Search results for: green finance

Authors: Elsayed G. Zaki, Nora A. Hamad, Hadeel G. El-Shorbagy

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The effect of watermelon rind extract as green inhibitors for the formation of calcium sulphate scale have been investigated using conductivity measurements concurrently with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical microscopic examinations. Mineral scales were deposited from the brine solution by cathodic polarization of the steel surface. The results show up that the anti-scaling property of the extracts could be attributed to the presence of citrulline. In solution, citrulline retards calcium sulphate precipitation via formation of a complex with the calcium cations. Thin, smooth and non adherent film formed over the steel surface, under cathodic polarization, by the deposition of the calcium- citrulline complex. The stability of the aqueous extracts with time was also investigated.

Keywords: anti-scaling, scale inhibitor, green extracts, water treatment

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Authors: Ramana Reddy, Vijay Kothari

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Aircraft provide a fast, reliable mode of transport with no comparable alternative for long distance travel. Throughout the years, technology improvements have been made to aircraft and engines to make them more fuel efficient. Air traffic continues to grow around the world and needs more aircrafts to accommodate such rapid growth. This has direct consequences on two of the most important environmental factors i.e. emissions and noise. Aviation contributes about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Aviation emits a number of pollutants that alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere, changing its radiative balance and hence influencing the climate. In order to reduce or if possible eliminate potential harm to the environment and also make air travel efficient and economical, an environmentally beneficial concept called “Green Aviation System” is required. This is a structured frame work with elements like innovative technologies/tools in engineering design, manufacturing, airport and fleet operations.

Keywords: air traffic, environment, emissions, noise, green aviation system

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Authors: Hadi Badri Ahmadi, Xuping Wang

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Due to strict regulations and public awareness, corporations should develop policies to effectively decrease the negative environmental effects of their products and enhance their supply chain environmental sustainability. Assessment of environmental issues in the context of many industries has been studied in the previous literature. However, Iran cement industry has received less attention from researchers. Therefore, in this paper, we apply a Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach to assess the relationships among green metrics of Iran cement industry supply chain under fuzzy environment. The study findings provide considerable insight for cement industry managers and experts in order to enhance the environmental sustainability of their supply chain and move towards sustainable development.

Keywords: green supply chain, DEMATEL, fuzzy set theory, environmental sustainability, sustainable development, cement industry

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Authors: Joelle Thng, Li Fang

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Objective: As programming becomes a highly valued and sought-after skill in the economy, many universities have started offering Python courses to help students keep up with the demands of employers. This study focuses on designing a university module that effectively educates undergraduate students on financial analysis using Python programming. Methodology: To better satisfy the specific demands for each sector, this study adopted a qualitative research modus operandi to craft a module that would complement students’ existing financial skills. The lessons were structured using research-backed educational learning tools, and important Python concepts were prudently screened before being included in the syllabus. The course contents were streamlined based on criteria such as ease of learning and versatility. In particular, the skills taught were modelled in a way to ensure they were beneficial for financial data processing and analysis. Results: Through this study, a 6-week course containing the chosen topics and programming applications was carefully constructed for finance students. Conclusion: The findings in this paper will provide valuable insights as to how teaching programming could be customised for students hailing from various academic backgrounds.

Keywords: curriculum development, designing effective instruction, higher education strategy, python for finance students

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Authors: Aigin Bashti

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Preparation of multicomponent reactions (MCRs) via a simple one-pot strategy is considered a novel procedure which has attracted a lot of interest from organic and medicinal chemists. Due to the great importance of phthalazide triones, it was decided to introduce a novel and cost-effective green procedure for the preparation of these derivatives. In this methodology, an efficient 4,4ʹ-Bipyridinium Dichloride Ordered Mesoporous Silica functionalized catalyst (BP-SBA-15) was utilized. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. In conclusion, it should be mentioned that this methodology has some advantages, including short reaction time, high yield of the products, recyclable catalyst, green procedure, and facile work-up procedure. The catalyst was successfully utilized for the one-pot preparation of various phthalazinetrione derivatives.

Keywords: dimedone, green procedure, multicomponent reactions, phthalhydrazide

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Authors: Jian Gu, Sea-Hoon Lee, Jun-Seop Kim

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SiC particulate-reinforced SiC ceramic composites (SiCp/SiC) were successfully fabricated using polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) method. The effects of green density, infiltrated method, pyrolytic temperature, and heating rate on the densification behavior of the composites were investigated. SiCp/SiC particulate reinforced composites with high relative density up to 88.06% were fabricated after 4 PIP cycles using SiC pellets with high green density. The pellets were prepared by drying 62-70 vol.% aqueous SiC slurries, and the maximum relative density of the pellets was 75.5%. The hardness of the as-fabricated SiCp/SiCs was 21.05 GPa after 4 PIP cycles, which value increased to 23.99 GPa after a heat treatment at 2000℃. Excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability, and short processing time render the SiCp/SiC composite as a challenging candidate for the high-temperature application.

Keywords: high green density, mechanical property, polymer impregnation and pyrolysis, structural application

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Authors: Aman Ullah

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The use of renewable resources in supplementing and/or replacing traditional petrochemical products, through green chemistry, is becoming the focus of research. The utilization of oils can play a primitive role towards sustainable development due to their large scale availability, built-in-functionality, biodegradability and no net CO2 production. Microwaves, being clean, green and environmentally friendly, are emerging as an alternative source for product development. Solvent free conversion of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME's) derived from canola oil and waste cooking oil under microwave irradiation demonstrated dramatically enhanced rates. The microwave-assisted reactions lead to the most valuable terminal olefins with enhanced yields, purities and dramatic shortening of reaction times. Various monomers/chemicals were prepared in high yield in very short time. The complete conversions were observed at temperatures as low as 40 ºC within less than five minutes. The products were characterized by GC-MS, GC-FID and NMR. The monomers were separated and polymerized into different polymers including biopolyesthers, biopolyesters, biopolyamides and biopolyolefins. The polymers were characterized in details for their structural, thermal, mechanical and viscoelastic properties. The ability for complete conversion of oils under solvent free conditions and synthesis of different biopolymers is undoubtedly an attractive concept from both an academic and an industrial point of view.

Keywords: monomers, biopolymers, green chemistry, bioplastics, biomaterials

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Authors: Nunuy Nuraeni, Vera Amalia Lestari, Atri Laranova, Viena Nissa Mien Fadhillah, Mutia, Muhammad Ikhlas Abdian Putra

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Introduction: Obesity is a common disease with high prevalence especially in developing countries including Indonesia. The obesitygenic lifestyle such as excessive intake of food, sedentary lifestyle is the major environmental etiologies of obesity. Obesity is also as one of burden disease with high morbidity due to its complication, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The objective of this literature review is to know how the Epigallocathecin-3-Gallate of Green tea or Camellia sinensis effect as anti-obesity agent and reduce the complication of obesity. Material and Methods: This study based on the secondary data analysis complemented by primary data collection from several journal and textbook. We identified the effect of Epigallocathecin-3-Gallate of Green tea or Camellia sinensis as adjuvant therapy for management obesity and to prevent the complications of obesity. Results: Based on the result, Green tea or Camellia sinensis contain Epigallocathecin-3-Gallate (EGCG) that has anti-obesity effect such as induce apoptosis, inhibit adipogenesis, increasing lipolytic activity, increasing fat oxidation and thermogenesis. Discussion: EGCG are naturally distributed in green tea, that contains a biological activity that has a potential effect to treat obesity. Conclusion: EGCG are capable to treat obesity. By consuming EGCG can prevent obesity in normal health person and prevent complication in patient with obesity.

Keywords: adjuvant therapy, anti-obesity effect, complication, epigallocathecin-3-gallate, obesity

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Authors: Nasibeh Azizi Khereshki

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Olive leaf (OL) extract as a green reductant agent was utilized for the biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) for the first time in this study, and then its performance was evaluated for colorimetric detection of Fe3+ in different media. Some analytical methods were used to characterize the nanosensor. The effective sensing parameters were optimized by central composite design (CCD) combined with response surface methodology (RSM) application. Then, the prepared material's applicability in antibacterial and optical chemical sensing for naked-eye detection of Fe3+ ions in aqueous solutions were evaluated. Furthermore, OL-Ag NPs-loaded paper strips were successfully applied to the colorimetric visualization of Fe3+. The colorimetric probe based on OL-AgNPs illustrated excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards Fe3+ ions, with LOD and LOQ of 0.81 μM and 2.7 μM, respectively. In addition, the developed method was applied to detect Fe3+ ions in real water samples and validated with a 95% confidence level against a reference spectroscopic method.

Keywords: Ag NPs, colorimetric detection, Fe(III) ions, green synthesis, olive leaves

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Authors: Hai-Hong Gu, Yan-Jun Ai, Zheng Zhou

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Vanadium and titanium are rare metals with superior properties and are important resources in aerospace, aviation, and military. The vanadium/titanium magnetite are mostly ultra-lean ores, and a large number of tailings has been produced in the exploitation process. The tailings are characterized by loose structure, poor nutrient, complex composition and high trace metal contents. Returning green manure has been shown to not only increase plant biomass and soil nutrients but also change the bioavailability of trace metals and the microbial community structure. Fungi play an important role in decomposing organic matter and increasing soil fertility, and the application of organic matter also affects the community structure of fungi. The effects of green manure plants, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), returned to the tailings in situ on community structure of fungi, nutrients and bioavailability of trace metals in vanadium/titanium magnetite tailings were investigated in a pot experiment. The results showed that the fungal community diversity and richness were increase after alfalfa green manure returned in situ. The dominant phyla of the fungal community were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Ciliophora, especially, the phyla Ciliophora was rare in ordinary soil, but had been found to be the dominant phyla in tailings. Meanwhile, the nutrient properties and various trace metals may shape the microbial communities by affecting the abundance of fungi. It was found that the plant growth was stimulated and the available N and organic C were significantly improved in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing with the long-term returning of alfalfa green manure. Moreover, the DTPA-TEA extractable Cd and Zn concentrations in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing were reduced by 7.72%~23.8% and 8.02%~24.4%, respectively, compared with those in the non-returning treatment. The above results suggest that the returning of alfalfa green manure could be a potential approach to improve fungal community structure and restore mine tailing ecosystem.

Keywords: fungal community, green manure returning, vanadium/titanium magnet tailings, trace metals

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Authors: David Broussard

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This review article delves into the realm of marine conservation finance, addressing the inadequacies in current financial streams from the private sector and the underutilization of existing financing mechanisms. The study emphasizes the emerging field of “blue finance”, which contributes to economic growth, improved livelihoods, and marine ecosystem health. The financial burden of marine conservation projects typically falls on philanthropists and governments, contrary to the polluter-pays principle. However, the private sector’s increasing commitment to NetZero and growing environmental and social responsibility goals prompts the need for alternative funding sources for marine conservation initiatives like marine protected areas. The article explores the potential of utilizing several financing mechanisms like carbon credits and other forms of payment for ecosystem services in the marine context, providing a solution to the lack of private funding for marine conservation. The methodology employed involves a systematic and quantitative approach, combining traditional review methods and elements of meta-analysis. A comprehensive search of the years 2000 - 2023, using relevant keywords on the Scopus platform, resulted in a review of 252 articles. The temporal evolution of blue finance studies reveals a significant increase in annual articles from 2010 to 2022, with notable peaks in 2011 and 2022. Marine Policy, Ecosystem Services, and Frontiers in Marine Science are prominent journals in this field. While the majority of articles focus on payment for ecosystem services, there is a growing awareness of the need for holistic approaches in conservation finance. Utilizing bibliometric techniques, the article showcases the dominant share of payment for ecosystem services in the literature with a focus on blue carbon. The classification of articles based on various criteria, including financing mechanisms and conservation types, aids in categorizing and understanding the diversity of research objectives and perspectives in this complex field of marine conservation finance.

Keywords: biodiversity offsets, carbon credits, ecosystem services, impact investment, payment for ecosystem services

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Authors: Seyed Mehrzad Pahlavani, Mozaffar Haji Jafari Anaraki, Sayma Mohammadi

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A total of 34700 day-old broilers were exposed to green, blue and yellow light using a light-emitting diode system for 6 weeks to investigate the effects of light wave length on antibody responses to Newcastle disease by HI test and the correlation with ELISA. 3 poultry house broiler farms with the same conditions was selected and the lightening system of each was set according to the requirement. Blood samples were taken from 20 chicks on days 1, 24 and 46 and the Newcastle virus specific antibody was titered in serum using HI an ELISA test. On day 24, the probability value of more than 0/05 was observed in HI and ELISA tests of all groups while at the end of breeding period, the average HI serum antibody titer was more in the green light than the yellow one while the blue light was not significantly different from both. At the last titration, the green light has got the highest titer of Newcastle antibodies. There were no significant differences of Newcastle antibody titers between all groups and ages in broiler pullets in ELISA. According to the sampling and analysis of HI and ELISA serum tests, there were no significant relationships between all broiler pullets breeding in green, blue and yellow light on days 24 and 46 and the P-value was more than 0/05. It is suggested that the monochromatic light is effective on broilers immunity against Newcastle disease.

Keywords: monochromatic light, Newcastle disease, HI test, ELISA test

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Authors: Ya'u Saidu

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The introduction of the non-interest banking system in Nigeria was part of the regulators efforts to increase the inclusion of other stakeholders into the financial sector who have stayed out of the sector for some reasons. However, the concept has been misunderstood by various stakeholders within the country where some view it as a Muslim affair which exclude the non-Muslims from gaining despite its existence in advance countries of the world. This paper attempts to fill-in the gap created by the literature especially with regards to the proper education and enlightenment of the Nigerian citizens. Survey research method was employed where primary data was collected using questionnaire and convenience sampling was used to select 100 respondents. The data was analysed using Chi-square. It was found that lack of knowledge on Islamic banking has significant effect on its prospects.

Keywords: finance, non-interest, sustainability, enlightenment

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Authors: Dilang Thouk Tharjiath

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This study seeks to examine determinants of access to finance: the case of micro and small enterprises in bonga town. It identifies the sector as the key to unlocking the economic potentials of the country. For the achievement of the objective of the study simple random and stratified sampling has been used to select 179 respondents, primary and secondary data were used, primary data were collected through face to face interview and preparing questionnaire and secondary data were collected through reviewing firms record and reports, quantitative research approach were used and the data obtained were analyzed using descriptive research design. Access to finance is one of the key obstacles of MSE’s not only when starting the business project but also when operating. Identifying the major determinants of access to finance is therefore quite crucial. Based on descriptive result the financiers specially formal financiers tend to grant credit easily for enterprises which are located near to town, having operators with higher educational level, experienced and with a positive attitudes towards or fulfill their lending procedures, and a firm having collateralized asset, prepare business plan, maintain accounting practice ,large and old enough. Finally the study recommended that As Educational level of entrepreneurs has significant effect on access to credit from bank and the managers or owners education level is low in Bonga town the concerned bodies of both the government and non-governmental institutions in collaboration with Bonga town MSE development office are recommended to create awareness and facilitate the provision of additional training for those with lower educational level.

Keywords: credit, entrepreneur, enterprise, manager

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Authors: Adeleh Moshtaghi Zonouz, Issa Eskandari

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A simple, efficient, and green one-pot, four-component synthesis of highly substituted polyhydronaphthalenes in aqueous media is described. The method has such advantages as short reaction times, high yields, mild reaction conditions, operational simplicity and environmentally benign.

Keywords: polyhydronaphthalene, 2, 6-dicyanoanilines, multi-component reaction, aqueous media

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Authors: Dalia Kubiliūtė

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Lithuania is known as a trusted location for global business institutions, and it attracts investors with it’s competitive environment for financial service providers. Along with the aspiration to offer a strong results-oriented and innovations-driven environment for financial service providers, Lithuanian regulatory authorities consistently implement the European Union's high regulatory standards for financial activities, including sustainability-related disclosures. Since European Union directed its policy towards transition to a climate-neutral, green, competitive, and inclusive economy, additional regulatory requirements for financial market participants are adopted: disclosure of sustainable activities, transparency, prevention of greenwashing, etc. The financial sector is one of the key factors influencing the implementation of sustainability objectives in European Union policies and mitigating the negative effects of climate change –public funds are not enough to make a significant impact on sustainable investments, therefore directing public and private capital to green projects may help to finance the necessary changes. The topic of the study is original and has not yet been widely analyzed in Lithuanian legal discourse. There are used quantitative and qualitative methodologies, logical, systematic, and critical analysis principles; hence the aim of this study is to reveal the problem of the implementation of the regulation on sustainability in the Lithuanian financial sector. Additional regulatory requirements could cause serious changes in financial business operations: additional funds, employees, and time have to be dedicated in order for the companies could implement these regulations. Lack of knowledge and data on how to implement new regulatory requirements towards sustainable reporting causes a lot of uncertainty for financial market participants. And for some companies, it might even be an essential point in terms of business continuity. It is considered that the supervisory authorities should find a balance between financial market needs and legal regulation.

Keywords: financial, legal, regulatory, sustainability

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Authors: I Putu Deny Arthawan Sugih Prabowo, Eko Nugroho, Rudy Hartanto

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Known, Green IT is a concept about how to use the technology (IT) wisely, efficiently, and environmentally. However, it exists as the consequence of the rapid-growth of the technology (especially IT) currently. Not only for the environments, the usage of Green IT applications, e.g. Cloud Computing (Cloud Storage) and E-Money (E-Cash), also gives its benefits for the organizational business strategy (especially the organizational product/service strategy) in order to gain the organizational competitive advantage (to be the market leader). This paper takes the case at E-Money as a Value-Added Services (VAS) of a telecommunication firm (company) in Indonesia which it also competes with the competitors’ similar product (service). Although it has been a popular telecommunication firm’s product/service, but its strategic values for the organization (firm) is still unknown, and therefore, the aim of this paper is for analyzing its strategic values for gaining the organizational competitive advantage. However, in this paper, its strategic value analysis is viewed by how to assess (consider) its strategic benefits and also manage the challenges or risks of its implementation at the organization as an organizational product/service. Then the paper uses a research model for investigating the influences of both perceived risks and the organizational cultures to the usage of Green IT Application at the organization and also both the usage of Green IT Application at the organization and the threats-challenges of the organizational products/services to the competitive advantage of the organizational products/services. However, the paper uses the quantitative research method (collecting the information from the field respondents by using the research questionnaires) and then, the primary data is analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics. Also in this paper, SmartPLS is used for analyzing the primary data by the quantitative research method. Besides using the quantitative research method, the paper also uses the qualitative research method, such as interviewing the field respondent and/or directly field observation, for deeply confirming the quantitative research method’s analysis results at the certain domain, e.g. both organizational cultures and internal processes that support the usage of Green IT applications for the organizational product/service (E-Money in this paper case). However, the paper is still at an infant stage of in-progress research. Then the paper’s results may be used as a reference for the organization (firm or company) in developing the organizational business strategies, especially about the organizational product/service that relates to Green IT applications. Besides it, the paper may also be the future study, e.g. the influence of knowledge transfer about E-Money and/or other Green IT application-based products/services to the organizational service performance that relates to the product (service) in order to gain the competitive advantage.

Keywords: Green IT, competitive advantage, strategic value, organization (firm or company), organizational product (service)

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Authors: Jia-Jin He, Tzu-Yuan Stessa Chao

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It is generally accepted that community residents with abundant open space have better health status on average, and thus more and more cities around the world began their pursuit of the greatest possible amount of green space within urban areas through urban planning approach. Nevertheless, only a few studies managed to provide empirical evidence regarding the actual relationship between 'providing' green space and 'improving' human health at city level. There is also lack of evidence of direct positive improvement of health by increasing the amount of green space. For urban planning professional, it is important to understand citizens’ usage behaviour towards green space as a critical evidence for future planning and design strategies. There is a research need to further investigate the amount of green space, user behaviour of green spaces and the health outcome of urban dwellers. To this end, we would like to find out other important factors for urban dwellers’ usage behaviours of green spaces. 'Average green spaces per person' is one of the National well-being Indicators in Taiwan as in many other countries. Through our preliminary research, we collected and analyzed the official data of planned open space coverages, average life expectancy, exercise frequency and obesity ratio in all cities of Taiwan. The study result indicates an interesting finding that Kaohsiung city, the second largest city in Taiwan, tells a completely different story. Citizens in Kaosiung city have more open spaces than any other city through urban planning, yet have relatively unhealthy condition in contrary. Whether it pointed out that the amount of the open spaces per person has would not direct to the health outcome. Therefore, the pre-established view which states that open spaces must have positive effects on human health should be examined more prudently. Hence, this paper intends to explore the relationship between user behaviour of open spaces and citizens’ health conditions by critically analyzing past related literature and collecting selective data from government health database in 2015. We also take Kaohsiung city, as a case study area to conduct statistical analysis first followed by questionnaire survey to gain a better understanding. Finally, we aim to feedback our findings to the current planning system in Taiwan for better health promotion urbanized areas.

Keywords: open spaces, urban planning systems, healthy cities, health outcomes

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Authors: Lucian J. Pitt

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The primary purpose of this study is to understand the differences in the relationship between working capital management efficiency, working capital investment decisions and working capital finance decisions and the profitability of firms within the context of two African developing economies, Kenya and Nigeria. The study finds that there is a significant difference in the relationship between the firm’s profitability and the working capital variables which suggests different challenges for working capital management in each of these countries.

Keywords: working capital management, working capital investment, working capital finance, profitability, cash conversion cycle

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Authors: Ica Wulansari

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Today, globalization encourages the global culture acceleration in the middle of accelerated industrialization that leads to the transformation of consumption pattern. Consumption is not only considered as a need but also lifestyle, moreover, plays a role as an ideology supported by global shopping system. This paper is aimed at analyzing how global society directed to support sustainability consumption, this is line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that prioritise sustainable program for environmental preservation to cope with economic growth impact. The paper applies qualitative method to analyze through literature studies. As a result, we attempt to discuss the relationship of various concepts among globalization, consumption, and risk society that produce green capitalism. There are three points related with green capitalism: Sustainable agenda, political ecology, and sustainable commodities that show sustainable consumption pattern supported by Capitalism. Sustainability consumption system is an ideal instrument to be implemented, nevertheless, this is not only solely a modernity of ecology politics to hidden Capitalist`s interest.

Keywords: consumption, sustainability, capitalist, environmental

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Authors: Tayyab Ahmad, Gerard Healey

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Sustainability in built environment sector is subject to many development constraints. Building projects are developed under different requirements of deliverables which makes each project unique. For an owner organization, i.e., a higher-education institution, involved in a significant building stock, it is important to prioritize some of the sustainability initiatives over the others in order to align the sustainable building development with organizational goals. The point-based green building rating tools i.e. Green Star, LEED, BREEAM are becoming increasingly popular and are well-acknowledged worldwide for verifying a sustainable development. It is imperative to synthesize a multi-criteria decision-making tool that can capitalize on the point-based methodology of rating systems while customizing the sustainable development of building projects according to the individual requirements and constraints of the client organization. A multi-criteria decision-making tool for the University of Melbourne is developed that builds on the action-learning and experience of implementing Green Buildings at the University of Melbourne. The tool evaluates the different sustainable building initiatives based on the framework of Green Star rating tool of Green Building Council of Australia. For each different sustainability initiative the decision-making tool makes an assessment based on at least five performance criteria including the ease with which a sustainability initiative can be achieved and the potential of a sustainability initiative to enhance project objectives, reduce life-cycle costs, enhance University’s reputation, and increase the confidence in quality construction. The use of a weighted aggregation mathematical model in the proposed tool can have a considerable role in the decision-making process of a Green Building project by indexing the Green Building initiatives in terms of organizational priorities. The index value of each initiative will be based on its alignment with some of the key performance criteria. The usefulness of the decision-making tool is validated by conducting structured interviews with some of the key stakeholders involved in the development of sustainable building projects at the University of Melbourne. The proposed tool is realized to help a client organization in deciding that within limited resources which sustainability initiatives and practices are more important to be pursued than others.

Keywords: higher education institution, multi-criteria decision-making tool, organizational values, prioritizing sustainability initiatives, weighted aggregation model

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Authors: Naruemon Prapasuwannakul, Supitcha Boonchai, Nawapat Pengpengpit

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The aim of this study was to determine physicochemical and sensory properties of germinated brown rice ice cream as affected by replacement of cream, milk, stabilizer, and emulsifier with green coconut pulp. Five different formulations of ice cream were performed. Regular formulation of ice cream consisted of GBR juice, milk cream, milk powder, stabilizer, emulsifier, sucrose and salt. Replacing of cream, milk, stabilizer, and emulsifier with coconut pulp resulted in an increase in viscosity and overrun, but a decrease in hardness, melting rate, lightness (l*) and redness (a*). However, there was no significant difference among all formulations on any sensory attributes. The results also showed that the ice cream with replacement of coconut pulp contained less fat and protein than those of the regular ice cream. The findings suggested that green coconut pulp can be used as alternative ingredient to replace fat, milk stabilizer and emulsifier even in a high carbohydrate ice cream formulation.

Keywords: ice cream, germinated brown rice, coconut pulp, milk, cream

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Authors: H. El-Messiry, M. El-Zainy, D. Ghazy

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Diabetes is a metabolic disease that results in a variety of oral health complications. Green tea is a natural antioxidant proved to have powerful effects against diabetes. The aim of this study was to compare between the effect of insulin and green tea on the Parotid gland of streptozotocin induced diabetic Albino rats by using light and transmission electron microscopy. Forty male Albino rats were divided into control group and diabetic groups. The diabetic group received a single injection of 40 mg/kg of streptozotocin intra-peritoneal under anesthesia and was further subdivided into three subgroups: The diabetic untreated subgroup which was untreated for two weeks, the insulin treated subgroup which has received insulin subcutaneously in a daily dose of 5 IU/kg body weight/day for two weeks and a green tea treated subgroup received a daily dose of 1 ml/ 100 gm body weight intragastrically for two weeks. Rats were terminated and parotid glands were dissected and processed for light and transmission electron microscopic examination. Histological examination of the diabetic untreated subgroup revealed acinar cells with pyknotic and hyperchromatic nuclei with cytoplasmic vacuolations. Ultrastructurally, acinar cells showed nuclear pleomorphism, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and swollen mitochondria with damaged cristae. Inflammatory cell infiltration was detected both histologically and ultrastructurally. Ducts showed signs of degeneration with loss of their normal outline and stagnated secretion within the lumen. However, insulin and green tea treated subgroups showed minimal degenerative damage and were almost similar to the control with minimal changes. Treatment of the parotid gland of the streptozotocin induced diabetic rats with GT was closely comparable to the traditional insulin therapy in reducing signs of histological and ultrastructural damage.

Keywords: diabetes, green tea, insulin, parotid

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Authors: George Clifford Yamson

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As institutions across the world become more focused on sustainability, academic libraries are considering ways to reduce their environmental impact. One strategy is the use of sustainable online services, which can reduce the need for physical materials and transportation. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of sustainable online services in reducing the environmental impact of academic libraries. Using a mixed-methods approach, the survey will be used to solicit information from library staff and users to gather data on their attitudes towards sustainable online services and their usage patterns. A comparative analysis will be conducted on the costs of traditional library services versus sustainable online services. The findings of this study will contribute to the growing body of literature on green academic libraries and provide insights into the potential of sustainable online services to reduce the environmental impact of academic libraries.

Keywords: sustainability, environmental sustainability, academic libraries, green printing, green copying, online services

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Authors: Alonso-Cañadas J., Galán-Valdivieso F., Saraite-Sariene L., García-Tabuyo M., Alonso-Morales N.

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Green Public Procurement (GPP) has recently gained attention in the academic and policy arenas since climate change has shown the need to be addressed by both private companies and public entities. Such growing interest motivates this article, aiming to explore the most influential journals, publishers, categories, and topics, as well as the recent trends and future research lines in GPP. Based on the Web of Science database, 578 articles from 2004 to February 2022 devoted to GPP are analyzed using Bibliometrix, an R-tool to perform bibliometric analysis, and Google’s Big Query and Data Studio. This article introduces a variety of findings. First, the most influential journals by far are “Journal of Cleaner Production” and “Sustainability,” differing in that the latter is open access while the former publishes via traditional subscription. This result also occurs regarding the main publishers (Elsevier and MDPI). These features lead us to split the sample into open-access journals and traditional journals to deepen into the similarities and differences between them, confirming that traditional journals exhibit a higher degree of influence in the literature than their open-access counterparts in terms of the number of documents, number of citations and impact (according to the H index). Second, this research also highlights the recent emergence of green-related terms (sustainable, environment) and, parallelly, the increase in categorizing GPP papers in “green” WoS categories, particularly since 2019. Finally, a number of related topics are emerging and will lead the research, such as food security, infrastructures, and implementation barriers of GPP.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, green public procurement, open access, traditional journals

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Authors: Bisi S. Olawoyin

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This study attempts an exploration into behavioural finance in which the traditional assumptions of expected utility maximization with rational investors in efficient markets are dropped. It reviews prior research and evidence about how psychological biases affect investors behaviour and stock selection. This study examined the relationship between demographic variables and financial behaviour biases among public sector retirees who invested in the Nigerian Stock Exchange prior to their retirement. By using questionnaire survey method, a total of 214 valid convenient samples were collected in order to determine how specific demographic and psychological trait affect stock selection between dividend paying and non-dividend paying stocks. Descriptive statistics and OLS were used to analyse the results. Findings showed that most of the retirees prefer dividend paying stocks in few years preceding their retirement but still hold on to their non-dividend paying stock on retirement. A significant difference also exists between senior and junior retirees in preference for non-dividend paying stocks. These findings are consistent with the clientele theories of dividend.

Keywords: behavioural finance, clientele theories, dividend paying stocks, stock selection

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Authors: Ganesh B. Shinde, Vijaya B. Musande

Abstract:

Cotton crop identification based on the timely information has significant advantage to the different implications of food, economic and environment. Due to the significant advantages, the accurate detection of cotton crop regions using supervised learning procedure is challenging problem in remote sensing. Here, classifiers on the direct image are played a major role but the results are not much satisfactorily. In order to further improve the effectiveness, variety of vegetation indices are proposed in the literature. But, recently, the major challenge is to find the better vegetation indices for the cotton crop identification through the proposed methodology. Accordingly, fuzzy c-means clustering is combined with neural network algorithm, trained by Levenberg-Marquardt for cotton crop classification. To experiment the proposed method, five LISS-III satellite images was taken and the experimentation was done with six vegetation indices such as Simple Ratio, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index, Green Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index, Wide-Dynamic Range Vegetation Index, Green Chlorophyll Index. Along with these indices, Green Leaf Area Index is also considered for investigation. From the research outcome, Green Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index outperformed with all other indices by reaching the average accuracy value of 95.21%.

Keywords: Fuzzy C-Means clustering (FCM), neural network, Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm, vegetation indices

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Authors: Lorraine Joyce Chua, Sheena Fatima Ragas, Flora Mae Tantay, Carolyn Marie Sunio

Abstract:

The Philippines is one of the countries most affected by weather-related disasters. The occurrence of natural disasters in this country increases due to environmental degradation making environment preservation a growing trend in the society including the corporate world. Most organizations implemented green practices in order to lower expenses unaware that some of these practices were already a part of a new trend in human resource management known as Green Human Resource Management (GHRM). GHRM is when business organizations implement HR policies programs processes and techniques that bring environmental impact and sustainability practices on the organization. In relation to this, the study hypothesizes that implementing GHRM practices in the workplace will spillover to an employees lifestyle and such lifestyle may moderate the impact of GHRM practices to his job performance. Private industries located in the Philippines National Capital Region (NCR) were purposively selected for the purpose of this study. They must be ISO14001 certified or are currently aiming for such certification. The employee respondents were randomly selected and were asked to answer a reliable and valid researcher-made questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) supported the hypothesis that GHRM practices may spillover to employees lifestyle stimulating such individual to start a green lifestyle which moderates the impact of GHRM to his job performance. It can also be implied that GHRM practices help shape employees to become environmentally aware and responsible which may help them in preserving the environment. The findings of this study may encourage Human Resource practitioners to implement GHRM practices in the workplace in order to take part in sustaining the environment while maintaining or improving employees job performance and keeping them motivated. This study can serve as a basis for future research regarding the importance of strengthening the GHRM implementation here in the Philippines. Future studies may focus more on the impact of GHRM to other factors, such as job loyalty and job satisfaction of the employees belonging to specific industries which would greatly contribute to the GHRM community in the Philippines.

Keywords: GHRM practices, Green Human Resource Management, Green Lifestyle, ISO14001, job performance, Philippines

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Ratthiwa Deewan, Visanu Tanboonchuy

Abstract:

The optimal conditions for green synthesis of zero-valent (G-NZVI) synthesis are investigated in this study using a Box Behnken design. The factors that were used in the study consisted of 3 factors as follows: the iron solution to mango peel extract ratio (1:1-1:3), feeding rate of mango peel extracts (1-5 mL/min), and agitation speed (300-30 rpm). The results showed that the optimization of conditions using the regression model was appropriate. The optimal conditions of the synthesis of G-NZVI for arsenate removal are the iron solution to mango peel extract ratio of 1:1, the feeding rate of mango peel extract at 5 mL/min, and the agitation speed rate of 300 rpm, which was able to arsenate removal of 100%.

Keywords: Box Behnken design, arsenate removal, green nano zero valent iron, arsenic

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Authors: Peter Shi

Abstract:

Algorithmic trading is a rapidly expanding domain within quantitative finance, constituting a substantial portion of trading volumes in the US financial market. The demand for rigorous and robust mathematical theories underpinning these trading algorithms is ever-growing. In this study, the author establishes a new stock market model that integrates the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the statistical arbitrage. The model, for the first time, finds probabilistic relations between the rational price and the market price in terms of the conditional expectation. The theory consequently leads to a mathematical justification of the old market adage: buy-low and sell-high. The thresholds for “low” and “high” are precisely derived using a max-min operation on Bayes’s error. This explicit connection harmonizes the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Statistical Arbitrage, demonstrating their compatibility in explaining market dynamics. The amalgamation represents a pioneering contribution to quantitative finance. The study culminates in comprehensive numerical tests using historical market data, affirming that the “buy-low” and “sell-high” algorithm derived from this theory significantly outperforms the general market over the long term in four out of six distinct market environments.

Keywords: efficient market hypothesis, behavioral finance, Bayes' decision, algorithmic trading, risk control, stock market

Procedia PDF Downloads 72