Search results for: development potential

Authors: Tatiana Ponomarenko, Oksana Marinina, Marina Nevskaya

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Modern corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a sphere of multilevel responsibility of a company toward society represented by various stakeholders. The relevance of CSR management grows due to the active development of socially responsible investing (principles for responsible investment) taking into account factors of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), growing attention of the investment community in general to the long-term stability of companies and the quality of control of nonfinancial risks. The modern approach to CSR strategic management is aimed at the creation of trustful relationships with stakeholders, on the basis of which a contribution to the sustainable development of companies, regions, and national economics is insured. However, the practical concepts of social responsibility in mining companies are different, which leads to various degrees of application of CSR. A number of companies implement CSR using a traditional (limited) understanding of responsibility toward employees and counteragents, the others understand CSR much wider and try to use leverages of efficient cooperation. As in large mining companies the scope of CSR measures is diverse and characterized by different indices, the study was aimed at evaluating CSR efficiency on the basis of a proprietary methodology and determining the level of development of CSR management in terms of anti-crisis, reactive and proactive development. The methodology of the research includes analysis of integrated global reporting initiative (GRI) reports of large mining companies; choice of most representative sectoral agents by a criterion of the regularity of issuance and publication of reports; calculation of indices of evaluation of CSR level of the selected companies in dynamics. The methodology of evaluation of CSR level is based on a rating score of changes in standard indices of GRI reports by economic, environmental, and social directions. Result. By the results of the analysis, companies of fuel and energy and metallurgic complexes, in overwhelming majority, reflecting three indices out of a wide range of possible indicators of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), were selected for the study. The evaluation of the scopes of CSR of the companies Gazprom, LUKOIL, Metalloinvest, Nornikel, Rosneft, Severstal, SIBUR, SUEK corresponds to the reactive type of development according to a scale of CSR strategic management, which is the average value out of the possible values. The chief drawback is that companies, in the process of analyzing global goals, often choose the goals which relate to their own activities, paying insufficient attention to the interests of the stakeholders inside the country. This fact evidences the necessity of searching for more effective mechanisms of CSR control. Acknowledgment: This article is prepared within grant support of the RFBR, project 19-510-44013 'Development of the concept of mineral resources value formation in the context of sustainable development in resource-oriented economies'.

Keywords: sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, development strategies, efficiency assessment

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Authors: El-Said. I. Shabana, Mohammad S. Tayeb, Maher M. T. Qutub, Abdulraheem A. Kinsara

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Usually, phosphate deposits contain ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in addition to their decay products. Due to their different pathways in the environment, the ²³⁸U/²³²Th activity concentration ratio usually found to be greater than unity in phosphate sediments. The presence of these radionuclides creates a potential need to control exposure of workers in the mining and processing activities of the phosphate minerals in accordance with IAEA safety standards. The greatest dose to workers comes from exposure to radon, especially ²²²Rn from the uranium series, and has to be controlled. In this regard, radon (²²²Rn) was measured in the atmosphere (indoor and outdoor) of Al-Jalamid phosphate-mines working area using a portable radon-measurement instrument RAD7, in a purpose of radiation protection. Radon was measured in 61 sites inside the open phosphate mines, the phosphate upgrading facility (offices and rooms of the workers, and in some open-air sites) and in the dwellings of the workers residence-village that lies at about 3 km from the mines working area. The obtained results indicated that the average indoor radon concentration was about 48.4 Bq/m³. Inside the upgrading facility, the average outdoor concentrations were 10.8 and 9.7 Bq/m³ in the concentrate piles and crushing areas, respectively. It was 12.3 Bq/m³ in the atmosphere of the open mines. These values are comparable with the global average values. Based on the average values, the annual effective dose due to radon inhalation was calculated and risk estimates have been done. The average annual effective dose to workers due to the radon inhalation was estimated by 1.32 mSv. The potential excess risk of lung cancer mortality that could be attributed to radon, when considering the lifetime exposure, was estimated by 53.0x10^-4. The results have been discussed in detail.

Keywords: dosimetry, environmental monitoring, phosphate deposits, radiation protection, radon

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Authors: Yu-Jen Shih, Juan-Zhang Lou

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Nitrogenous compounds, such as NH4+/NH3 and NO3-, have become important contaminants in water resources. Excessive concentration of NH3 leads to eutrophication, which poses a threat to aquatic organisms in the environment. Electrochemical oxidation emerged as a promising water treatment technology, offering advantages such as simplicity, small-scale operation, and minimal reliance on additional chemicals. In this study, a nickel-based metal-organic framework (Ni-MOF) was synthesized using 2-amino terephthalic acid (BDC-NH2) and nickel nitrate. The Ni-MOF was further carbonized as derived nickel oxide and nitrogen-carbon composite, Ni/NiOx/NC. The nickel oxide within the 2D porous carbon texture served as active sites for ammonia oxidation. Results of characterization showed that the Ni-MOF was a hexagonal and flaky nanoparticle. With increasing carbonization temperature, the nickel ions in the organic framework re-crystallized as NiO clusters on the surfaces of the 2D carbon. The electrochemical surface area of Ni/NiOx/NC significantly increased as to improve the efficiency of ammonia oxidation. The phase transition of Ni(OH)2⇌NiOOH at around +0.8 V was the primary mediator of electron transfer. Batch electrolysis was conducted under constant current and constant potential modes. The electrolysis parameters included pyrolysis temperatures, pH, current density, initial feed concentration, and electrode potential. The constant current batch experiments indicated that via carbonization at 800 °C, Ni/NiOx/NC(800) was able to decrease the ammonium nitrogen of 50 mg-N/L to below 1 ppm within 4 hours at a current density of 3 mA/cm2 and pH 11 with negligible oxygenated nitrogen formation. The constant potential experiments confirmed that N2 nitrogen selectivity was enhanced up to 90% at +0.8 V.

Keywords: electrochemical oxidation, nickel oxyhydroxide, metal-organic framework, ammonium, nitrate

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Authors: Priya Patel, Paresh Patel, Mihir Raval

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Silibinin, a flavanone as an antimicrotubular agent used in the treatment of cancer, was encapsulated in nanoparticles (NPs) of poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer using the spray-drying technique. The effects of various experimental parameters were optimized by box-behnken experimental design. Production yield, encapsulation efficiency and dissolution study along with characterization by scanning electron microscopy, DSC, FTIR followed by bioavailability study. Particle size and zeta potential were evaluated by using zetatrac particle size analyzer. Experimental design it was evaluated that inlet temperature and polymer concentration influence on the drug release. Feed flow rate impact on particle size. Results showed that spray drying technique yield 149 nm indicate nanosize range. The small size of the nanoparticle resulted in an enhanced cellular entry and greater bioavailability. Entrapment efficiency was found between 89.35% and 98.36%. Zeta potential shows good stability index of nanoparticle formulation. The in vitro release studies indicated the silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles provide controlled drug release over a period of 32 h. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that after oral administration of silibinin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles to rats at a dose of 10 mg/kg, relative bioavailability was enhanced about 8.85-fold, compared to silibinin suspension as control hence, this investigation demonstrated the potential of the experimental design in understanding the effect of the formulation variables on the quality of silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles. These results describe an effective strategy of silibinin loaded PLGA nanoparticles and might provide a promising approach against the cancer.

Keywords: silibinin, cancer, nanoparticles, PLGA, bioavailability

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Authors: M. Tazky, R. Hela, P. Novosad, L. Osuska

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This paper deals with the possibility of safe incorporation fluidised bed combustion fly ash (waste material) into cement matrix together with next commonly used secondary raw material, which is high-temperature fly ash. Both of these materials have a very high pozzolanic ability, and the right combination could bring important improvements in both the physico-mechanical properties and the better durability of a cement composite. This paper tries to determine the correct methodology for designing green concrete by using modern methods measuring rheology of fresh concrete and following hydration processes. The use of fluidised bed combustion fly ash in cement composite production as an admixture is not currently common, but there are some real possibilities for its potential. The most striking negative aspect is its chemical composition which supports the development of new product formation, influencing the durability of the composite. Another disadvantage is the morphology of grains, which have a negative effect on consistency. This raises the question of how this waste can be used in concrete production to emphasize its positive properties and eliminate negatives. The focal point of the experiment carried out on cement pastes was particularly on the progress of hydration processes, aiming for the possible acceleration of pozzolanic reactions of both types of fly ash.

Keywords: high temperature fly ash, fluidized bed combustion fly ash, pozzolan, CaO (calcium oxide), rheology

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Authors: F. U. Rahman, R. Q. Zhang

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This work aims to develop a systematic numerical technique which can be easily extended to many-body problem. The Lippmann Schwinger equation (integral form of the Schrodinger wave equation) is solved for the nonrelativistic radial wave of hydrogen atom using iterative integration scheme. As the unknown wave function appears on both sides of the Lippmann Schwinger equation, therefore an approximate wave function is used in order to solve the equation. The Green’s function is obtained by the method of Laplace transform for the radial wave equation with excluded potential term. Using the Lippmann Schwinger equation, the product of approximate wave function, the Green’s function and the potential term is integrated iteratively. Finally, the wave function is normalized and plotted against the standard radial wave for comparison. The outcome wave function converges to the standard wave function with the increasing number of iteration. Results are verified for the first fifteen states of hydrogen atom. The method is efficient and consistent and can be applied to complex systems in future.

Keywords: Green’s function, hydrogen atom, Lippmann Schwinger equation, radial wave

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Authors: Carmen Avilés Palacios, Camilo Muñoz Arenas, Joaquín García Alfonso, Jesús González Arteaga, Alberto Alcalde Calonge

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There is a need for review of the consumption and production models of industrialized states in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (1) (OECD, 2016). This constitutes the basis of the bioeconomy (2) that is focused on striking a balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection. Bioeconomy promotes the adequate use and consumption of renewable natural resources (3) and involves developing new products and services adapted to the principles of circular economy: more sustainable (reusable, biodegradable, renewable and recyclable) and with a lower carbon footprint (4). In this context, Urban Forest Innovation Lab (UFIL) grows, an Urban Laboratory for experimentation focused on promoting entrepreneurship in forest bioeconomy (www.uiacuenca.es). UFIL generates local wellness taking sustainable advantage of an endogenous asset, forests. UFIL boosts forest bioeconomy opening its doors of knowledge to pioneers in this field, giving the opportunity to be an active part of a change in the way of understanding the exploitation of natural resources, discovering business, learning strategies and techniques and incubating business ideas So far now, 100 entrepreneurs are incubating their nearly 30 new business plans. UFIL has promoted an ecosystem to connect the rural-urban world that promotes sustainable rural development around the forest.

Keywords: bioeconomy, forestry, innovation, entrepreneurship

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Authors: Karina Reiter, Stefan Dullinger, Christoph Plutzar, Dietmar Moser

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Due to population growth and changing patterns of production and consumption, the demand for natural resources and, as a result, the pressure on Earth’s ecosystems are growing. Biodiversity mapping can be a useful tool for assessing species endangerment or detecting hotspots of extinction risks. This paper explores the benefits of using the change in trophic energy flows as a consequence of the human alteration of the biosphere in biodiversity mapping. To this end, multiple linear regression models were developed to explain species richness in areas where there is no human influence (i.e. wilderness) for three taxonomic groups (birds, mammals, amphibians). The models were then applied to predict (I) potential global species richness using potential natural vegetation (NPPpot) and (II) global ‘actual’ species richness after biomass appropriation using NPP remaining in ecosystems after harvest (NPPeco). By calculating the difference between predicted potential and predicted actual species numbers, maps of estimated species richness loss were generated. Results show that biomass appropriation for human use can indeed be linked to biodiversity loss. Areas for which the models predicted high species loss coincide with areas where species endangerment and extinctions are recorded to be particularly high by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Furthermore, the analysis revealed that while the species distribution maps of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species used for this research can determine hotspots of biodiversity loss in large parts of the world, the classification system for threatened and extinct species needs to be revised to better reflect local risks of extinction.

Keywords: biodiversity loss, biomass harvest, human appropriation of net primary production, species richness

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Authors: B. Mavhuru, N. S. Nethengwe

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Human activities on land degradation have triggered several environmental problems especially in rural areas that are underdeveloped. The main aim of this study is to analyze the contribution of different land uses to gully development and sediment load on the Nzhelele River Valley in the Limpopo Province. Data was collected using different methods such as observation, field data techniques and experiments. Satellite digital images, topographic maps, aerial photographs and the sediment load static model also assisted in determining how land use affects gully development and sediment load. For data analysis, the researcher used the following methods: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and statistical correlation methods. The results of the research illustrate that high land use activities create negative changes especially in areas that are highly fragile and vulnerable. Distinct impact on land use change was observed within settlement area (9.6 %) within a period of 5 years. High correlation between soil organic matter and soil moisture (R=0.96) was observed. Furthermore, a significant variation (p ≤ 0.6) between the soil organic matter and soil moisture was also observed. A very significant variation (p ≤ 0.003) was observed in bulk density and extreme significant variations (p ≤ 0.0001) were observed in organic matter and soil particle size. The sand mining and agricultural activities has contributed significantly to the amount of sediment load in the Nzhelele River. A high significant amount of total suspended sediment (55.3 %) and bed load (53.8 %) was observed within the agricultural area. The connection which associates the development of gullies to various land use activities determines the amount of sediment load. These results are consistent with other previous research and suggest that land use activities are likely to exacerbate the development of gullies and sediment load in the Nzhelele River Valley.

Keywords: drainage basin, geomorphological processes, gully development, land degradation, riparian land use and sediment load

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Authors: Swadha Singh

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International Solar Alliance is the foremost treaty-based global organization concerned with tapping the potential of sun-abundant nations between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and enables co-operation among them. As a founding member of the International Solar Alliance, India exhibits its positioning as an upcoming leader in clean energy. India has set ambitious goals and targets to expand the share of solar in its energy mix and is playing a proactive role both at the regional and global levels. ISA aims to serve multiple goals- bring about scale commercialization of solar power, boost domestic manufacturing, and leverage solar diplomacy in African countries, amongst others. Against this backdrop, this paper attempts to examine the ways in which ISA as an intergovernmental organization under Indian leadership can leverage the cause of clean energy (solar) diplomacy and effectively shape partnerships and collaborations with other developing countries in terms of sharing solar technology, capacity building, risk mitigation, mobilizing financial investment and providing an aggregate market. A more specific focus of ISA is on the developing countries, which in the absence of a collective, are constrained by technology and capital scarcity, despite being naturally endowed with solar resources. Solar rich but finance-constrained economies face political risk, foreign exchange risk, and off-taker risk. Scholars argue that aligning India’s climate change discourse and growth prospects in its engagements, collaborations, and partnerships at the bilateral, multilateral and regional level can help promote trade, attract investments, and promote resilient energy transition both in India and in partner countries. For developing countries, coming together in an action-oriented way on issues of climate and clean energy is particularly important since it is developing and underdeveloped countries that face multiple and coalescing challenges such as the adverse impact of climate change, uneven and low access to reliable energy, and pressing employment needs. Investing in green recovery is agreed to be an assured way to create resilient value chains, create sustainable livelihoods, and help mitigate climate threats. If India is able to ‘green its growth’ process, it holds the potential to emerge as a climate leader internationally. It can use its experience in the renewable sector to guide other developing countries in balancing multiple similar objectives of development, energy security, and sustainability. The challenges underlying solar expansion in India have lessons to offer other developing countries, giving India an opportunity to assume a leadership role in solar diplomacy and expand its geopolitical influence through inter-governmental organizations such as ISA. It is noted that India has limited capacity to directly provide financial funds and support and is not a leading manufacturer of cheap solar equipment, as does China; however, India can nonetheless leverage its large domestic market to scale up the commercialization of solar power and offer insights and learnings to similarly placed abundant solar countries. The paper examines the potential of and limits placed on India’s solar diplomacy.

Keywords: climate diplomacy, energy security, solar diplomacy, renewable energy

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Authors: Gatot Dwi Hendro, Hayyan ul Haq

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This work aims to explore the strategy in embodying the ecological validity in creating the sustainability of public policy, particularly in strengthening the green economy in Indonesia. This green economy plays an important role in supporting the national development in Indonesia, as it is a part of the national policy that posits the primary priority in Indonesian governance. The green economy refers to the national development covering strategic natural resources, such as mining, gold, oil, coal, forest, water, marine, and the other supporting infrastructure for products and distribution, such as fabrics, roads, bridges, and so forth. Thus, all activities in those national development should consider the sustainability. This sustainability requires the strong commitment of the national and regional government, as well as the local governments to put the ecology as the main requirement for issuing any policy, such as licence in mining production, and developing and building new production and supporting infrastructures for optimising the national resources. For that reason this work will focus on the strategy how to embody the ecological values and norms in the public policy. In detail, this work will offer the method, i.e. legal techniques, in visualising and embodying the norms and public policy that valid ecologically. This ecological validity is required in order to maintain and sustain our collective life.

Keywords: ecological validity, sustainable development, coherence, Indonesian Pancasila values, environment, marine

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Authors: Hayder Kamil Shanbara, Felicite Ruddock, William Atherton, Nassier A. Nassir

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Cold bitumen emulsion mixture (CBEM) offers a series benefits as compared with hot mix asphalt (HMA); these include environmental factors, energy saving, the resolution of logistical challenges that can characterise hot mix, and the potential to reserve funds. However, this mixture has some problems similar to any bituminous mixtures as it has low early strength, long curing time that needed to obtain the maximum performance, high air voids and considered inferior to HMA. Thus, CBEM has been used in limited applications such as lightly trafficked roads, footways and reinstatements. This laboratory study describes the development of CBEM using ordinary Portland cement (OPC) instead of the traditional mineral filler. Stiffness modulus, moisture damage and temperature sensitivity tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the produced mixtures. The study concluded that there is a substantial improvement in the mechanical properties and moisture damage resistance of CBEMs containing OPC. Also, the produced cement modified CBEM shows a considerable lower thermal sensitivity than the conventional CBEM.

Keywords: cold bitumen emulsion mixture, moisture damage, OPC, stiffness modulus, temperature sensitivity

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Authors: Andrew Fox, Qingping Yang, Yuanhong Zhao, Tao Zhang

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Furniture is a very significant subdivision of architecture and its inherent interior design activities. The furniture industry has developed from an artisan-driven craft industry, whose forerunners saw themselves manifested in their crafts and treasured a sense of pride in the creativity of their designs, these days largely reduced to an anonymous collective mass-produced output. Although a very conservative industry, there is great potential for the implementation of collaborative digital technologies allowing a reconfigured artisan experience to be reawakened in a new and exciting form. The furniture manufacturing industry, in general, has been slow to adopt new methodologies for a design using artificial and rule-based generative design. This tardiness has meant the loss of potential to enhance its capabilities in producing sustainable, flexible, and mass customizable ‘right first-time’ designs. This paper aims to demonstrate the concept methodology for the creation of alternative and inspiring aesthetic structures for robot-based additive manufacturing (RBAM). These technologies can enable the economic creation of previously unachievable structures, which traditionally would not have been commercially economic to manufacture. The integration of these technologies with the computing power of generative design provides the tools for practitioners to create concepts which are well beyond the insight of even the most accomplished traditional design teams. This paper aims to address the problem by introducing generative design methodologies employing the Autodesk Fusion 360 platform. Examination of the alternative methods for its use has the potential to significantly reduce the estimated 80% contribution to environmental impact at the initial design phase. Though predominantly a design methodology, generative design combined with RBAM has the potential to leverage many lean manufacturing and quality assurance benefits, enhancing the efficiency and agility of modern furniture manufacturing. Through a case study examination of a furniture artifact, the results will be compared to a traditionally designed and manufactured product employing the Ecochain Mobius product life cycle analysis (LCA) platform. This will highlight the benefits of both generative design and robot-based additive manufacturing from an environmental impact and manufacturing efficiency standpoint. These step changes in design methodology and environmental assessment have the potential to revolutionise the design to manufacturing workflow, giving momentum to the concept of conceiving a pre-industrial model of manufacturing, with the global demand for a circular economy and bespoke sustainable design at its heart.

Keywords: robot, manufacturing, generative design, sustainability, circular econonmy, product life cycle assessment, furniture

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Authors: Zheng Lulin, Xiong Guoping

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In recent years, agriculture, rural development, and peasants are among the top concerns and priorities of the Chinese Government. Several related issues have been paid many attentions by academic communities, including the impacts of corresponding policies on the rural villages, the mechanisms of these impacts, and the future development of rural society. However, most of the researchers focus on single rural policy instead of integral rural policy system. Hence, this dissertation focused on the mechanisms of policies’ influence on rural changes through a case study from Changfu Village in central Guangxi Province, China, to propose the optimized suggestions for rural development. Forty-three relevant pivotal policies of significant influence on rural development are summarized from literature and documents, covering five aspects of agricultural production, rural living security, open rural markets, rural household registration systems, and farmland transferring. Besides, having been live in this area for more than 20 years, researchers obtain the basic information about changing the social connection between citizens and villagers, the habitat of villagers by years of informal interviews. Furthermore, more than 200 questionnaires are given to villagers to analyze the changing of their personal and family information. The summary of rural policies revealed that the development trend of public rural policies followed the U-shape curve and these policies are characterized by economic intentions and operative economy. Report of questionnaires and interviews show that the development of rural economy was promoted greatly by public policies. Firstly, Social communication and rural culture were affected to a certain extent. Secondly, the educational level of rural individuals was significantly enhanced, whereas the quality of population had limited progress. Finally, the freedom of occupational choice for rural individuals into cities was greater than before, but still restricted by the class solidification of social background, resulting in more obstacles for rural individuals to settle down in cities. From what we discuss about, we may reach the conclusion on several perspectives: Firstly, the impact of the rural policies has a significant role in promoting the economy development of the rural area. However, separations between rural and urban area are still a major problem since rural policy contributed little to improve the rural population quality. Therefore, in the future, providing high quality educational facilities including teachers, libraries, and opportunities of broadening their knowledge base are key issues of future rural policy. Secondly, the development of rural economy would be a lack of driving force for further improvement owning to the fact that working hard couldn’t get more improvement. In the future, public policies should support the rural development of culture, technology, and personal qualities to create favorable social environment for the free increase of rural population.

Keywords: changing of rural area, rural development of China, rural policy, social environment

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Authors: Surinder Deswal, Mahesh Pal

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The paper investigates the potential of support vector machines based regression approach to model the mass transfer capacity of multiple plunging jets, both vertical (θ = 90°) and inclined (θ = 60°). The data set used in this study consists of four input parameters with a total of eighty eight cases. For testing, tenfold cross validation was used. Correlation coefficient values of 0.971 and 0.981 (root mean square error values of 0.0025 and 0.0020) were achieved by using polynomial and radial basis kernel functions based support vector regression respectively. Results suggest an improved performance by radial basis function in comparison to polynomial kernel based support vector machines. The estimated overall mass transfer coefficient, by both the kernel functions, is in good agreement with actual experimental values (within a scatter of ±15 %); thereby suggesting the utility of support vector machines based regression approach.

Keywords: mass transfer, multiple plunging jets, support vector machines, ecological sciences

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Authors: Tam Nguyen

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Self-leadership is strongly tied to the ability to be resilient in the face of adversity. This study aims to demonstrate how a strategy based on a culturally relevant "bamboo metaphor" enables Asian students to cross cultural boundaries and to engage in online discussions to unlock their self-leadership potential. Asian students are influenced to varying degrees by the Confucian heritage culture, which educates students to respect authority, maintain harmony, and avoid public confrontations. This has a significant impact on the cultural readiness of Asian students to express their development as self-leaders. In this research project, researchers as mentors individually assist students, cultivate cognitive progress, encourage and personally ask students to join a process of mentorship program. This study analyzes and interprets the data from a large online seminar in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where students were trained in self-leadership skills. Focus-group interviews were implemented among 90 students in the program. Findings reveal the emotional needs of Asian students and suggest a cognitive model for developing students' self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. The research results are anticipated to be applicable to a broader Asian population with a comparable cultural environment to Vietnam.

Keywords: self-leadership, bamboo resilience, cognitive modeling, Asian culture

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Authors: Gudrun Görlitz, Christian Schölzel, Alexander Vollmar

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Sites of Jewish Life in Berlin 1933-1945. Between Persecution and Self-assertion” was realized in a project funded by the European Regional Development Fund. A smartphone app, and a associated web site enable tourists and other participants of this educational offer to learn in a serious way more about the life of Jews in the German capital during the Nazi era. Texts, photos, video and audio recordings communicate the historical content. Interactive maps (both current and historical) make it possible to use predefined or self combined routes. One of the manifold challenges was to create a broad ranged guide, in which all detailed information are well linked with each other. This enables heterogeneous groups of potential users to find a wide range of specific information, corresponding with their particular wishes and interests. The multitude of potential ways to navigate through the diversified information causes (hopefully) the users to utilize app and web site for a second or third time and with a continued interest. Therefore 90 locations, a lot of them situated in Berlin’s city centre, have been chosen. For all of them text-, picture and/or audio/video material gives extensive information. Suggested combinations of several of these “site stories” are leading to the offer of detailed excursion routes. Events and biographies are also presented. A few of the implemented biographies are especially enriched with source material concerning the aspect of (forced) migration of these persons during the Nazi time. All this was done in a close and fruitful interdisciplinary cooperation of computer scientists and historians. The suggested conference paper aims to show the challenges shaping complex source material for practical use by different user-groups in a proper technical and didactic way. Based on the historical research in archives, museums, libraries and digital resources the quantitative dimension of the project can be sized as follows: The paper focuses on the following historiographical and technical aspects: - Shaping the text material didactically for the use in new media, especially a Smartphone-App running on differing platforms; - Geo-referencing of the sites on historical and current map material; - Overlay of old and new maps to present and find the sites; - Using Augmented Reality technologies to re-visualize destroyed buildings; - Visualization of black-/white-picture-material; - Presentation of historical footage and the resulting problems to need too much storage space; - Financial and juridical aspects in gaining copyrights to present archival material.

Keywords: smartphone app, history, tourists, German

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Authors: Sherine Shafik Aly, Farida Ahmed El Mallah

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Technology is a quoted keyword nowadays in all fields; it has been recently thought of and integrated into urban development. This research explains the role of technology in establishing intelligent urbanism to create a convivial and sustainable environment for people to live in. Cities are downgrading socially, economically and environmentally. A framework is to be developed where these three pillars are involved in the planning, design, and spreading of technology to create convivial environments. The aim of this research is achieved by highlighting the importance and approaches of intelligent urbanism, it’s characteristics and principles, then analyzing some relevant examples to achieve a set of guidelines.

Keywords: convivial, intelligent, technology, urban development

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Authors: Andrea N. Ofori-Boadu

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The purpose is to develop a conceptual model of subcontractor development practices and processes that strengthen the integration of subcontractors into construction supply chain systems for improved subcontractor performance on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building projects. The construction management of a LEED project has an important objective of meeting sustainability certification requirements. This is in addition to the typical project management objectives of cost, time, quality, and safety for traditional projects; and, therefore increases the complexity of LEED projects. Considering that construction management organizations rely heavily on subcontractors, poor performance on complex projects such as LEED projects has been largely attributed to the unsatisfactory preparation of subcontractors. Furthermore, the extensive use of unique and non-repetitive short term contracts limits the full integration of subcontractors into construction supply chains and hinders long-term cooperation and benefits that could enhance performance on construction projects. Improved subcontractor development practices are needed to better prepare and manage subcontractors, so that complex objectives can be met or exceeded. While supplier development and supply chain theories and practices for the manufacturing sector have been extensively investigated to address similar challenges, investigations in the construction sector are not that obvious. Consequently, the objective of this research is to investigate effective subcontractor development practices and processes to guide construction management organizations in their development of a strong network of high performing subcontractors. Drawing from foundational supply chain and supplier development theories in the manufacturing sector, a mixed interpretivist and empirical methodology is utilized to assess the body of knowledge within literature for conceptual model development. A self-reporting survey with five-point Likert scale items and open-ended questions is administered to 30 construction professionals to estimate their perceptions of the effectiveness of 37 practices, classified into five subcontractor development categories. Data analysis includes descriptive statistics, weighted means, and t-tests that guide the effectiveness ranking of practices and categories. The results inform the proposed three-phased LEED subcontractor development program model which focuses on preparation, development and implementation, and monitoring. Highly ranked LEED subcontractor pre-qualification, commitment, incentives, evaluation, and feedback practices are perceived as more effective, when compared to practices requiring more direct involvement and linkages between subcontractors and construction management organizations. This is attributed to unfamiliarity, conflicting interests, lack of trust, and resource sharing challenges. With strategic modifications, the recommended practices can be extended to other non-LEED complex projects. Additional research is needed to guide the development of subcontractor development programs that strengthen direct involvement between construction management organizations and their network of high performing subcontractors. Insights from this present research strengthen theoretical foundations to support future research towards more integrated construction supply chains. In the long-term, this would lead to increased performance, profits and client satisfaction.

Keywords: construction management, general contractor, supply chain, sustainable construction

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Authors: Evgeni Baratashvili, Giorgi Sulashvili, Malkhaz Sulashvili, Bela Khotenashvili, Irma Makharashvili

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The most investment decision-making principle of regional travel firm's management and its partner is the formulation of the aims of investment programs. The investments can be targeted in order to reduce the firm's production costs and to purchase good transport equipment. In attractive region, in order to develop firm’s activities, the investment program can be targeted for increasing of provided services. That is the case where the sales already have been used in the market. The investment can be directed to establish the affiliate firms, branches, to construct new hotels, to create food and trade enterprises, to develop entertainment enterprises, etc. Economic development is of great importance to regional development. International experience shows that inclusive economic growth largely depends on not only the national, but also regional development planning and implementation of a strong and competitive regions. Regional development is considered as the key factor in achieving national success. Establishing a modern institute separate entities if the pilot centers will constitute a promotion, international best practice-based public-private partnership to encourage the use of models. Regional policy directions and strategies adopted in accordance with the successful implementation of major importance in the near future specific action plans for inclusive development and implementation, which will be provided in accordance with the effective monitoring and evaluation tools and measurable indicators combined. All of these above-mentioned investments are characterized by different levels, which are related to the following fact: How successful tourism marketing service is, whether it is able to determine the proper market's reaction according to the particular firm's actions. In the sphere of regional tourism industry and in the investment decision possible variants it can be developed the some specter of models. Each of the models can be modified and specified according to the situation, and characteristic skills of the existing problem that must be solved. Besides, while choosing the proper model, the process is affected by the regulation system of economic processes. Also, it is influenced by liberalization quality and by the level of state participation.

Keywords: net income of travel firm, economic growth, Investment profitability, regional development, tourist product, tourism development

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Authors: Odigie Veronica

Abstract:

The paper focused on the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in effective service delivery in view of the ongoing COVID-19 experience. It adopted the exploratory research method with three research objectives captured. Consequently, the objectives were to ascertain the meaning of online education, understand the concept of COVID-19 and to determine the relevance of online education in effective service delivery in institutions of learning. It is evident from the findings that through ICT, online mode of learning can be adopted in schools which helps greatly in promoting continual education. Online mode of education is practiced online; it brings both the teacher and learners from different places together, without any physical boundary/contact (at least 75%); and has helped greatly in human development in countries where it has been practiced. It is also a welcome development owing to its many benefits such as exposure to digital learning, having access to works of great teachers and educationists such as Socrates, Plato, Dewey, R.S. Peters, J. J. Rosseau, Nnamdi Azikwe, Carol Gilligan, J. I. Omoregbe, Jane Roland Martin, Jean Piaget, among others; and the facilitation of uninterrupted learning for class promotion and graduation of students. Developing the learners all round is part of human development which helps in developing a nation. These and many more are some benefits online education offers which make ICT very relevant in our contemporary society

Keywords: online education, COVID-19 pandemic, effective service delivery, human development

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Authors: Kiomars Habibi, Mostafa Behzadfar, Airin Jaberi

Abstract:

Designing appropriate places for the comfort of pedestrians is one of the most important aspects of modern urbanization and renovation and rehabilitation stimulus of urban old fabrics. So, that special cities designed for pedestrians with a complete network of streets without cars, can be considered as one of the best habitations in the world. The number of these cities with a network of streets and squares in which beauty, enjoyment and comfort are mostly concerned for the pedestrians designed regions is increasing around the world, such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Munich, Frankfurt, Venice, Rome, etc. In this paper, we are going to explain the influential factors regarding the efficiency of these cities by identifying one of the most important pedestrian ways of the world; Strøget is a car free zone in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the center of town is the longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe. Analyses indicate that world-wide experience concerning the renovation and rehabilitation of old fabrics has many advantages in exploiting the idea of pedestrian way for regeneration of old fabrics. Transforming the streets to appropriate places for the comfort of pedestrians, expanding the public spaces such as city squares, and decreasing the masses of building alongside the brought comfort and peace is the main reason in the success of Strøget pedestrian street in urban old fabrics of Copenhagen. Hypothesis: The Strøget pedestrian street has been the development stimulus in Copenhagen and the urban old fabrics development as a result

Keywords: development, stimulus, pedestrian street, urban landscape, Stroget

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Authors: Muhammmad Riandhy Anindika Yudhy, Harry Patria, Ramadhani Santoso

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Loss of containment is the primary hazard that process safety management is concerned within the oil and gas industry. Escalation to more serious consequences all begins with the loss of containment, starting with oil and gas release from leakage or spillage from primary containment resulting in pool fire, jet fire and even explosion when reacted with various ignition sources in the operations. Therefore, the heart of process safety management is avoiding loss of containment and mitigating its impact through the implementation of safeguards. The most effective safeguard for the case is an early detection system to alert Operations to take action prior to a potential case of loss of containment. The detection system value increases when applied to a long surface pipeline that is naturally difficult to monitor at all times and is exposed to multiple causes of loss of containment, from natural corrosion to illegal tapping. Based on prior researches and studies, detecting loss of containment accurately in the surface pipeline is difficult. The trade-off between cost-effectiveness and high accuracy has been the main issue when selecting the traditional detection method. The current best-performing method, Real-Time Transient Model (RTTM), requires analysis of closely positioned pressure, flow and temperature (PVT) points in the pipeline to be accurate. Having multiple adjacent PVT sensors along the pipeline is expensive, hence generally not a viable alternative from an economic standpoint.A conceptual approach to combine mathematical modeling using computational fluid dynamics and a supervised machine learning model has shown promising results to predict leakage in the pipeline. Mathematical modeling is used to generate simulation data where this data is used to train the leak detection and localization models. Mathematical models and simulation software have also been shown to provide comparable results with experimental data with very high levels of accuracy. While the supervised machine learning model requires a large training dataset for the development of accurate models, mathematical modeling has been shown to be able to generate the required datasets to justify the application of data analytics for the development of model-based leak detection systems for petroleum pipelines. This paper presents a review of key leak detection strategies for oil and gas pipelines, with a specific focus on crude oil applications, and presents the opportunities for the use of data analytics tools and mathematical modeling for the development of robust real-time leak detection and localization system for surface pipelines. A case study is also presented.

Keywords: pipeline, leakage, detection, AI

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Authors: Enayatollah Yazdani

Abstract:

Globalization is the most significant change in today’s world. It has caused remarkable growth in different aspects of human life. Such a strong contribution to the development would not have occurred without the role that each country and particularly great powers play in the globalization process. Among those powers is China, whose role in the globalization trend is growing fast. With its rapid economic and technological development, China has moved from a regional economic power to a global powerhouse. Accordingly, China has been supporting the development of global infrastructure through new initiatives and institutions such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, among them, the most ambitious manifestation of these efforts is China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI is seen as an important vehicle that helps China to play a more proactive role in the globalization process. China started Belt and Road initiative as a global drive in more than 65 (now more than 140) countries in Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe, offering the world a unique state of bigger openness, integration, and interdependence with a comprehensive approach to shared development, shared future, and shared opportunities. As a result, one can say that BRI is an attempt by China to promote international cooperation and enhance globalization. However, in this regard, China may face some challenges as well. This paper aims to address: how China is playing a role in globalization through BRI and how BRI will support the Chinese role in the globalization process. And what are the major challenges that China might be faced? Based on the analytical methodology, the paper argues that BRI is a cornucopia of international projects that offer mammoth opportunities for more economic cooperation and deeper regional and global integration, primarily among emerging economies. The paper discusses that at a time when globalization from the West appears to be in retreat, the BRI is a potent symbol of the rise of China-based globalization.

Keywords: globalization, China, belt, and road initiative

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Authors: Dorothea Voß, Tobias Esser, Michael Huber, Jakob Albert

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The growing world population and the associated increase in demand for energy and consumer goods, as well as increasing waste production, requires the development of sustainable processes. In addition, the increasing environmental awareness of our society is a driving force for the requirement that processes must be as resource and energy efficient as possible. In this context, the use of polyoxometalate catalysts (POMs) has emerged as a promising approach for the development of green processes. POMs are bifunctional polynuclear metal-oxo-anion cluster characterized by a strong Brønsted acidity, a high proton mobility combined with fast multi-electron transfer and tunable redox potential. In addition, POMs are soluble in many commonly known solvents and exhibit resistance to hydrolytic and oxidative degradation. Due to their structure and excellent physicochemical properties, POMs are efficient acid and oxidation catalysts that have attracted much attention in recent years. Oxidation processes with molecular oxygen are worth mentioning here. However, the fact that the POM catalysts are homogeneous poses a challenge for downstream processing of product solutions and recycling of the catalysts. In this regard, nanofiltration membranes have gained increasing interest in recent years, particularly due to their relative sustainability advantage over other technologies and their unique properties such as increased selectivity towards multivalent ions. In order to establish an efficient downstream process for the highly selective separation of homogeneous POM catalysts from aqueous solutions using nanofiltration membranes, a laboratory-scale membrane system was designed and constructed. By varying various process parameters, a sensitivity analysis was performed on a model system to develop an optimized method for the recovery of POM catalysts. From this, process-relevant key figures such as the rejection of various system components were derived. These results form the basis for further experiments on other systems to test the transferability to serval separation tasks with different POMs and products, as well as for recycling experiments of the catalysts in processes on laboratory scale.

Keywords: downstream processing, nanofiltration, polyoxometalates, homogeneous catalysis, green chemistry

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Authors: Ali Kara, Asim Olgun, Sevgi Sozugecer, Sahin Ozel, Kubra Nur Yildiz, P. Sevinç, Abdurrahman Kuresh, Guliz Turhan, Duygu Gulgun

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The synthetic dyes, one of the most hazardous chemical compound classes, are important potential water pollutions since their presence in water bodies reduces light penetration, precluding the photosynthesis of aqueous flora and causing various diseases. Some the synthetic dyes are highly toxic and/or carcinogenic, and their biodegradation can produce even more toxic aromatic amines. The adsorption procedure is one of the most effective means of removing synthetic dye pollutants, and has been described in a number of previous studies by using the functional polymers. In this study, we investigated the removal of synthetic dyes from aqueous solution by using a functional polymer as an adsorbent material. The effect of initial solution concentration, pH, and contact time on the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent were studied in details. The results showed that functional polymer has a potential to be used as cost-effective and efficient adsorbent for the treatment of aqueous solutions from textile industries.

Keywords: functional polymers, synhetic dyes, adsorption, physicochemical parameters

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Authors: Konstantin Yu. Moiseev, Antonina F. Budnik, Andrey I. Emanuilov, Petr M. Masliukov

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The vast majority of sympathetic ganglionic neurons are catecholaminergic. Some sympathetic neurons lack catecholamines and mostly use acetylcholine as their main neurotransmitter. Some cholinergic postganglionic neurons also express neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). Preganglionic sympathetic neurons are cholinergic and most of them are also nNOS-immunoreactive (IR). The purpose of this study was to gain further insight into the neuroplasticity of sympathetic neurons during postnatal ontogenesis by comparing the development of pre- and postganglionic neurons expressing nNOS in different mammals. nNOS was investigated by immunohistochemistry in the sympathetic superior cervical ganglion (SCG), stellate ganglion (SG), celiac ganglion (CG) and spinal cord from rats, mice and cats of different ages (newborn, 10-day-old, 20-day-old, 30-day-old, 2-month-old and 2-year-old). In rats and mice, nNOS-positive neurons were not found in sympathetic ganglia from birth onwards. In cats, non-catecholaminergic nNOS-IR sympathetic ganglionic neurons are present from the moment of birth. In all studied age groups, substantial populations of nNOS-IR cells (up to 8.3%) was found in the SG, with a much smaller population found in the SCG (<1%) and only few cells observed in the CG. The percentage of nNOS-IR neurons in the CG and SCG did not significantly change during development. The proportion of nNOS-IR neuron profiles in the SG increased in first 20 days of life from 2.3±0.15% to 8.3±0.56%. In the SG, percentages of nNOS-IR sympathetic neurons colocalizing vasoactive intestinal peptide increased in the first 20 days of life. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-IR and calcitonin gene-related peptide-IR neurons were not observed in the sympathetic ganglia of newborn animals and did not appear until 10 days after birth. In the SG of newborn and 10-day-old kittens, the majority of NOS-IR neurons were calbindin (CB)-IR, whereas in the SCG and CG of cats of all age groups and in the SG of 30-day-old and older kittens, the vast majority of NOS-IR neurons lacked CB. In newborn mammals, the most of sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the nucleus intermediolateralis thoracolumbalis pars principalis (nucl.ILp) were nNOS-IR. The percentage of nNOS-IR neurons decreased and the same parameter of ChAT-IR neurons increased during the development. We conclude that the development of nNOS-IR preganglionic and ganglionic sympathetic neurons in different mammals has time and species differences.

Keywords: sympathetic neuron, nitric oxide synthase, immunohistochemistry, development

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Authors: Inayatullah Jan, Sidra Pervez

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Effective institutional arrangements at local and national levels are quintessential for promotion of renewable energy in a country. This study attempts to examine the institutional arrangements for development of domestic renewable energy in rural northwest Pakistan. The study describes that very limited number of public and private organizations were working on clean development in the area. Surprisingly, no institutional arrangements exclusively meant for domestic clean energy promotion were observed in the area. The study concludes that the objectives of Kyoto Protocol in Pakistan can be achieved only if the government and non-governmental organizations work together to launch cost-effective renewable energy interventions, particularly in rural areas. The need is to have a coordinated, consistent, and focused cooperation of all stakeholders involved in promotion of domestic renewable energy at all levels. This will not only improve the socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the local context, but will play a key role in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals(MDGs).

Keywords: governance, clean energy, greenhouse gases, CDM, Northwest Pakistan

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Authors: M. Lim Haslip

Abstract:

This quantitative study explores the correlation between child gender and father-child interactions. The author analyzes data from videotaped interactions between African-American fathers and their boy or girl toddler to explain how African-American fathers and toddlers interact with each other and whether these interactions differ by child gender. The purpose of this study is to investigate the research question: 'How, if at all, do fathers’ speech and gestures differ when interacting with their two-year-old sons versus daughters during free play?' The objectives of this study are to describe how child gender impacts African-American fathers’ verbal communication, examine how fathers gesture and speak to their toddler by gender, and to guide interventions for low-income African-American families and their children in early language development. This study involves a sample of 41 low-income African-American fathers and their 24-month-old toddlers. The videotape data will be used to observe 10-minute father-child interactions during free play. This study uses the already transcribed and coded data provided by Dr. Meredith Rowe, who did her study on the impact of African-American fathers’ verbal input on their children’s language development. The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES program), created to study conversational interactions, was used for transcription and coding of the videotape data. The findings focus on the quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech, and the quantity of gesture to inform the vocabulary usage, number of spoken words, length of speech, and the number of object pointings observed during father-toddler interactions in a free play setting. This study will help intervention and prevention scientists understand early language development in the African-American population. It will contribute to knowledge of the role of African-American fathers’ interactions on their children’s language development. It will guide interventions for the early language development of African-American children.

Keywords: parental engagement, early language development, African-American families, quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech and the quantity of gesture

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Authors: Nur Azreena Idris, Soh Kheang Loh, Harrison Lau Lik Nang, Yuen May Choo, Eminour Muzalina Mustafa, Vijaysri Vello, Cheng Yau Tan, Siew Moi Phang

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It is estimated that about 0.65-0.67 m3 of palm oil mill effluent (POME) is generated when one tonne of fresh fruit bunches is processed. Owning to the high content of nutrients in POME, it has high potential as a medium for microalgae growth. This study attempted determining the growth rate, biomass productivity and biochemical composition of microalgae (Chlorella sp.) grown in different POME concentrations i.e. 6.25%, 12.5%, 25% and 50% at outdoor conditions using a 200-mL capacity high rate algae pond (HRAP) and 2 closed photobioreactors (PBRs) i.e. annular and flat panel. The strain, Chlorella sp. grown on 12.5% of POME in flat panel PBR exhibited the highest specific growth rate of 0.32/day and biomass productivity (27.1 mg/L/day) followed by those in HRAP and annular PBR. It further showed that a good growth of Chlorella sp. in 12.5% of POME could sufficiently reduce the nutrients of POME such as phosphate (PO4), nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The extracted algal oil from POME culture showed that the saturated fatty acids decreased while polyunsaturated fatty acids increased compared to those cultured in standard culture medium (Bold’s Basal medium). The biochemical compositions of the algae grown in flat panel PBR were the highest with lipid, protein and carbohydrate productivity of 17.91 mg/L/day, 34.65 mg/L/day and 21.44 mg/L/day, respectively. The microalgae cultivation in diluted POME had not only shown potential as biodiesel feedstock based on the fatty acids profile but also the ability to reduce pollutants e.g. PO4, NO3, NO2 and COD in biological wastewater treatment.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, photobioreactors, biomass productivity, specific growth rate

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