies to deal with passenger flows in airport terminals. A simulation model has been developed to investigate these strategies, which can be updated and modified based on the current requirements of an airport terminal. The proposed tool could help airport managers and relevant decision makers proactively mitigate potential risks and evaluate crowd management strategies. The aim is to eliminate risk factors due to overcrowding and minimize passenger waiting times within the terminal to provide a seamless, safe and satisfying travel experience. Overcrowding in certain areas of the terminal makes it difficult for passengers to move freely and increases the risk of accidents (especially in the event of an emergency), security problems and service interruptions. In addition, long queues can lead to frustration among passengers and increase potential conflicts or stress-related incidents. Based on the derived results, the optimized routing of passengers using modern technological solutions is the most promising crowd management strategy for a sample airport that can handle 800 passengers per hour. Full article

Floating solar renewable energy is of enormous potential in Indonesia. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the design of Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) systems with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for three islands in Indonesia. These islands represent three typical scenarios in Indonesia (a) using a national grid powered by fossil fuel generators, (b) using a local grid powered by diesel generators, and (c) no grid at all. In-person surveys were conducted at these islands to collect data, and then FPV and BESS were designed to meet the demands of each island. Subsequently, the systems’ energy simulations were conducted using the System Advisor Model, demonstrating daily energy demand and supply in hour variation. Based on the results, a series of sustainability analyses were created from the aspects of economics, society, and the environment. The economic analysis demonstrated cost savings by using FPV to replace contemporary energy methods. The social analysis provides valuable insights into the local community, forming a demographic profile and obtaining perceptions and opinions regarding the new energy approach. The environmental analysis quantifies the potential CO₂ emissions. Overall, the work provides valuable insights into the roadmap for implementing floating solar technologies in Indonesia which can also inform global ocean-based solar energy developments. Full article

The red beds that are widely distributed in hilly areas in eastern Sichuan Province are inevitable rock and soil masses in engineering construction. In order to obtain a larger building area, engineering slope cutting is quite common in red bed hilly areas. Engineering slope cutting destroys the inherent stability of a slope and causes geological disasters. In order to practice the concept of sustainable development and explore ways to develop and utilize land resources reasonably and reduce the possibility of geological disasters caused by engineering slope cutting, this paper took the slope cutting sites caused by rural housing construction in the red bed area of Wanyuan City as research objects. The internal and external factors affecting the stability of the cut slopes were summarized through a field investigation, and two typical slopes were selected for analysis. Sampling and indoor tests were conducted to obtain the geotechnical parameters. Geo Studio software (2018 R2) was employed to establish numerical models, simulate the stress and strain distributions, and compute stability coefficients under different slope cutting conditions at the same time. Based on field investigations and numerical simulations, the three main failure modes of shallow landslides caused by slope cutting were summarized, and the evolution process of slope landform accelerated by slope cutting activities was deduced. In an engineering application, the functional relationship between the cutting height and the stability coefficient was fitted. It was found that the critical cut height values of soil slope were 6.3 m, 6.2 m, 5.2 m, and 2.6 m at slope of 10°, 20°, 30° and 40°, respectively; the critical cut height values of rock–soil mixed slope were 9.3 m, 6.5 m, 5.9 m, and 2.2 m at slope of 10°, 20°, 30° and 40°, respectively. The research findings can be used to prevent and manage the hazards caused by slope cutting in this study area. Full article

The health care sector exists to support and promote human wellbeing; however, its operations contribute to environmental degradation undermining nature’s capacity to support the same wellbeing. Biodiversity loss, in particular, creates threats to wellbeing through a reduction in ecosystem service provisioning and increases in disease. This study aims to estimate the extinction-risk footprint associated with the health care sector, focusing on Europe. We created an environmentally-extended multi-region input–output model using data on the extinction risk of species available from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Using input–output analysis, we then quantified the extinction-risk footprint of the Dutch health care sector and, for comparison, that of the 30 European nations which use similar sector classifications in their National Accounts reporting. We found that the Netherlands has the highest health care extinction-risk footprint on a per-capita basis and that health care contributes 4.4% of the Dutch consumption extinction-risk footprint compared with an average of 2.6% across the comparator set. Food and beverage supply chains make a disproportionate contribution to health care’s extinction-risk footprint, while supply chains implicated in the sector’s carbon footprint make a limited contribution. These results suggest that reducing the environmental impact of the health care sector may require a differentiated approach when multiple environmental indicators are considered. Full article

Internal branding has been regarded as important for internalizing an organization’s values and visions to its employees and managing human resources since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite changes in the working environment after the pandemic, internal branding is still ignored within public sports organizations in South Korea. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the relationship between internal branding of public sports organizations, work engagement and turnover intention of employees, and to examine the mediating effect of work engagement. This study collected data from 248 employees working for public sports organizations by using the convenience sampling method. The data was analyzed with SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0. The results showed the following: (1) Organizational management culture had a significant positive effect on work engagement, but there was no significant relationship between internal communication and work engagement. (2) Organizational management culture had a negative effect on turnover intention, while internal communication had a positive effect on turnover intention. (3) Work engagement had a significant negative effect on turnover intention, and has been shown to partially mediate the relationship between organizational management culture and turnover intention. This study suggests that employees can differently perceive the effectiveness of organizational management culture and internal communication within internal branding. Therefore, public sports organizations should create an organizational culture in which employees can properly reflect and practice the values and visions of the organization in their work. Full article

Using transnational panel data from 61 nations and regions from 2000 to 2019, this article empirically examines both the influence of artificial intelligence on the Global Value Chain as it pertains to the manufacturing industry and its mechanism of action. According to the report, AI significantly improves the industrial sector’s GVC position; this finding still holds after multiple robustness and endogeneity tests of the model. The findings of the heterogeneity test at the national level demonstrate that, in developing nations as opposed to developed countries, AI has a stronger impact on advancing the GVC position of the manufacturing industry. Heterogeneity tests at the industry level show that AI has a significant role in promoting the GVC of high, medium and low technology manufacturing industries. The mechanism test demonstrates three primary ways by which AI contributes to improving the GVC position of the manufacturing industry: by improving both production efficiency and technological innovation capacity, and by reducing trade costs. This study provides policy implications for the promotion of AI with respect to China’s manufacturing industry GVC position. Full article

In the high-energy, high-carbon landscape of the construction industry, a detailed and precise life cycle assessment (LCA) is essential. This review examines the role of building information modeling (BIM) software in streamlining the LCA process to enhance efficiency and accuracy. Despite its potential, challenges such as software interoperability and compatibility persist, with no unified standard for choosing BIM-integrated LCA software. Besides, the review explores the capabilities and limitations of various BIM software, LCA tools, and energy consumption tools, and presents characteristics of BIM-LCA integration cases. It critically discusses BIM-LCA integration methods and data exchange techniques, including bill of quantities import, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) import, BIM viewer usage, direct LCA calculations with BIM plugins, and LCA plugin calculations. Finally, concluding with future perspectives, the study aims to guide the development of advanced LCA tools for better integration with BIM software, addressing a vital need in sustainable construction practices. Full article

The aim of this paper is to apply the concept of marginal vertical income convergence to analyze the influence of the two last economic downturns (2007 and 2020) on the sustainability of the equalization of income levels within the European Union. The methodology used enables us to avoid some restrictions of the classical analysis of income convergence. Income convergence models were estimated using data from the period 1993–2022, excluding the impact of outliers. The results confirm that we can observe the progressive process of the absolute income convergence for EU members, but there are significant differences between countries’ contributions to the process. These differences are caused by different paths of economic growth, and different mean resilience to economic crises, as well as different patterns of income inequalities. Their proper recognition allows us to develop efficient policies aimed at social cohesion, reducing income inequalities (the 10th Sustainable Development Goal), and sustainable economic development. Additionally, the estimated models indicated a definite different impact of the last two economic shocks on the European process of income convergence. The first shock significantly slowed down the income convergence process, while the second one was practically neutral in this context. Full article

In today’s ambiguous and complicated business environment, businesses are required and mandated to be agile and think rapidly. Building on the theory of dynamic capability, the present research makes a strong argument that strategic agility is a key component in managing continuous change effectively. The primary objectives of this research are to examine the impact of strategic agility on digital transformation and environmental sustainability and to explore the effect of digital transformation on environmental sustainability. Additionally, we investigated the indirect impact of strategic agility on environmental sustainability via digital transformation. To achieve these objectives, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and used to gather data from 284 managers in manufacturing companies in Jordan. To test the research hypotheses, structural equation modeling (SEM) with Amos 24.0 was used. The results revealed that strategic agility positively impacted both digital transformation and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, digital transformation positively affects environmental sustainability. Additionally, digital transformation partially mediated strategic agility’s impact on environmental sustainability. The results indicate that businesses use and employ strategic agility as a means to achieve the desired results, and it may operate as a proactive facilitator and catalyst, allowing organizations to optimize most of their available resources, achieve the desired digital transformation, and accomplish the expected environmental sustainability objectives and results. Full article

During puberty, children experience an increased need for autonomy in all areas of their lives, including school. However, teachers use different levels of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies, which might have detrimental effects on students’ perceived competence and—building on self-determination theory—motivation to learn. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether students could buffer the negative impact of little perceived autonomy support in the English-language classroom on their perceived competence and, consequently, two motivational outcomes (grade aspirations, intrinsic motivation) by using non-academic English-language ICTs in their free time. We calculated several (moderated) mediation models with a Bayesian estimator, using data from N = 1288 Austrian secondary school students who answered three online questionnaires between May 2022 and April 2023. The results showed that perceived competence predicts both types of motivation and is influenced by students’ use of non-academic English-language ICTs. However, the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies depend on which variables are included in the models. Our study therefore highlights the importance of examining several aspects of autonomy-supportive teaching and including variables from outside the school to represent the complex environment in which students’ motivation is shaped. Full article

The Vietnamese Government prioritizes education as a developmental investment within its socioeconomic development programs. Subsequently, Vietnam’s higher education system (HE) is experiencing substantial transformation, emphasizing autonomy, because institutions endowed with self-governance capabilities may allocate societal resources more efficiently for developmental purposes. In this paper, we measured Vietnamese universities’ total factor productivity change (TFPCH) in the autonomy context, using it as a proxy for the sustainable performance of HE institutions. We decomposed TFPCH into Technical Efficiency Change (EFFCH) and Technology Change (TECHCH) and regressed these indices with independent variables to derive their determining factors. Notably, we employed the derived intercept as a proxy for the autonomy context of Vietnam. The DEA found significant advancements in productivity and technology, indicating a positive paradigm shift within Vietnam’s higher education system. The intercepts obtained from these regressions are positive and significant, implying that the autonomous environment supports the sustainable advancement of Vietnam’s higher education system in both components of TFPCH: the catch-up ability (EFFCH) and technological improvement (TECHCH). In addition, we found that investment in vital resources (number of laboratories, research funding, or quality accreditation) improves productivity (TFPCH) via technological improvement. We also observed that private universities experienced higher performance progress than public ones. However, we did not find any significant relationships between the university scale or the location of the main campus and their performance. To further the growth of Vietnam’s higher education system, we propose that the autonomy of institutions continues to be granted. Full article

A high conversion ratio DC-DC converter is crucial for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). A fuel cell-based non-isolated high gain integrated DC-DC converter for electric vehicles is proposed in this paper. The system comprises an interleaved boost converter (IBC) at the source end, a switched capacitor cell, coupled inductors, a passive clamp circuit, and a voltage multiplier circuit (VMC). Its significance is to achieve the voltage conversion gain of 12.33 at a conversion ratio of 0.45. The idea is to use a proton exchange membrane fuel cell to power electric vehicles through a high-gain DC-DC converter. The use of an ineffective MPPT can result in lower energy conversion efficiency. Thus, this system incorporates a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller based on a neural network, which relies on the radial basis function network (RBFN) algorithm to track the maximum power point of the PEMFC accurately. The comparative study of the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) structure with the RBFN-based MPPT technique was evaluated with that of the fuzzy logic technique using the MATLAB/Simulink platform (R2021b (MATLAB 9.11)). A 1.5 kW experimental prototype is designed with a switching frequency of 10 kHz to validate the design analysis, and its pursuance is compared between RBFN and FLC-based controllers. This manuscript will be a significant contribution towards evidencing a sustainable environment. Full article

Pollution control is of great value in order to achieve sustainable development and meet the needs of human development. This paper utilizes data from four rounds of longitudinal surveys conducted between 2012 and 2018 as part of the China Labor Force Dynamic Survey. Employing multiple linear regression methods, it empirically investigates the impact of pollution control on the well-being of rural residents. Empirical results show that even after accounting for individual, village, and family characteristics, pollution control significantly affects the happiness of rural residents. Notably, water pollution control emerges as having the most pronounced impact on rural residents’ happiness. Furthermore, pollution control enhances the well-being of rural residents by improving the village environment, fostering family harmony, and enhancing the physical and mental health of individuals. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that pollution control exerts a stronger influence on the happiness of residents in the central and western region and ordinary villages, while its impact is somewhat weaker in the eastern region. Addressing the pollution issue remains imperative, along with stimulating the endogenous drivers of rural ecological revitalization, enhancing the effectiveness of grassroots governance in rural areas, and continually bolstering the sense of well-being and happiness among the populace. Full article

The adoption of e-government promises efficiency in the delivery of government services to citizens across various sectors of the economy. Due to this, most Global North countries have advanced in the deployment of e-government for improving public-service delivery. Unfortunately, most African countries, including Ghana, are still lagging in e-government development. This study examined e-government development across African Union member states. It explored the role of e-government in the reform of public administration and governance, focusing on Ghana as a case study. Using a mixed-method approach, the study analyzed secondary data of key e-government indicators using the TOPSIS method. This helped underscore the transformative impact on public administration and governance by using primary data via interviews. The results show advanced progress in some African countries, including Ghana, due to aligned digital strategies with national policies. Also, technology integration is evident in Ghana’s public sector and is reshaping public administration and governance. The study recommends that to achieve the long-term sustainability of these advancements, interagency collaboration and data-sharing mechanisms between the public and private sectors should be strengthened, while all forms of silos should be broken to promote the delivery of services. This study enhances public-service delivery by identifying areas needing both improvement and allocation of resources for shaping e-government policy development. Full article

Despite considerable scholarly interest in the drivers of and barriers to business model innovation for sustainability transformations, scholars have not yet explored the role of images of human nature in this context. This is surprising because economic decisions are profoundly shaped by assumptions about humanity and its role in the world. Applying conceptual modelling as a methodological approach, this article sheds light on the mutual relationships between images of human nature and business model innovation. The main insights are twofold: First, images of human nature can be drivers of or barriers to business model innovation, as they enable or obstruct the adoption of new business models. Second, images of human nature can be challenged and adjusted through practical experiences with business models. The article concludes that images of human nature as representing an evolving holon have the greatest potential to push forward sustainability transformation by understanding humanity in a post-anthropocentric way and facilitating a profound reconsideration of business and economy. This study contributes to research on business model innovation by answering recent calls to advance theoretical perspectives on the factors that influence decision-making in innovation processes. It also helps research and practice to understand why certain business model innovations are preferred over others. Full article

Background: The social restriction measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decreasing physical activity levels. We aimed to evaluate whether the interventions reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of physical activity during the COVID-19 lockdown on people with sedentary behavior were effective. Methods: We searched several databases from their inception until 1 April 2023, including RCTs evaluating the effects of any physical activity intervention in increasing the physical activity level in people with sedentary behavior during COVID-19 confinement, based on evidence derived from intervention studies with a control group. Studies were excluded if they (i) did not include humans; (ii) did not include sufficient information regarding the interventions or regarding the outcomes of interest; (iii) did not have a control group. We used the Rayyan systematic review platform for the selection of the studies to include based on the title/abstract information. Results: Starting with 2461 records from the original literature search, and after reviewing them according to the latest PRISMA recommendations, 11 RCTs including a total of 1770 participants were available and were included in the systematic review. We found that most of the studies examined (73%) reported the beneficial effects of the proposed interventions on improving the physical activity, reducing the sedentary time, and positively contributing to the psychological well-being of the participants. Conclusions: The results of the present systematic review on RCTs of interventions to increase physical activity in sedentary people during the COVID-19 lockdown show the beneficial effects of diverse online-delivered strategies, which can be applied even after the pandemic in conditions in which access to in-person activities is not possible. Full article

Manufacturing companies characterized by high-mix and low-volume production exhibit distinct features that exert a significant influence on the product introduction process. The quality of information exchange between product design and production interfaces becomes paramount in low-volume manufacturing. Consequently, there is a pressing need to explore various methods for adapting and customizing management strategies to align with the unique characteristics of low-volume manufacturing and its associated product introduction processes. Although this knowledge is critical in low-volume manufacturing, most existing studies focus on the management aspects of high-volume manufacturing. Therefore, this study investigated the customization of management strategies for product introduction in low-volume manufacturing to enhance the quality of information content. Drawing upon a longitudinal analysis of new product introductions within a low-volume manufacturing company, this study identified four management strategies—namely, securing a production test and verification plan, revising the role of product introduction management, developing a formal design and production coordination plan, and developing lessons learned management plan. The paper explains how the examined company adapted and implemented product introduction management strategies to facilitate the enhancement of information content quality across three key stages: pre-implementation, post-implementation, and subsequent modification and refinement of strategies following the initial round of implementation. By shedding light on these strategies, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of management approaches for product introduction in low-volume manufacturing. The study makes a valuable contribution to the discourse on information quality management and design-production interface in the low-volume manufacturing and low-volume product introduction literature. Full article

Artificial afforestation is considered as one of the key ecological restoration measures. The early large-scale, single-species afforestation method is considered detrimental to the environment. However, there is still a lack of empirical research on the differences in understory biodiversity between monoculture and mixed forests, as well as the response mechanisms of understory plants to environmental factors. We compared the differences in understory plant diversity in different types of plantations and analyzed the differences in understory species composition and the impact of understory plants on local scales (soil organic matter, soil-available phosphorus, and distance from the road) and landscape scales (patch density, landscape fragmentation, and patch diversity) and environmental variable response mechanisms in a mountainous area. Our findings revealed that there was no significant difference in overall understory plant diversity between monoculture and mixed forests, but the perennial species and native species in the mixed forest were significantly higher than those in the monoculture. In monoculture plots, the disparity in species composition was more pronounced compared to that observed in mixed plots. Soil organic matter had a positive effect on understory plant diversity, and soil available phosphorus and distance from the road significantly affected plant diversity in monoculture forests but had no effect in mixed forests. Landscape-scale environmental factors have no effect on understory species diversity. The findings of the current study emphasize the disparities in the plant species composition between mixed and monoculture forest plantations, as well as their respective reactions to environmental factors. Full article

This study enhances our comprehension of the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and financial performance in the context of new ventures. Specifically, it investigates the impact of primary and secondary stakeholder CSR practices on the financial performance of new ventures. It also examines the moderating roles of direct and indirect government support on the effect of secondary stakeholder CSR practices on new ventures’ financial performance. The data collected from manufacturing firms in China demonstrate the following: (1) primary stakeholder CSR practices can promote the financial performance of new ventures; (2) compared with established firms, the negative effect of secondary stakeholder CSR practices on the financial performance of new ventures is stronger; (3) only indirect government support can positively moderate the relationship between secondary stakeholder CSR practices and new ventures’ financial performance, and such a moderating effect is stronger than that in established firms. Full article

Despite a history of year-by-year reduction in road-crossing harm and fatality in the United States, the trend reversed course in 2009 and road-crossing has grown more hazardous since. Within this tendency, there has been a marked uptick in risk to urban crossers who are neither children nor elderly. The age group in between these extremes represents a bulk of urban crossers, for whom theoretical explanations for crossing behavior that are focused on youth and senior crossing factors often do not apply. New insight is likely required to explain why the rate of crossing harm is growing for the 20–44 age group, but declining among the young and elderly. However, it is difficult to experiment with crossing scenarios in a real-world context, where significant dangers are present and for which the uniqueness of crossers and crossing sites is abundant. In this paper, we introduce an end-to-end system for examining crossing behavior using a unique combination of real human crossing behavior, made safe through the combination of agent-based models, motion capture, virtual geographic environments, and immersive technologies from virtual reality. We demonstrate that this combination of methods can be deployed to examine very high resolution and very high specificities of crossing scenarios and behaviors, with reach to individual crossers and their judgment over tiny windows of space and time. We demonstrate that the system can reproduce known effects from the theoretical literature and from existing case studies, while also generating huge swaths of empirical and diagnostically useful data on crossing actions, interactions, and reactions relative to fleeting events and phenomena of urban geography, traffic dynamics, and ambient pedestrian crowds. To prove the concept, we deploy the system to investigate crossing judgment behavior among the 20–44 age group. Full article

Karstic aquifers, because of their conduit system, are susceptible to climate change. Ten karst springs in the Zagros region were selected to investigate the impact of climate change under three CMIP6 scenarios: SSP1-1.9, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5. This study was conducted in three steps: downscaling climate projection, analyzing spring discharge time series, and introducing a new index to assess the impact of climate change on spring flow rate. Applying LARS-WG6, precipitation was downscaled at 14 stations in the study area. Moreover, time series and trend analysis showed that the selected springs have experienced a decrease in their flow rate. Assuming the covariance function between precipitation and spring discharge is constant, new indices (i.e., $I_{Q_d}$, $I_{{dQ}_d}$, and $I_{cc}$) were introduced to highlight the effect of climate change according to the three scenarios. $d{Q}_d$ is the variability of spring discharge from past to future, $I_{{dQ}_d}$ is spring discharge variability over the historical data, and $I_{cc}$ is the effect of precipitation and spring discharge change together. $I_{cc}$ has a range from −0.25 to 0.25 below and above, which is indicative that two extreme conditions including the spring dryness and overflow are in effect, respectively. The main results revealed that the degree of impact at each spring is a function of climate change scenarios and hydrogeological characteristics of the karstic systems. A more noticeable negative trend in spring flow rate is observed for the karst springs characterized by a dominant conduit flow regime and low matrix storage, located in the areas with low cumulative rainfall, and has a stronger relationship with precipitation. Based on the results, decisions on the management of karst water resources should be made considering where the springs bear free surface and pressurized flow conditions. Full article

Public transport (PT) networks face significant challenges in achieving optimal outcomes due to the presence of risk and uncertainty. Despite the importance of optimising PT networks’ performance, limited research has applied risk management tools to tackle this issue. In response, this study presents a three-stage framework to optimise PT networks’ performance in uncertain conditions. First, we establish a PT criteria matrix using an analytic hierarchy process to develop a criteria model and calculate the criteria weightings. Second, we propose a multi-aspiration-level goal programming approach to optimise a PT network’s performance based on the weighted results. To manage uncertainty, we use Monte Carlo simulation to analyse the probability of the optimal solution. Finally, to validate our approach, we apply the three-stage framework to three case study areas in Australia. The results of this research offer significant insights into identifying the likelihood of criteria optimisation scenarios, thereby assisting decision makers in allocating resources for optimising the delivery of PT network performance solutions in accordance with government requirements. Full article

This study examines the impact of renewable energy on sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2019 and analyzes the kingdom’s most essential practices in this field to achieve sustainable development. The Cobb–Douglas production function is used in this study to investigate the impact of renewable energy on sustainable development using ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. According to the findings, renewable energy consumption has a negative but insignificant effect on GDP. Additionally, traditional energy consumption has a major negative influence on GDP. The findings also demonstrate that fixed capital formulation and technical progress have a significant positive impact on Saudi Arabia’s sustainable development. Furthermore, while the labor force has a positive impact on GDP, this effect is not statistically significant. This report provides some recommendations for Saudi government policymakers to reform the country’s energy efficiency and consumption technologies in order to reduce energy waste and satisfy the goals of sustainable development. While the labor force is recognized as having a positive influence on GDP, it is notable that this result lacks statistical significance. The suggestions of these findings are mainly applicable to Saudi policymakers, and we present recommendations to improve energy competence and utilization technologies. Specially, our suggestions are intended to reduce energy dissipation and to support the objectives of sustainable development. Full article

Human rights violations in sports reveal that athletes are continuously exposed to violence. In Korea, the negative effects of its sports powerhouse paradigm are increasingly apparent. Although discussions on human rights in sports have progressed, academic research on this has not. Sourcing information from Korea’s Press Foundation’s big data news system from 2006 to 2023, this study used term frequency, term frequency-inverse document modeling, topic term matrix extraction through latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), and LDAvis to analyze sports human rights issues and policies over time. The results revealed topics in three timeframes: in the first policy establishment period (2006–2010), the topics ranged from “Sports Human Rights Education” to “Minimum Education for Student Athletes”. In the policy transition period (2011–2018), the topics included “Strengthening Sports Human Rights Education”, “Women’s Human Rights Issues in Sports”, and “Government-Level Investigation into Sportsdom Controversies”; and in the second policy establishment period (2019–2023), the topics included “Athlete Harassment”, “Sportsdom #MeToo Movement”, “Guarantee of Student Human Rights Convenience Facilities”, and “Guarantee of Sports Human Rights”. Better mid- to long-term plans, national efforts, and education that improve awareness of human rights in sports are needed for sustainability. Full article

Systems for reusing containers (e.g., for takeaway food) represent one way to reduce waste. However, evidence suggests that people are relatively unwilling to reuse containers, especially if they show signs of previous use. The present research investigated the hypothesis that providing information about cleaning would increase willingness to reuse containers for takeaway food and reduce concerns about contamination. Study 1 found that information about cleaning decreased, rather than increased, participants’ willingness to reuse visibly stained bowls. Study 2 found no effects from the information about cleaning on willingness to reuse bowls or the accessibility of contamination concerns, although information about cleaning reduced self-reported concerns about hygienic contamination. Taken together, the findings suggest that exposure to information designed to reassure users that containers are properly cleaned is not an effective way to increase engagement with reuse systems for takeaway food. Further studies are therefore needed to test alternative ways to increase people’s willingness to reuse containers that show signs of prior use. Full article