Search results for: sustainable cities
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5961

Search results for: sustainable cities

1071 A Multi-Objective Decision Making Model for Biodiversity Conservation and Planning: Exploring the Concept of Interdependency

Authors: M. Mohan, J. P. Roise, G. P. Catts

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Despite living in an era where conservation zones are de-facto the central element in any sustainable wildlife management strategy, we still find ourselves grappling with several pareto-optimal situations regarding resource allocation and area distribution for the same. In this paper, a multi-objective decision making (MODM) model is presented to answer the question of whether or not we can establish mutual relationships between these contradicting objectives. For our study, we considered a Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) habitat conservation scenario in the coastal plain of North Carolina, USA. Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) is a non-migratory territorial bird that excavates cavities in living pine trees for roosting and nesting. The RCW groups nest in an aggregation of cavity trees called ‘cluster’ and for our model we use the number of clusters to be established as a measure of evaluating the size of conservation zone required. The case study is formulated as a linear programming problem and the objective function optimises the Red-cockaded woodpecker clusters, carbon retention rate, biofuel, public safety and Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest. We studied the variation of individual objectives with respect to the amount of area available and plotted a two dimensional dynamic graph after establishing interrelations between the objectives. We further explore the concept of interdependency by integrating the MODM model with GIS, and derive a raster file representing carbon distribution from the existing forest dataset. Model results demonstrate the applicability of interdependency from both linear and spatial perspectives, and suggest that this approach holds immense potential for enhancing environmental investment decision making in future.

Keywords: conservation, interdependency, multi-objective decision making, red-cockaded woodpecker

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1070 Effect of Biostimulants Application on Quali-Quantitative Characteristics of Cauliflower, Pepper, and Fennel Crops Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization

Authors: E. Tarantino, G. Disciglio, L. Frabboni, A. Libutti, G. Gatta, A. Gagliaridi, A. Tarantino

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Nowadays, the main goal for modern horticultural production is the increase of quality. In the recent years, the use of organic fertilizers or bio stimulants, that can be applied in agriculture in order to improve the quanti-qualitative crop yields, has encountered an increasing interest. The bio stimulants are gaining importance also for their possible use in organic and sustainable agriculture, avoiding excessive fertilizer applications. Consecutive experimental trials were carried out in Apulia region (southern Italy) on three herbaceous crops (cauliflower, pepper and fennel), grown in pots, under conventional and organic fertilization, with and without bio stimulants application, to verify the effects of several bio stimulants (Siapton®10L, Micotech L and Lysodin Alga-Fert) on quanti-qualitative yield characteristics. At the harvest, the quanti-qualitative yield characteristics of each crop were determined. All experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and, when significant effects were detected, the mean values were compared using Tukey’s test. Results showed great differences of yield characteristics between conventional and organic crops, particularly highlighting a higher yield in the conventional one. Variable results were generally observed when bio stimulants were applied. In this contest no effect were noted on quantitative yield, whereas a light positive effect of bio stimulants on qualitative characteristic, related to the higher dry matter content of cauliflower and the higher soluble solid content of pepper, was observed. Moreover, an evident positive effect of bio stimulants was noted in the fennel due to the lower nitrate content. The latter results are according with most of published literature obtained on other herbaceous crops.

Keywords: biostimulants, cauliflower, pepper, fennel

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1069 Seismic Behavior of Self-Balancing Post-Tensioned Reinforced Concrete Spatial Structure

Authors: Mircea Pastrav, Horia Constantinescu

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The construction industry is currently trying to develop sustainable reinforced concrete structures. In trying to aid in the effort, the research presented in this paper aims to prove the efficiency of modified special hybrid moment frames composed of discretely jointed precast and post-tensioned concrete members. This aim is due to the fact that current design standards do not cover the spatial design of moment frame structures assembled by post-tensioning with special hybrid joints. This lack of standardization is coupled with the fact that previous experimental programs, available in scientific literature, deal mainly with plane structures and offer little information regarding spatial behavior. A spatial model of a modified hybrid moment frame is experimentally analyzed. The experimental results of a natural scale model test of a corner column-beams sub-structure, cut from an actual multilevel building tested to seismic type loading are presented in order to highlight the behavior of this type of structure. The test is performed under alternative cycles of imposed lateral displacements, up to a storey drift ratio of 0.035. Seismic response of the spatial model is discussed considering the acceptance criteria for reinforced concrete frame structures designed based on experimental tests, as well as some of its major sustainability features. The results obtained show an overall excellent behavior of the system. The joint detailing allows for quick and cheap repairs after an accidental event and a self-balancing behavior of the system that ensures it can be used almost immediately after an accidental event it.

Keywords: modified hybrid joint, seismic type loading response, self-balancing structure, acceptance criteria

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1068 Business Survival During Economic Crises: A Comparison Between Family and Non-family Firms

Authors: A. Hayrapetyan, A. Simon, P. Marques, G. Renart

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Business survival is a question of greatest interest for any economy. Firm characteristics that can explain or predict performance and, ultimately, business survival become of the greatest significance, as the sustainable longevity of any business can mean health for the future of the country. Family Firms (FFs) are one of the most ubiquitous forms of business worldwide, as more than half of European firms (60%) are considered as family firms. Therefore, the inherent characteristics of FFs are one of the possible explanatory variables for firm survival because FFs have strategic goals that differentiate them from other types of businesses. Although there is literature on the performance of FFs across generations, there are fewer studies on the factors that impact the survival of family and non-family FFs, as there is a lack of data on failed firms. To address this gap, this paper explores the differential survival of family firms versus non-family firms with a representative sample of companies of the region of Catalonia (Northeast of Spain) that were adhoc classified as family or nonfamily firms, as well as classified as failed or surviving, since no census data for family firms or for failed firms is available in Spain. By using the COX regression model on a representative sample of 629 family and non-family firms, this study investigates to what extent financial ratios, such as Liquidity, Solvency Rate can impact business survival, taking into consideration the socioemotional side of family firms, as well as revealing the differences between family and non-family firms. The findings show that the liquidity rate is significant for non-family firm survival, whereas not for family firms. On the other hand, FFs can benefit while having a higher solvency rate. Ultimately, this paper discovers that FFs increase their chances of survival when they are small, as the growth in size starts negatively impacting the socioemotional objectives of the firm. This study proves the existence of significant differences between family and non-family firms’ survival during economic crises, suggesting that the prioritization of emotional wealth creates distinct conditions for both types of firms.

Keywords: COX regression, economy crises, family firm, non-family firm, survival

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1067 Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize: A Socio-Ecological Systems Approach

Authors: Kristin Drexler

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Climate change has exacerbated food and livelihood insecurity for Mayan milpa farmers in Central America. For centuries, milpa farming has been sustainable for subsistence; however, in the last 50 years, milpas have become less reliable due to accelerating climate change, resource degradation, declining markets, poverty, and other factors. Using interviews with extension leaders and milpa farmers in Belize, this qualitative study examines the capacity for increasing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aspects of existing traditional milpa practices, specifically no-burn mulching, soil enrichment, and the use of cover plants. Applying community capitals and socio-ecological systems frameworks, this study finds four key capitals were perceived by farmers and agriculture extension leaders as barriers for increasing CSA practices: (1) human-capacity, (2) financial, (3) infrastructure, and (4) governance-justice capitals. The key barriers include a lack of CSA technology and pest management knowledge-sharing (human-capacity), unreliable roads and utility services (infrastructure), the closure of small markets and crop-buying programs in Belize (financial), and constraints on extension services and exacerbating a sense of marginalization in Maya communities (governance-justice). Recommendations are presented for government action to reduce barriers and facilitate an increase in milpa crop productivity, promote food and livelihood security, and enable climate resilience of Mayan milpa communities in Belize.

Keywords: socio-ecological systems, community capitals, climate-smart agriculture, food security, milpa, Belize

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1066 Green Space and Their Possibilities of Enhancing Urban Life in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Authors: Ummeh Saika, Toshio Kikuchi

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Population growth and urbanization is a global phenomenon. As the rapid progress of technology, many cities in the international community are facing serious problems of urbanization. There is no doubt that the urbanization will proceed to have significant impact on the ecology, economy and society at local, regional, and global levels. The inhabitants of Dhaka city suffer from lack of proper urban facilities. The green spaces are needed for different functional and leisure activities of the urban dwellers. Again growing densification, a number of green space are transferred into open space in the Dhaka city. As a result greenery of the city's decreases gradually. Moreover, the existing green space is frequently threatened by encroachment. The role of green space, both at community and city level, is important to improve the natural environment and social ties for future generations. Therefore, it seems that the green space needs to be more effective for public interaction. The main objective of this study is to address the effectiveness of urban green space (Urban Park) of Dhaka City. Two approaches are selected to fulfill the study. Firstly, analyze the long-term spatial changes of urban green space using GIS and secondly, investigate the relationship of urban park network with physical and social environment. The case study site covers eight urban parks of Dhaka metropolitan area of Bangladesh. Two aspects (Physical and Social) are applied for this study. For physical aspect, satellite images and aerial photos of different years are used to find out the changes of urban parks. And for social aspect, methods are used as questionnaire survey, interview, observation, photographs, sketch and previous information of parks to analyze about the social environment of parks. After calculation of all data by descriptive statistics, result is shown by maps using GIS. According to physical size, parks of Dhaka city are classified into four types: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large parks. The observed result showed that the physical and social environment of urban parks varies with their size. In small size parks physical environment is moderate by newly tree plantation and area expansion. However, in medium size parks physical environment are poor, example- tree decrease, exposed soil increase. On the other hand, physical environment of large size and extra large size parks are in good condition, because of plenty of vegetation and well management. Again based on social environment, in small size parks people mainly come from surroundings area and mainly used as waiting place. In medium-size parks, people come to attend various occasion from different places. In large size and extra large size parks, people come from every part of the city area for tourism purpose. Urban parks are important source of green space. Its influence both physical and social environment of urban area. Nowadays green space area gradually decreases and transfer into open space. The consequence of this research reveals that changes of urban parks influence both physical and social environment and also impact on urban life.

Keywords: physical environment, social environment, urban life, urban parks

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1065 Social Implementation of Information Sharing Road Safety Measure in South-East Asia

Authors: Hiroki Kikuchi, Atsushi Fukuda, Hirokazu Akahane, Satoru Kobayakawa, Tuenjai Fukuda, Takeru Miyokawa

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According to WHO reports, fatalities by road traffic accidents in many countries of South-East Asia region especially Thailand and Malaysia are increasing year by year. In order to overcome these serious problems, both governments are focusing on road safety measures. In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have begun active support based on the experiences to reduce the number of fatalities in road accidents in Japan in the past. However, even if the successful road safety measures in Japan is adopted in South-East Asian countries, it is not sure whether it will work well or not. So, it is necessary to clarify the issues and systematize the process for the implementation of road safety measures in South-East Asia. On the basis of the above, this study examined the applicability of "information sharing traffic safety measure" which is one of the successful road safety measures in Japan to the social implementation of road safety measures in South-East Asian countries. The "Information sharing traffic safety measure" is carried out traffic safety measures by stakeholders such as residents, administration, and experts jointly. In this study, we extracted the issues of implementation of road safety measures under local context firstly. This is clarifying the particular issues with its implementation in South-East Asian cities. Secondly, we considered how to implement road safety measures for solving particular issues based on the method of "information sharing traffic safety measure". In the implementation method, the location of the occurrence of a dangerous event was extracted based on the “HIYARI-HATTO” data which were obtained from the residents. This is because it is considered that the implementation of the information sharing traffic safety measure focusing on the location where the dangerous event occurs leads to the reduction of traffic accidents. Also, the target locations for the implementation of measures differ for each city. In Penang, we targeted the intersections in the downtown, while in Suphan Buri, we targeted mainly traffic control on the intercity highway. Finally, we proposed a method for implementing traffic safety measures. For Penang, we proposed a measure to improve the signal phase and showed the effect of the measure on the micro traffic simulation. For Suphan Buri, we proposed the suitable measures for the danger points extracted by collecting the “HIYARI-HATTO” data of residents to the administration. In conclusion, in order to successfully implement the road safety measure based on the "information sharing traffic safety measure", the process for social implementation of the road safety measures should be consistent and carried out repeatedly. In particular, by clarifying specific issues based on local context in South-East Asian countries, the stakeholders, not only such as government sectors but also local citizens can share information regarding road safety and select appropriate countermeasures. Finally, we could propose this approach to the administration that had the authority.

Keywords: information sharing road safety measure, social implementation, South-East Asia, HIYARI-HATTO

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1064 Appropriate Technology: Revisiting the Movement in Developing Countries for Sustainability

Authors: Jayshree Patnaik, Bhaskar Bhowmick

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The economic growth of any nation is steered and dependent on innovation in technology. It can be preferably argued that technology has enhanced the quality of life. Technology is linked both with an economic and a social structure. But there are some parts of the world or communities which are yet to reap the benefits of technological innovation. Business and organizations are now well equipped with cutting-edge innovations that improve the firm performance and provide them with a competitive edge, but rarely does it have a positive impact on any community which is weak and marginalized. In recent times, it is observed that communities are actively handling social or ecological issues with the help of indigenous technologies. Thus, "Appropriate Technology" comes into the discussion, which is quite prevalent in the rural third world. Appropriate technology grew as a movement in the mid-1970s during the energy crisis, but it lost its stance in the following years when people started it to describe it as an inferior technology or dead technology. Basically, there is no such technology which is inferior or sophisticated for a particular region. The relevance of appropriate technology lies in penetrating technology into a larger and weaker section of community where the “Bottom of the pyramid” can pay for technology if they find the price is affordable. This is a theoretical paper which primarily revolves around how appropriate technology has faded and again evolved in both developed and developing countries. The paper will try to focus on the various concepts, history and challenges faced by the appropriate technology over the years. Appropriate technology follows a documented approach but lags in overall design and diffusion. Diffusion of technology into the poorer sections of community remains unanswered until the present time. Appropriate technology is multi-disciplinary in nature; therefore, this openness allows having a varied working model for different problems. Appropriate technology is a friendly technology that seeks to improve the lives of people in a constraint environment by providing an affordable and sustainable solution. Appropriate technology needs to be defined in the era of modern technological advancement for sustainability.

Keywords: appropriate technology, community, developing country, sustainability

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1063 Process Development for the Conversion of Organic Waste into Valuable Products

Authors: Ife O. Bolaji

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Environmental concerns arising from the use of fossil fuels has increased the interest in the development of renewable and sustainable sources of energy. This would minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and serve as future alternatives. Organic wastes contain carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, which can be utilised as carbon sources for the production of bio-based products. Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer, being the main structural component of lignocellulosic materials. The aim of this project is to develop a biological process for the hydrolysis and fermentation of organic wastes into ethanol and organic acids. The hydrolysis and fermentation processes are integrated in a single vessel using undefined mixed culture microorganisms. The anaerobic fermentation of microcrystalline cellulose was investigated in continuous and batch reactors at 25°C with an appropriate growth medium for cellulase formation, hydrolysis, and fermentation. The reactors were inoculated with soil (B1, C1, C3) or sludge from an anaerobic digester (B2, C2) and the breakdown of cellulose was monitored by measuring the production of ethanol, organic acids and the residual cellulose. The batch reactors B1 and B2 showed negligible microbial activity due to inhibition while the continuous reactors, C1, C2 and C3, exhibited little cellulose hydrolysis which was concealed by the cellulose accumulation in the reactor. At the end of the continuous operation, the reactors C1, C2 and C3 were operated under batch conditions. 48%, 34% and 42% cellulose had been fermented by day 88, 55 and 55 respectively of the batch fermentation. Acetic acid, ethanol, propionic acid and butyric acids were the main fermentation products in the reactors. A stable concentration of 0.6 g/l ethanol and 5 g/L acetic acid was maintained in C3 for several weeks due to reduced activity of methanogens caused by the decrease in pH. Thus far, the results have demonstrated that mixed microbial culture is capable of hydrolysing and fermenting cellulose under lenient conditions. The fermentation of cellulose has been found effective in a combination of continuous and batch processes.

Keywords: cellulose, hydrolysis, mixed culture, organic waste

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1062 Proactive Change or Adaptive Response: A Study on the Impact of Digital Transformation Strategy Modes on Enterprise Profitability From a Configuration Perspective

Authors: Jing-Ma

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Digital transformation (DT) is an important way for manufacturing enterprises to shape new competitive advantages, and how to choose an effective DT strategy is crucial for enterprise growth and sustainable development. Rooted in strategic change theory, this paper incorporates the dimensions of managers' digital cognition, organizational conditions, and external environment into the same strategic analysis framework and integrates the dynamic QCA method and PSM method to study the antecedent grouping of the DT strategy mode of manufacturing enterprises and its impact on corporate profitability based on the data of listed manufacturing companies in China from 2015 to 2019. We find that the synergistic linkage of different dimensional elements can form six equivalent paths of high-level DT, which can be summarized as the proactive change mode of resource-capability dominated as well as adaptive response mode such as industry-guided resource replenishment. Capacity building under complex environments, market-industry synergy-driven, forced adaptation under peer pressure, and the managers' digital cognition play a non-essential but crucial role in this process. Except for individual differences in the market industry collaborative driving mode, other modes are more stable in terms of individual and temporal changes. However, it is worth noting that not all paths that result in high levels of DT can contribute to enterprise profitability, but only high levels of DT that result from matching the optimization of internal conditions with the external environment, such as industry technology and macro policies, can have a significant positive impact on corporate profitability.

Keywords: digital transformation, strategy mode, enterprise profitability, dynamic QCA, PSM approach

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1061 Day Ahead and Intraday Electricity Demand Forecasting in Himachal Region using Machine Learning

Authors: Milan Joshi, Harsh Agrawal, Pallaw Mishra, Sanand Sule

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Predicting electricity usage is a crucial aspect of organizing and controlling sustainable energy systems. The task of forecasting electricity load is intricate and requires a lot of effort due to the combined impact of social, economic, technical, environmental, and cultural factors on power consumption in communities. As a result, it is important to create strong models that can handle the significant non-linear and complex nature of the task. The objective of this study is to create and compare three machine learning techniques for predicting electricity load for both the day ahead and intraday, taking into account various factors such as meteorological data and social events including holidays and festivals. The proposed methods include a LightGBM, FBProphet, combination of FBProphet and LightGBM for day ahead and Motifs( Stumpy) based on Mueens algorithm for similarity search for intraday. We utilize these techniques to predict electricity usage during normal days and social events in the Himachal Region. We then assess their performance by measuring the MSE, RMSE, and MAPE values. The outcomes demonstrate that the combination of FBProphet and LightGBM method is the most accurate for day ahead and Motifs for intraday forecasting of electricity usage, surpassing other models in terms of MAPE, RMSE, and MSE. Moreover, the FBProphet - LightGBM approach proves to be highly effective in forecasting electricity load during social events, exhibiting precise day ahead predictions. In summary, our proposed electricity forecasting techniques display excellent performance in predicting electricity usage during normal days and special events in the Himachal Region.

Keywords: feature engineering, FBProphet, LightGBM, MASS, Motifs, MAPE

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1060 Early Childhood Developmental Delay in 63 Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Prevalence and Inequalities Estimated from National Health Surveys

Authors: Jesus D. Cortes Gil, Fernanda Ewerling, Leonardo Ferreira, Aluisio J. D. Barros

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Background: The sustainable development goals call for inclusive, equitable, and quality learning opportunities for all. This is especially important for children, to ensure they all develop to their full potential. We studied the prevalence and inequalities of suspected delay in child development in 63 low- and middle-income countries. Methods and Findings: We used the early child development module from national health surveys, which covers four developmental domains (physical, social-emotional, learning, literacy-numeracy) and provides a combined indicator (early child development index, ECDI) of whether children are on track. We calculated the age-adjusted prevalence of suspected delay at the country level and stratifying by wealth, urban/rural residence, sex of the child, and maternal education. We also calculated measures of absolute and relative inequality. We studied 330.613 children from 63 countries. The prevalence of suspected delay for the ECDI ranged from 3% in Barbados to 67% in Chad. For all countries together, 25% of the children were suspected of developmental delay. At regional level, the prevalence of delay ranged from 10% in Europe and Central Asia to 42% in West and Central Africa. The literacy-numeracy domain was by far the most challenging, with the highest proportions of delay. We observed very large inequalities, and most markedly for the literacy-numeracy domain. Conclusions: To date, our study presents the most comprehensive analysis of child development using an instrument especially developed for national health surveys. With a quarter of the children globally suspected of developmental delay, we face an immense challenge. The multifactorial aspect of early child development and the large gaps we found only add to the challenge of not leaving these children behind.

Keywords: child development, inequalities, global health, equity

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1059 A Comparative Study on Primary Productivity in Fish Cage Culture Unit and Fish Pond in Relation to Different Level of Water Depth

Authors: Pawan Kumar Sharma, J. Stephan Sampath Kumar, D. Manikandavelu, V. Senthil Kumar

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The total amount of productivity in the system is the gross primary productivity. The present study was carried out to understand the relationship between productivity in the cages and water depth. The experiment was conducted in the fish cages installed in the pond at the Directorate of Sustainable Aquaculture, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Tamil Nadu (10° 47' 13.1964'' N; 79° 8' 16.1700''E). Primary productivity was estimated by light and dark bottle method. The measurement of primary productivity was done at different depths viz., 20 cm, 40 cm, and 60 cm. Six Biological Oxygen Demand bottles of 300 ml capacity were collected and tagged. The productivity was obtained in mg O2/l/hr. The maximum dissolved oxygen level at 20 cm depth was observed 5.62 ± 0.22 mg/l/hr in the light bottle in pond water while the minimum dissolved oxygen level at 20 cm depth in a cage was observed 3.62 ± 0.18 mg/l/hr in dark bottle. In the same way, the maximum and minimum value of dissolved oxygen was observed at 40, and 60 cm depth and results were compared. A slight change in pH was observed in the cage and pond. The maximum gross primary productivity observed was 1.97 mg/l/hr in pond at 20 cm depth while minimum gross primary productivity observed was 0.82±0.16 mg/l/hr in a cage at 60 cm depth. The community respiration was also variable with the depth in both cage and pond. Maximum community respiration was found 1.50±0.19 mg/l/hr in pond at 20 cm depth. A strong positive linear relationship was observed between primary productivity and fish yields in ponds. The pond primary productivity can contribute substantially to the nutrition of farm-raised aquaculture species, including shrimp. The growth of phytoplankton’s is dependent on the sun light, availability of primary nutrients (N, P, and K) in the water body and transparency, so to increase the primary productivity fertilization through organic manure may be done that will clean to the pond environment also.

Keywords: cage aquaculture, water depth, net primary productivity, gross primary productivity, community respiration

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1058 Purpose in Procurement: Much Discussed, Less Conceptualized – An Exploratory Study of CPO Perceptions Based on the Gioia Methodology

Authors: Laurin Zemmrich, Nicolai Stickler

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With the ongoing debate over how to incorporate sustainability, resilience, and value creation into business strategies, many procurement departments are put under pressure by governments, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to disclose more information about their supply chains. According to practitioners and experts, procurement benefits the supply chain by increasing transparency and accountability, recruiting new suppliers, and supporting sustainable and ethical sourcing strategies. While most procurement departments establish these objectives, the bulk of activities are not carried out or are not regularly monitored. With the full potential of targeted sourcing still to be realized, procurement executives, in particular, are seeking for short-term cost-cutting impacts to appease external shareholders. We overcome this limitation by using an abductive approach to research and integrating empirical data from a Gioia methodology study design with relevant literature. Our analysis demonstrates that the procurement department has six essential levers aligned with sustainability, resilience, and value creation objectives and contributes to developing a new intra- and interorganizational purpose within the supply chain. Three enablers are identified as having a value-creating effect on supply chain interactions. Additionally, we discovered two impacts that alter the power balance between buyers and suppliers during transactions and have a cost-cutting or cost-avoiding effect. While cost-cutting, cost-avoidance, and dependency-reduction impacts are desirable, redistributing power may also have negative consequences. The article establishes a first strategy framework for evaluating the influence of the procurement department on supply chain transactions, allowing managers to understand better and apply the sourcing function inside a supply chain and embed it throughout the business.

Keywords: supply chain management, resilience, sustainability, value creation, purpose

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1057 Rethinking Urban Floodplain Management: The Case of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Authors: Malani Herath, Sohan Wijesekera, Jagath Munasingha

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The impact of recent floods become significant, and the extraordinary flood events cause considerable damage to lives, properties, environment and negatively affect the whole development of Colombo urban region. Even though the Colombo urban region experiences recurrent flood impacts, several spatial planning interventions have been taken from time to time since early 20th century. All past plans have adopted a traditional approach to flood management, using infrastructural measures to reduce the chance of flooding together with rigid planning regulations. The existing flood risk management practices do not operate to be acceptable by the local community particular the urban poor. Researchers have constantly reported the differences in estimations of flood risk, priorities, concerns of experts and the local community. Risk-based decision making in flood management is not only a matter of technical facts; it has a significant bearing on how flood risk is viewed by local community and individuals. Moreover, sustainable flood management is an integrated approach, which highlights joint actions of experts and community. This indicates the necessity of further societal discussion on the acceptable level of flood risk indicators to prioritize and identify the appropriate flood management measures in Colombo. The understanding and evaluation of flood risk by local people are important to integrate in the decision-making process. This research questioned about the gap between the acceptable level of flood risk to spatial planners and to the local communities in Colombo. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to prepare a framework to analyze the public perception in Colombo. This research work identifies the factors that affect the variation of flood risk and acceptable levels to both local community and planning authorities.

Keywords: Colombo basin, public perception, urban flood risk, multi-criteria analysis

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1056 Total Life Cycle Cost and Life Cycle Assessment of Mass Timber Buildings in the US

Authors: Hongmei Gu, Shaobo Liang, Richard Bergman

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With current worldwide trend in designs to have net-zero emission buildings to mitigate climate change, widespread use of mass timber products, such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), or Nail Laminated Timber (NLT) or Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) in buildings have been proposed as one approach in reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Consequentially, mass timber building designs are being adopted more and more by architectures in North America, especially for mid- to high-rise buildings where concrete and steel buildings are currently prevalent, but traditional light-frame wood buildings are not. Wood buildings and their associated wood products have tended to have lower environmental impacts than competing energy-intensive materials. It is common practice to conduct life cycle assessments (LCAs) and life cycle cost analyses on buildings with traditional structural materials like concrete and steel in the building design process. Mass timber buildings with lower environmental impacts, especially GHG emissions, can contribute to the Net Zero-emission goal for the world-building sector. However, the economic impacts from CLT mass timber buildings still vary from the life-cycle cost perspective and environmental trade-offs associated with GHG emissions. This paper quantified the Total Life Cycle Cost and cradle-to-grave GHG emissions of a pre-designed CLT mass timber building and compared it to a functionally-equivalent concrete building. The Total life cycle Eco-cost-efficiency is defined in this study and calculated to discuss the trade-offs for the net-zero emission buildings in a holistic view for both environmental and economic impacts. Mass timber used in buildings for the United States is targeted to the materials from the nation’s sustainable managed forest in order to benefit both national and global environments and economies.

Keywords: GHG, economic impact, eco-cost-efficiency, total life-cycle costs

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1055 Biogas from Cover Crops and Field Residues: Effects on Soil, Water, Climate and Ecological Footprint

Authors: Manfred Szerencsits, Christine Weinberger, Maximilian Kuderna, Franz Feichtinger, Eva Erhart, Stephan Maier

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Cover or catch crops have beneficial effects for soil, water, erosion, etc. If harvested, they also provide feedstock for biogas without competition for arable land in regions, where only one main crop can be produced per year. On average gross energy yields of approx. 1300 m³ methane (CH4) ha-1 can be expected from 4.5 tonnes (t) of cover crop dry matter (DM) in Austria. Considering the total energy invested from cultivation to compression for biofuel use a net energy yield of about 1000 m³ CH4 ha-1 is remaining. With the straw of grain maize or Corn Cob Mix (CCM) similar energy yields can be achieved. In comparison to catch crops remaining on the field as green manure or to complete fallow between main crops the effects on soil, water and climate can be improved if cover crops are harvested without soil compaction and digestate is returned to the field in an amount equivalent to cover crop removal. In this way, the risk of nitrate leaching can be reduced approx. by 25% in comparison to full fallow. The risk of nitrous oxide emissions may be reduced up to 50% by contrast with cover crops serving as green manure. The effects on humus content and erosion are similar or better than those of cover crops used as green manure when the same amount of biomass was produced. With higher biomass production the positive effects increase even if cover crops are harvested and the only digestate is brought back to the fields. The ecological footprint of arable farming can be reduced by approx. 50% considering the substitution of natural gas with CH4 produced from cover crops.

Keywords: biogas, cover crops, catch crops, land use competition, sustainable agriculture

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1054 Introduction of Mass Rapid Transit System and Its Impact on Para-Transit

Authors: Khalil Ahmad Kakar

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In developing countries increasing the automobile and low capacity public transport (para-transit) which are creating congestion, pollution, noise, and traffic accident are the most critical quandary. These issues are under the analysis of assessors to break down the puzzle and propose sustainable urban public transport system. Kabul city is one of those urban areas that the inhabitants are suffering from lack of tolerable and friendly public transport system. The city is the most-populous and overcrowded with around 4.5 million population. The para-transit is the only dominant public transit system with a very poor level of services and low capacity vehicles (6-20 passengers). Therefore, this study after detailed investigations suggests bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Kabul City. It is aimed to mitigate the role of informal transport and decreases congestion. The research covers three parts. In the first part, aggregated travel demand modelling (four-step) is applied to determine the number of users for para-transit and assesses BRT network based on higher passenger demand for public transport mode. In the second part, state preference (SP) survey and binary logit model are exerted to figure out the utility of existing para-transit mode and planned BRT system. Finally, the impact of predicted BRT system on para-transit is evaluated. The extracted outcome based on high travel demand suggests 10 km network for the proposed BRT system, which is originated from the district tenth and it is ended at Kabul International Airport. As well as, the result from the disaggregate travel mode-choice model, based on SP and logit model indicates that the predicted mass rapid transit system has higher utility with the significant impact regarding the reduction of para-transit.

Keywords: BRT, para-transit, travel demand modelling, Kabul City, logit model

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1053 Numerical Analysis of Solar Cooling System

Authors: Nadia Allouache, Mohamed Belmedani

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Energy source is a sustainable, totally inexhaustible and environmentally friendly alternative to the fossil fuels available. It is a renewable and economical energy that can be harnessed sustainably over the long term and thus stabilizes energy costs. Solar cooling technologies have been developed to decrease the augmentation electricity consumption for air conditioning and to displace the peak load during hot summer days. A numerical analysis of thermal and solar performances of an annular finned adsorber, which is the most important component of the adsorption solar refrigerating system, is considered in this work. Different adsorbent/adsorbate pairs, such as activated carbon AC35/methanol, activated carbon AC35/ethanol, and activated carbon BPL/Ammoniac, are undertaken in this study. The modeling of the adsorption cooling machine requires the resolution of the equation describing the energy and mass transfer in the tubular finned adsorber. The Wilson and Dubinin- Astakhov models of the solid-adsorbate equilibrium are used to calculate the adsorbed quantity. The porous medium and the fins are contained in the annular space, and the adsorber is heated by solar energy. Effects of key parameters on the adsorbed quantity and on the thermal and solar performances are analysed and discussed. The AC35/methanol pair is the best pair compared to BPL/Ammoniac and AC35/ethanol pairs in terms of system performance. The system performances are sensitive to the fin geometry. For the considered data measured for clear type days of July 2023 in Algeria and Morocco, the performances of the cooling system are very significant in Algeria.

Keywords: activated carbon AC35-methanol pair, activated carbon AC35-ethanol pair, activated carbon BPL-ammoniac pair, annular finned adsorber, performance coefficients, numerical analysis, solar cooling system

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1052 Studies on Climatic and Soil Site Suitability of Major Grapes-Growing Soils of Eastern and Southern Dry Zones of Karnataka

Authors: Harsha B. R., Anil Kumar K. S.

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Climate and soils are the two most dynamic entities among the factors affecting growth and grapes productivity. Studying of prevailing climate over the years in a region provides sufficient information related to management practices to be carried out in vineyards. Evaluating the suitability of vineyard soils under different climatic conditions serves as the yardstick to analyse the performance of grapevines. This study was formulated to study the climate and evaluate the site-suitability of soils in vineyards of southern Karnataka, which has registered its superiority in the quality production of wine. Ten soil profiles were excavated for suitability evaluation of soils, and six taluks were studied for climatic analysis. In almost all the regions studied, recharge starts at the end of the May or June months, peaking in either September or October months. Soil Starts drying from mid of December months in the taluks studied. Bangalore North (Rajanukunte) soils were highly suited for grapes cultivation with no or slight limitations. Bangalore North (GKVK Farm) was moderately suited with slight to moderate limitations of slope and available nitrogen content. Moderate suitability was observed in the rest of the profiles studied in Eastern dry zone soils with the slight to moderate limitations of either organic carbon or available nitrogen or both in the Eastern dry zone. Magadi (Southern dry zone) soils were moderately suitable with slight to moderate limitations of graveliness, available nitrogen, organic carbon, and exchangeable sodium percentage. Sustainable performance of vineyards in terms of yield can be achieved in these taluks by managing the constraints existing in soils.

Keywords: climatic analysis, dry zone, water recharge, growing period, suitability, sustainability

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1051 Tree Dress and the Internet of Living Things

Authors: Vibeke Sorensen, Nagaraju Thummanapalli, J. Stephen Lansing

Abstract:

Inspired by the indigenous people of Borneo, Indonesia and their traditional bark cloth, artist and professor Vibeke Sorensen executed a “digital unwrapping” of several trees in Southeast Asia using a digital panorama camera and digitally “stitched” them together for printing onto sustainable silk and fashioning into the “Tree Dress”. This dress is a symbolic “un-wrapping” and “re-wrapping” of the tree’s bark onto a person as a second skin. The “digital bark” is directly responsive to the real tree through embedded and networked electronics that connect in real-time to sensors at the physical site of the living tree. LEDs and circuits inserted into the dress display the continuous measurement of the O2 / CO2, temperature, humidity, and light conditions at the tree. It is an “Internet of Living Things” (IOLT) textile that can be worn to track and interact with it. The computer system connecting the dress and the tree converts the gas emission data at the site of the real tree into sound and music as sonification. This communicates not only the scientific data but also translates it into a poetic representation. The wearer of the garment can symbolically identify with the tree, or “become one” with it by adorning its “skin.” In this way, the wearer also becomes a human agent for the tree, bringing its actual condition to direct perception of the wearer and others who may engage it. This project is an attempt to bring greater awareness to issues of deforestation by providing a direct access to living things separated by physical distance, and hopefully, to increase empathy for them by providing a way to sense individual trees and their daily existential condition through remote monitoring of data. Further extensions to this project and related issues of sustainability include the use of recycled and alternative plant materials such as bamboo and air plants, among others.

Keywords: IOLT, sonification, sustainability, tree, wearable technology

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1050 Mitigation of Profitable Problems: Level of Hotel Quality Management Program and Environmental Management Practices Towards Performance

Authors: Siti Anis Nadia Abu Bakar, Vani Tanggamani

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Over recent years, the quality and environmental management practices are the necessary tasks in hospitality industry in order to provide high quality services, a comfortable and safe environment for occupants as well as innovative nature and shareholders' satisfaction, its environmental and social added value sustainable. Numerous studies have observed and measured quality management program (QMProg) and environmental management practices (EMPrac) independently. This paper analyzed the level of QMProg, and EMPrac in hospitality industry, particularly on hotel performance, specifically in the context of Malaysia as hotel industry in Malaysia has contributed tremendously to the development in the Malaysia tourism industry.The research objectives are; (1) to analyze how the level of QMProg influences on firm performance; (2) to investigate the level of EMPrac and its influence on firm performance. This paper contributes to the literature by providing added-value to the service industry strategic decision-making processes by helping to predict the varying impacts of positive and negative corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on financial performance in their respective industries. Further, this paper also contributes to develop more applicable CSR strategies. As a matter of fact, the findings of this paper has contributed towards an integrated management system that will assist a firm in implementation of their environmental strategy by creating a higher level of accountability for environmental performance. The best results in environmental systems have instigated managers to explore more options when dealing with problems, especially problems involving the reputation of their hotel. In conclusion, the results of the study infer that the best CSR strategies of the quality and environmental management practices influences hotel performance.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental management practices (EMPrac), performance (PERF), quality management program (QMProg)

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1049 Constitutional Transition and Criminal Justice: Proposals for Reform of Kenya’s Youth Justice System Based on Restorative Justice Principles

Authors: M. Wangai

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Following the promulgation of a new Constitution of Kenya in 2010, wide-ranging proposals for reform of the criminal justice system have been made. Proposed measures include a clear and separate system of dealing with juvenile offenders with a greater focus on rehabilitation and reintegration. As part of a broader constitutional transition, this article considers the contribution of restorative justice to reforming the youth justice system. The paper analyses Kenya’s juvenile justice legal framework measured against current international trends in youth justice. It identifies the first post-independence juvenile justice system as a remnant of the colonial period and notes that the post-2001 system is a marked improvement. More recent legal and institutional efforts to incorporate restorative justice are also examined. The paper advocates further development of the juvenile justice system by mainstreaming of restorative justice principles through national level legislative amendments. International and comparative perspectives are used to inform a diversion centered model of restorative justice. In addition, a case is made for the use of existing forms of alternative dispute resolution. Conscious of a tense political climate, the paper also proposes strategies to address challenges posed by a punitive penal environment, chiefly the linking of restorative justice to wider democratic goals and community spirit. The article concludes that restorative justice led juvenile justice reform will contribute to better treatment of young offenders under the criminal justice system and has the potential to set a new precedent for fair, sustainable and effective justice. Further, as part of far-reaching criminal justice reform, the proposed efforts may strengthen democratic progress in Kenya’s ensuing phase of political transition.

Keywords: constitutional transition, criminal justice, restorative justice, young offenders

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1048 Evaluating the Water Balance of Sokoto Basement Complex to Address Water Security Challenges

Authors: Murtala Gada Abubakar, Aliyu T. Umar

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A substantial part of Nigeria is part of semi-arid areas of the world, underlain by basement complex (hard) rocks which are very poor in both transmission and storage of appreciable quantity of water. Recently, a growing attention is being paid on the need to develop water resources in these areas largely due to concerns about increasing droughts and the need to maintain water security challenges. While there is ample body of knowledge that captures the hydrological behaviours of the sedimentary part, reported research which unambiguously illustrates water distribution in the basement complex of the Sokoto basin remains sparse. Considering the growing need to meet the water requirements of those living in this region necessitated the call for accurate water balance estimations that can inform a sustainable planning and development to address water security challenges for the area. To meet this task, a one-dimensional soil water balance model was developed and utilised to assess the state of water distribution within the Sokoto basin basement complex using measured meteorological variables and information about different landscapes within the complex. The model simulated the soil water storage and rates of input and output of water in response to climate and irrigation where applicable using data from 2001 to 2010 inclusive. The results revealed areas within the Sokoto basin basement complex that are rich and deficient in groundwater resource. The high potential areas identified includes the fadama, the fractured rocks and the cultivated lands, while the low potential areas are the sealed surfaces and non-fractured rocks. This study concludes that the modelling approach is a useful tool for assessing the hydrological behaviour and for better understanding the water resource availability within a basement complex.

Keywords: basement complex, hydrological processes, Sokoto Basin, water security

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1047 Design of Sustainable Concrete Pavement by Incorporating RAP Aggregates

Authors: Selvam M., Vadthya Poornachandar, Surender Singh

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These Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) aggregates are generally dumped in the open area after the demolition of Asphalt Pavements. The utilization of RAP aggregates in cement concrete pavements may provide several socio-economic-environmental benefits and could embrace the circular economy. The cross recycling of RAP aggregates in the concrete pavement could reduce the consumption of virgin aggregates and saves the fertile land. However, the structural, as well as functional properties of RAP-concrete could be significantly lower than the conventional Pavement Quality Control (PQC) pavements. This warrants judicious selection of RAP fraction (coarse and fine aggregates) along with the accurate proportion of the same for PQC highways. Also, the selection of the RAP fraction and its proportion shall not be solely based on the mechanical properties of RAP-concrete specimens but also governed by the structural and functional behavior of the pavement system. In this study, an effort has been made to predict the optimum RAP fraction and its corresponding proportion for cement concrete pavements by considering the low-volume and high-volume roads. Initially, the effect of inclusions of RAP on the fresh and mechanical properties of concrete pavement mixes is mapped through an extensive literature survey. Almost all the studies available to date are considered for this study. Generally, Indian Roads Congress (IRC) methods are the most widely used design method in India for the analysis of concrete pavements, and the same has been considered for this study. Subsequently, fatigue damage analysis is performed to evaluate the required safe thickness of pavement slab for different fractions of RAP (coarse RAP). Consequently, the performance of RAP-concrete is predicted by employing the AASHTO-1993 model for the following distresses conditions: faulting, cracking, and smoothness. The performance prediction and total cost analysis of RAP aggregates depict that the optimum proportions of coarse RAP aggregates in the PQC mix are 35% and 50% for high volume and low volume roads, respectively.

Keywords: concrete pavement, RAP aggregate, performance prediction, pavement design

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1046 Quality Assurance for the Climate Data Store

Authors: Judith Klostermann, Miguel Segura, Wilma Jans, Dragana Bojovic, Isadora Christel Jimenez, Francisco Doblas-Reyees, Judit Snethlage

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The Climate Data Store (CDS), developed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Union, is intended to become a key instrument for exploring climate data. The CDS contains both raw and processed data to provide information to the users about the past, present and future climate of the earth. It allows for easy and free access to climate data and indicators, presenting an important asset for scientists and stakeholders on the path for achieving a more sustainable future. The C3S Evaluation and Quality Control (EQC) is assessing the quality of the CDS by undertaking a comprehensive user requirement assessment to measure the users’ satisfaction. Recommendations will be developed for the improvement and expansion of the CDS datasets and products. User requirements will be identified on the fitness of the datasets, the toolbox, and the overall CDS service. The EQC function of the CDS will help C3S to make the service more robust: integrated by validated data that follows high-quality standards while being user-friendly. This function will be closely developed with the users of the service. Through their feedback, suggestions, and contributions, the CDS can become more accessible and meet the requirements for a diverse range of users. Stakeholders and their active engagement are thus an important aspect of CDS development. This will be achieved with direct interactions with users such as meetings, interviews or workshops as well as different feedback mechanisms like surveys or helpdesk services at the CDS. The results provided by the users will be categorized as a function of CDS products so that their specific interests will be monitored and linked to the right product. Through this procedure, we will identify the requirements and criteria for data and products in order to build the correspondent recommendations for the improvement and expansion of the CDS datasets and products.

Keywords: climate data store, Copernicus, quality, user engagement

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1045 Creep Behaviour of Asphalt Modified by Waste Polystyrene and Its Hybrids with Crumb Rubber and Low-Density Polyethylene

Authors: Soheil Heydari, Ailar Hajimohammadi, Nasser Khalili

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Polystyrene, being made from a monomer called styrene, is a rigid and easy-to mould polymer that is widely used for many applications, from foam packaging to disposable containers. Considering that the degradation of waste polystyrene takes up to 500 years, there is an urgent need for a sustainable application for waste polystyrene. This study evaluates the application of waste polystyrene as an asphalt modifier. The inclusion of waste plastics in asphalt is either practised by the dry process or the wet process. In the dry process, plastics are added straight into the asphalt mixture and in the wet process, they are mixed and digested into bitumen. In this article, polystyrene was used as an asphalt modifier in a dry process. However, the mixing process is precisely designed to make sure that the polymer is melted and modified in the binder. It was expected that, due to the rigidity of polystyrene, it will have positive effects on the permanent deformation of the asphalt mixture. Therefore, different mixtures were manufactured with different contents of polystyrene and Marshall specimens were manufactured, and dynamic creep tests were conducted to evaluate the permanent deformation of the modification. This is a commonly repeated loading test conducted at different stress levels and temperatures. Loading cycles are applied to the AC specimen until failure occurs; with the amount of deformation constantly recorded the cumulative, permanent strain is determined and reported as a function of the number of cycles. Also, to our best knowledge, hybrid mixes of polystyrene with crumb rubber and low-density polyethylene were made and compared with a polystyrene-modified mixture. The test results of this study showed that the hybrid mix of polystyrene and low-density polyethylene has the highest resistance against permanent deformation. However, the polystyrene-modified mixture outperformed the hybrid mix of polystyrene and crumb rubber, and both demonstrated way lower permanent deformation than the unmodified specimen.

Keywords: permanent deformation, waste plastics, polystyrene, hybrid plastics, hybrid mix, hybrid modification, dry process

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1044 The Moral Geography of Entertainment Businesses: Boundary Work and Respectability Politics in Global City Singapore

Authors: Tiffany Chuang

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The study of inequality in urban space has typically emphasized class and race as dimensions of stratification, but a small and growing body of work also pays attention to exclusionary processes based on moral grounds, as is the case with mainstream disapproval of sexually oriented businesses and red-light districts. However, many sexually-oriented businesses co-exist with similar non-sexually oriented businesses in the tourism and broader entertainment industries. Furthermore, regulators and tourism- and entertainment industries are acknowledged by regulators and ordinary citizens as important contributors to the economy, and in the case of aspiring global cities, to urban prestige. Under such circumstances, it is important to examine how policymakers, residents, and other stakeholders distinguish between sexually oriented and non-sexually oriented businesses, as well as how such efforts shape moral geographies in urban settings. To address this question, this paper introduces the concept of permeable industries to describe businesses that, by their very nature of providing adult entertainment along with a measure of privacy and discretion, facilitate easy interchange between their officially sanctioned purposes and illicit or stigmatised uses, most notably by the sex industry. The permeability and ambiguity surrounding the sexual- and non-sexual activities in such establishments is in fact, a source of tension that generates energetic boundary-drawing exercises that designate legitimate from illegitimate establishments. This paper draws on three years of ethnographic fieldwork, qualitative research, and archival research (1920—2020) on Joo Chiat, a neighborhood in the city-state of Singapore. It then analyzes how middle-class residents reacted to the sudden influx of sexually oriented businesses in the early 2000s, turning the once-quiet residential and commercial neighborhood into a semi-red-light district staffed by migrant Asian women. Ironically, the red-light district had been inadvertently precipitated by the state’s neoliberal policies in the 1990s to cultivate suburban neighborhoods as decentralized tourist attractions while loosening social regulations in pursuit of global city ambitions. Residents mobilized around the discourse of “sleaze”, using it to draw symbolic boundaries while advocating for regulatory boundaries between sexually oriented and non-sexually oriented businesses in the neighborhood. Since the concept of “sleaze” was informed by middle-class distaste for low-status sex work, the result of residents’ efforts was a state-endorsed moral geography that excluded sexually-oriented businesses while tolerating adult-oriented entertainment businesses that dovetailed with global city aspirations. This study contributes to the study of urban inequality by demonstrating the importance of boundary work in reproducing respectability politics, which in turn shapes the urban geographies of moral worth.

Keywords: moral geography, boundary work, respectability politics, entertainment businesses

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1043 Popular Modern Devotional Prints: The Construction of Identity between the Visual and Viewer in Public Interaction Spaces

Authors: Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Ali, Farwah Batool

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Despite the general belief in Islam that figural representations should be avoided, particularly propagated by the Deobandis, a religious group influenced by Salafi and Wahhabi ideas, nevertheless the public interaction spaces such as Shops and offices are decorated with popular, mass-produced, modern devotional prints. This study seeks to focus on popular visual culture, its display in public interaction places such as shops and discusses how people establish relationships with images. The method adopted was basically ethnographic: to describe as precisely and completely as possible the phenomena to be studied, using the language and conceptual categories of the interlocutors themselves. This study has been enriched by ethnographic field research conducted during the months from October to December 2015 in the major cities of Punjab and their brief forays and surroundings where we explored how seeing upon images performs religious identity within the public space. The study examines the pattern of aesthetics and taste in the shops of especially common people whose sensibilities have not been refined or influenced by being exposed to any narrative or fine arts. Furthermore, it is our intention to question the general beliefs and opinions in the context of popular practices, the way in which people relate to these prints. The interpretations and analyses presented in this study illuminate how people create meaning through the display of such items of material culture in the immediate settings of their spaces. This study also seeks to demonstrate how popular Islam is practiced, transformed and understood through the display of popular representations of popular figures of piety like Sufi saints or their shrines are important to many believers and thus occupy important places in their shops. The findings are supported with empirical evidence and based on interviews with the shopkeepers, owners and office employees. Looking upon those popular modern devotional prints keeps people’s reverence of the personages alive. Because of their sacred themes they affect a relationship between the saint and the beholders as well as serve to symbolize and reinforce their belief since they become powerful loci of emotional attachment. Collectively such devotional prints satisfy a local taste to help people establish contact with God through the saints’ intercession in order to receive protection and benediction, and help in spiritual, mental and material problems. By putting all these facets of belief together we gain an insight into both the subjective and cognizant role that icons’ of saints play in the lives of believers. Their veneration through ingeniously contrived modern means of production makes a significant contribution to an understanding of how such imagery promotes a powerful belief in Sufi saints, which ultimately gives indications of how popular Islam is practiced and understood at its gross roots level.

Keywords: ethnographic field research, popular visual culture, protected space, religious identity

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1042 Nectariferous Plant Genetic Resources for Apicultural Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: Prerequisite for Conservation, Sustainable Management and Policy

Authors: C. V. Nnamani, O. L. Adedeji

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The contemporary global economic meltdown has devastating effect on the Nigerian’s economy and its frantic search for alternative source of national revenue aside from oil and gas has become imperative for economic emancipation for Nigerians. Apicultural entrepreneurship could provide a source of livelihood if the basic knowledge of those plant genetic resources needed by bees is made available. A palynological evaluation of those palynotaxa which honey bees forage for pollen and nectar was carried out after standard acetolysis method. Results showed that the honey samples were highly diversified and rich in honey plants. A total of 9544.3 honey pollen, consisting of 39 honey plants belonging to 21 plant families and distributed within 38 genera were identified excluding 238 unidentified pollen grains. Data from the analysis equally revealed that Elaeis guineensis Jacq, Anacardium occidentale L, Diospyros mespiliformis Hochist xe ADC, Alchornea cordifolia Muell, Arg, Daniella oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch & Dalz, Irvingia wombolu Okafor ex Baill, Treculia africana Decne, Nauclea latifolia Smith and Crossopteryx febrifuga Afzil ex Benth were the predominant honey plants. It provided a guide to the optimal utilization of floral resources by honeybees in these regions, showing the opportunity and amazing potentials for apiculture entrepreneurship of these palytaxa. Most of these plants are rare, threatened and endangered. It calls for urgent conservation techniques and step by all players. Critical awareness creation to ensure farmers knowledge of these palynotaxa to ensure proper understanding and attendance boost from them as economic empowerment is needed.

Keywords: palynotaxa, acetolysis, enterprise, livelihood, Nigeria

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