Search results for: pollution havens hypothesis

Authors: Rewati Raman, Uttam K. Roy

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One of the main adversaries of city planning in present times is the ever-expanding problem of urbanization and the antagonistic issues accompanying it. The prevalent challenges in urbanization such as population growth, urban sprawl, poverty, inequality, pollution, congestion, etc. call for reforms in the urban fabric as well as in planning theory and practice. One of the various paradigms of city planning, land use planning, has been the major instruments for spatial planning of cities and regions in India. Zoning regulation based land use planning in the form of land use and development control plans (LUDCP) and development control regulations (DCR) have been considered mainstream guiding principles in land use planning for decades. In spite of many advantages of such zoning based regulations, over a period of time, it has been critiqued by scholars for its own limitations of isolation and lack of vitality, inconvenience in business in terms of proximity to residence and low operating cost, unsuitable environment for small investments, higher travel distance for facilities, amenities and thereby higher expenditure, safety issues etc. Mixed land use has been advocated as a tool to avoid such limitations in city planning by researchers. In addition, mixed land use can offer many advantages like housing variety and density, the creation of an economic blend of compatible land use, compact development, stronger neighborhood character, walkability, and generation of jobs, etc. Alternatively, the mixed land use beyond a suitable balance of use can also bring disadvantages like traffic congestion, encroachments, very high-density housing leading to a slum like condition, parking spill out, non-residential uses operating on residential premises paying less tax, chaos hampering residential privacy, pressure on existing infrastructure facilities, etc. This research aims at studying and outlining the various challenges and potentials of mixed land use zoning, through modeling tools, as a competent instrument for city planning in lieu of the present urban scenario. The methodology of research adopted in this paper involves the study of a mixed land use neighborhood in India, identification of indicators and parameters related to its extent and spatial pattern and the subsequent use of system dynamics as a modeling tool for simulation. The findings from this analysis helped in identifying the various advantages and challenges associated with the dynamic nature of a mixed use urban settlement. The results also confirmed the hypothesis that mixed use neighborhoods are catalysts for employment generation, socioeconomic gains while improving vibrancy, health, safety, and security. It is also seen that certain challenges related to chaos, lack of privacy and pollution prevail in mixed use neighborhoods, which can be mitigated by varying the percentage of mixing as per need, ensuring compatibility of adjoining use, institutional interventions in the form of policies, neighborhood micro-climatic interventions, etc. Therefore this paper gives a consolidated and holistic framework and quantified outcome pertaining to the extent and spatial pattern of mixed land use that should be adopted to ensure sustainable urban planning.

Keywords: mixed land use, sustainable development, system dynamics analysis, urban dynamics modelling

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Authors: Hakim Aguedal, Abdelkader Iddou, Abdallah Aziz, Djillali Reda Merouani, Ferhat Bensaleh, Saleh Bensadek

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The textile industry produces high amount of colored effluent each year. The management or treatment of these discharges depends on the applied techniques. Adsorption is one of wastewater treatment techniques destined to treat this kind of pollution, and the performance and efficiency predominantly depend on the nature of the adsorbent used. Therefore, scientific research is directed towards the development of new materials using different physical and chemical treatments to improve their adsorption capacities. In the same perspective, we looked at the effect of the heat treatment on the effectiveness of diatomite, which is found in abundance in Algeria. The textile dye Orange Bezaktiv (SRL-150) which is used as organic pollutants in this study is provided by the textile company SOITEXHAM in Oran city (west Algeria). The effect of different physicochemical parameters on the adsorption of SRL-150 on natural and modified diatomite is studied, and the results of the kinetics and adsorption isotherms were modeled.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, diatomite, adsorption, dye pollution, kinetic, isotherm

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Authors: P. Parthiban, Sonu Rajak, N. Kannan, R. Dhanalakshmi

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This paper deals with the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) with environmental considerations which is called Pollution Routing Problem (PRP). The objective is to minimize the operational and environmental costs. It consists of routing a number of vehicles to serve a set of customers, and determining fuel consumption, driver wages and their speed on each route segment, while respecting the capacity constraints and time windows. In this context, we presented an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) approach, combined with a Speed Optimization Algorithm (SOA) to solve the PRP. The proposed solution method consists of two stages. Stage one is to solve a Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window (VRPTW) using ACO and in the second stage a SOA is run on the resulting VRPTW solutions. Given a vehicle route, the SOA consists of finding the optimal speed on each arc of the route in order to minimize an objective function comprising fuel consumption costs and driver wages. The proposed algorithm tested on benchmark problem, the preliminary results show that the proposed algorithm is able to provide good solutions.

Keywords: ant colony optimization, CO2 emissions, combinatorial optimization, speed optimization, vehicle routing

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Authors: Behnaz Moradijamei, Michael Higgins

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Identifying community structure is a critical task in analyzing social media data sets often modeled by networks. Statistical models such as the stochastic block model have proven to explain the structure of communities in real-world network data. In this work, we develop a goodness-of-fit test to examine community structure's existence by using a distinguishing property in networks: cyclic structures are more prevalent within communities than across them. To better understand how communities are shaped by the cyclic structure of the network rather than just the number of edges, we introduce a novel method for deciding on the existence of communities. We utilize these structures by using renewal non-backtracking random walk (RNBRW) to the existing goodness-of-fit test. RNBRW is an important variant of random walk in which the walk is prohibited from returning back to a node in exactly two steps and terminates and restarts once it completes a cycle. We investigate the use of RNBRW to improve the performance of existing goodness-of-fit tests for community detection algorithms based on the spectral properties of the adjacency matrix. Our proposed test on community structure is based on the probability distribution of eigenvalues of the normalized retracing probability matrix derived by RNBRW. We attempt to make the best use of asymptotic results on such a distribution when there is no community structure, i.e., asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis. Moreover, we provide a theoretical foundation for our statistic by obtaining the true mean and a tight lower bound for RNBRW edge weights variance.

Keywords: hypothesis testing, RNBRW, network inference, community structure

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Authors: Pascal U. Onu, Doris A. Ogbang, Emmanuel Okechukwu.

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Background: Plastics in their various forms have become ubiquitous in a very short space of time. This ubiquitous nature has plagued and daunted nations globally, overwhelming their ability to manage the environmental impact, especially its linkages to climate change. This has mobilized nations globally and triggered debates on the best approaches to ensure sustainability in terms of its production and utilization, as total elimination seems unrealistic. Objective: This study undertook to understand the pattern of plastic waste management, and its pollution awareness levels by the residents of the study area. Methods: Data were obtained through questionnaires designed specifically for plastic waste and qualitatively via journals and articles. Simple descriptive survey techniques with a survey population size of 300 respondents using kobo collect were employed. Results: Analysis based on disaggregated data indicated a proportionate distribution among male and female respondents (53% male and 47% female, respectively). Overall awareness levels on plastic waste's contribution to climate change, compared to its environmental impact, are reflective of a dire need for increased efforts in strengthening awareness creation, especially across gender populations and religious backgrounds. Drainage blockage topped the ranks among common problems caused by plastic waste within the area. Various plastic waste disposal methods were ranked, while pro-environmental measures for reducing the waste menace showed more willingness from males at 52%. Conclusion: These outcomes are instructive and suggest the need for renewed and increased awareness/education on the nexus of plastic pollution to climate change and also appropriate synergies/collaboration between government, private sector, and local communities, especially in the area of recycling to improve sustainability in plastic waste management.

Keywords: plastic waste, KAP, climate change, Nigeria

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Authors: Apoorva Bamal, Agnieszka Indiana Olbert

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Floods are known to be one of the most devastating hydro-climatic events, impacting a wide range of stakeholders in terms of environmental, social and economic losses. With difference in inundation durations and level of impact, flood hazards are of different degrees and strength. Amongst various set of domains being impacted by floods, environmental degradation in terms of water quality deterioration is one of the majorly effected but less highlighted domains across the world. The degraded water quality is caused by numerous natural and anthropogenic factors that are both point and non-point sources of pollution. Therefore, it is essential to understand the nature and source of the water pollution due to flooding. The major impact of floods is not only on the physico-chemical water quality parameters, but also on the biological elements leading to a vivid influence on the aquatic ecosystem. This deteriorated water quality is impacting many water categories viz. agriculture, drinking water, aquatic habitat, and miscellaneous services requiring an appropriate water quality to survive. This study identifies, reviews, evaluates and assesses multiple researches done across the world to determine the impact of floods on water quality. With a detailed statistical analysis of top relevant researches, this study is a synopsis of the methods used in assessment of impact of floods on water quality in different geographies, and identifying the gaps for further abridgement. As per majority of the studies, different flood magnitudes have varied impact on the water quality parameters leading to either increased or decreased values as compared to the recommended values for various categories. There is also an evident shift of the biological elements in the impacted waters leading to a change in its phenology and inhabitants of the specified water body. This physical, chemical and biological water quality degradation by floods is dependent upon its duration, extent, magnitude and flow direction. Therefore, this research provides an overview into the multiple impacts of floods on water quality, along with a roadmap of way forward to an efficient and uniform linkage of floods and impacted water quality dynamics.

Keywords: floods, statistical analysis, water pollution, water quality

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Authors: Anu Shrestha, Krassi Rumchev, Ben Mullins, Yun Zhao, Linda Selvey

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Cycling is often promoted as a means of reducing vehicular congestion, noise and greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions in urban areas. It is also indorsed as a healthy means of transportation in terms of reducing the risk of developing a range of physical and psychological conditions. However, people who cycle regularly may not be aware that they can become exposed to high levels of Vehicular Air Pollutants (VAP) emitted by nearby traffics and therefore experience adverse health effects as a result. The study will highlight the present scenario of ambient air pollution level in different cycling routes in Perth and also highlight significant contribution to the understanding of health risks that cyclist may face from exposure to particulate air pollution. Methodology: This research was conducted in Perth, Western Austral and consisted of two groups of cyclists cycling near high (2 routes) and low (two routes) vehicular traffic roads, at high and low levels of exertion, during the cold and warm seasons. A sample size of 123 regular cyclists who cycled at least 80 km/week, aged 20-55, and non-smoker were selected for this study. There were altogether 100 male and 23 female who were asked to choose one or more routes among four different routes, and each participant cycled the route for warm or cold or both seasons. Cyclist who reported cardiovascular and other chronic health conditions (excluding asthma) were not invited into the study. Exposures to selected air pollutants were assessed by undertaking background and personal measurements alone with the measurement of heart and breathe rate of each participant. Finding: According to the preliminary study findings, the cyclists who used cycling route close to high traffic route were exposed to higher levels of measured air pollutants Nitrogen Oxide (NO₂) =0.12 ppm, sulfur dioxide (SO₂)=0.06 ppm and carbon monoxide (CO)=0.25 PPM compared to those who cycled away from busy roads. However, we measured high concentrations of particulate air pollution near one of the low traffic route which we associate with the close proximity to ferry station. Concluding Statement: As a conclusion, we recommend that cycling routes should be selected away from high traffic routes. If possible, we should also consider that if the cycling route is surrounded by the dense populated infrastructures, it can trap the pollutants and always facilitate in increasing inhalation of particle count among the cyclists.

Keywords: air pollution, carbon monoxide, cyclists' health, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, respirable particulate matters

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Authors: Raluca-Ioana Antonescu

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The paper treats about the Korean public diplomacy and national branding strategies, and how the Korean language textbooks were used in order to construct the Korean national image. The field research of the paper stands at the intersection between Linguistics and Political Science, while the problem of the research is the role of language and culture in national branding process. The research goal is to contribute to the literature situated at the intersection between International Relations and Applied Linguistics, while the objective is to conceptualize the idea of national branding by emphasizing a dimension which is not much discussed, and that would be the education as an instrument of the national branding and public diplomacy strategies. In order to examine the importance of language upon the national branding strategies, the paper will answer one main question, How is the Korean language used in the construction of national branding?, and two secondary questions, How are explored in literature the relations between language and national branding construction? and What kind of image of South Korea the language textbooks for foreigners transmit? In order to answer the research questions, the paper starts from one main hypothesis, that the language is an essential component of the culture, which is used in the construction of the national branding influenced by traditional elements (like Confucianism) but also by modern elements (like Western influence), and from two secondary hypothesis, the first one is that in the International Relations literature there are little explored the connections between language and national branding, while the second hypothesis is that the South Korean image is constructed through the promotion of a traditional society, but also a modern one. In terms of methodology, the paper will analyze the textbooks used in Romania at the universities which provide Korean Language classes during the three years program B.A., following the dialogs, the descriptive texts and the additional text about the Korean culture. The analysis will focus on the rank status difference, the individual in relation to the collectivity, the respect for the harmony, and the image of the foreigner. The results of the research show that the South Korean image projected in the textbooks convey the Confucian values and it does not emphasize the changes suffered by the society due to the modernity and globalization. The Westernized aspect of the Korean society is conveyed more in an informative way about the Korean international companies, Korean internal development (like the transport or other services), but it does not show the cultural changed the society underwent. Even if the paper is using the textbooks which are used in Romania as a teaching material, it could be used and applied at least to other European countries, since the textbooks are the ones issued by the South Korean language schools, which other European countries are using also.

Keywords: confucianism, modernism, national branding, public diplomacy, traditionalism

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Authors: Kyere Vincent Nartey, Klaus Greve, Atiemo Sampson

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E-waste is discarded electrical electronic equipment inclusive of all components, sub-assemblies and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding and known to contain both hazardous and valuable fractions. E-waste is recycled within the proposed ecological restoration of the Agbogbloshie enclave using crude and rudimental recycling procedures such as open burning and manual dismantling which result in pollution and contamination of soil, water and air. Using GIS, this study was conducted to examine the spatial distribution and extent of soil contamination by heavy metals from the e-waste recycling site in Agbogbloshie. From the month of August to November 2013, 146 soil samples were collected in addition to their coordinates using GPS. Elemental analysis performed on the collected soil samples using X-Ray fluorescence revealed over 30 elements including, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb and Mn. Using geostatistical techniques in ArcGIS 10.1 spatial assessment and distribution maps were generated. Mathematical models or equations were used to estimate the degree of contamination and pollution index. Results from soil analysis from the Agbogbloshie enclave showed that levels of measured or observed elements were significantly higher than the Canadian EPA and Dutch environmental standards.

Keywords: e-waste, geostatistics, soil contamination, spatial distribution

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Authors: Vanessa Morgado, Ricardo Bettencourt da Silva, Carla Palma

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The environmental pollution by microplastics is well recognized. Microplastics were already detected in various matrices from distinct environmental compartments worldwide, some from remote areas. Various methodologies and techniques have been used to determine microplastic in such matrices, for instance, sediment samples from the ocean bottom. In order to determine microplastics in a sediment matrix, the sample is typically sieved through a 5 mm mesh, digested to remove the organic matter, and density separated to isolate microplastics from the denser part of the sediment. The physical analysis of microplastic consists of visual analysis under a stereomicroscope to determine particle size, colour, and shape. The chemical analysis is performed by an infrared spectrometer coupled to a microscope (micro-FTIR), allowing to the identification of the chemical composition of microplastic, i.e., the type of polymer. Creating legislation and policies to control and manage (micro)plastic pollution is essential to protect the environment, namely the coastal areas. The regulation is defined from the known relevance and trends of the pollution type. This work discusses the assessment of contamination trends of a 700 km² oceanic area affected by contamination heterogeneity, sampling representativeness, and the uncertainty of the analysis of collected samples. The methodology developed consists of objectively identifying meaningful variations of microplastic contamination by the Monte Carlo simulation of all uncertainty sources. This work allowed us to unequivocally conclude that the contamination level of the studied area did not vary significantly between two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and that PET microplastics are the major type of polymer. The comparison of contamination levels was performed for a 99% confidence level. The developed know-how is crucial for the objective and binding determination of microplastic contamination in relevant environmental compartments.

Keywords: measurement uncertainty, micro-ATR-FTIR, microplastics, ocean contamination, sampling uncertainty

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Authors: Chadia Nasri

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Researches in the field of foreign language learning have indicated the importance of the mastery of the four language skills; speaking, listening, writing and reading. As far as writing is concerned, recent studies have shown that this skill is unavoidable for learning a second language successfully. Writing is characterized as a complex system not easy to achieve. Writing has been proved to be affected by a variety of factors, particularly psychological ones; anxiety, intrinsic motivation, aptitude, etc. Intrinsic motivation is said to be the most influential factors in the foreign language learning process and is considered as the key factor for success. To investigate these two aspects; writing and intrinsic motivation, and the positive correlation between them, our hypothesis is designed on the basis that the degree of learners’ intrinsic motivation helps in facilitating their engagement in the writing tasks. Two questionnaires, one for teachers and the other for students, have been carried out to check the validity of the research hypothesis. As for the teachers’ questionnaire, the results have indicated their awareness of the importance of intrinsic motivation in the learning process and the role it plays in the mastery of their students’ writing skill. In addition, teachers have mentioned various procedures aiming at raising their students’ intrinsic motivation to write. The students’ questionnaire, on the other hand, has investigated students’ reasons for learning a foreign language with regard to their attitudes towards writing as an important skill that they need to master. Their answers to the questionnaire together with the marks they got in the second term test they have had in the writing module have been compared to see whether students’ writing proficiency can be determined by the degree of their intrinsic motivation. The comparison of the collected data has shown the positive correlation between both aspects.

Keywords: foreign language learning, intrinsic motivation, motivation, writing proficiency

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Authors: Massimo Ferrari, Maria Sole Pagliari

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Pollution is a classic example of economic externality: agents who produce it do not face direct costs from emissions. Therefore, there are no direct economic incentives for reducing pollution. One way to address this market failure would be directly taxing emissions. However, because emissions are global, governments might as well find it optimal to wait let foreign countries to tax emissions so that they can enjoy the benefits of lower pollution without facing its direct costs. In this paper, we first document the empirical relation between pollution and economic output with static and dynamic regression methods. We show that there is a negative relation between aggregate output and the stock of pollution (measured as the stock of CO₂ emissions). This relationship is also highly non-linear, increasing at an exponential rate. In the second part of the paper, we develop and estimate a two-country, two-sector model for the US and the euro area. With this model, we aim at analyzing how the public sector should respond to higher emissions and what are the direct costs that these policies might have. In the model, there are two types of firms, brown firms (which produce a polluting technology) and green firms. Brown firms also produce an externality, CO₂ emissions, which has detrimental effects on aggregate output. As brown firms do not face direct costs from polluting, they do not have incentives to reduce emissions. Notably, emissions in our model are global: the stock of CO₂ in the economy affects all countries, independently from where it is produced. This simplified economy captures the main trade-off between emissions and production, generating a classic market failure. According to our results, the current level of emission reduces output by between 0.4 and 0.75%. Notably, these estimates lay in the upper bound of the distribution of those delivered by studies in the early 2000s. To address market failure, governments should step in introducing taxes on emissions. With the tax, brown firms pay a cost for polluting hence facing the incentive to move to green technologies. Governments, however, might also adopt a beggar-thy-neighbour strategy. Reducing emissions is costly, as moves production away from the 'optimal' production mix of brown and green technology. Because emissions are global, a government could just wait for the other country to tackle climate change, ripping the benefits without facing any costs. We study how this strategic game unfolds and show three important results: first, cooperation is first-best optimal from a global prospective; second, countries face incentives to deviate from the cooperating equilibria; third, tariffs on imported brown goods (the only retaliation policy in case of deviation from the cooperation equilibrium) are ineffective because the exchange rate would move to compensate. We finally study monetary policy under when costs for climate change rise and show that the monetary authority should react stronger to deviations of inflation from its target.

Keywords: climate change, general equilibrium, optimal taxation, monetary policy

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Authors: Rasmila Kawan, Sanjay Juvekar, Sandeep Salvi, Gufran Beig, Rainer Sauerborn

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Background: Indoor air pollution especially from the use of biomass fuels, remains a potentially large global health threat. The inefficient use of such fuels in poorly ventilated conditions results in high levels of indoor air pollution, most seriously affecting women and young children. Objectives: The main aim of this study was to measure and compare the lung function of the women exposed in the biomass fuels and LPG fuels and relate it to the indoor emission measured using a structured questionnaire, spirometer and filter based low volume samplers respectively. Methodology: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among the women (aged > 18 years) living in rural villages of Pune district who were not diagnosed of chronic pulmonary diseases or any other respiratory diseases and using biomass fuels or LPG for cooking for a minimum period of 5 years or more. Data collection was done from April to June 2017 in dry season. Spirometer was performed using the portable, battery-operated ultrasound Easy One spirometer (Spiro bank II, NDD Medical Technologies, Zurich, Switzerland) to determine the lung function over Forced expiratory volume. The primary outcome variable was forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). Secondary outcome was chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (post bronchodilator FEV1/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) < 70%) as defined by the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease. Potential confounders such as age, height, weight, smoking history, occupation, educational status were considered. Results: Preliminary results showed that the lung function of the women using Biomass fuels (FEV1/FVC = 85% ± 5.13) had comparatively reduced lung function than the LPG users (FEV1/FVC = 86.40% ± 5.32). The mean PM 2.5 mass concentration in the biomass user’s kitchen was 274.34 ± 314.90 and 85.04 ± 97.82 in the LPG user’s kitchen. Black carbon amount was found higher in the biomass users (black carbon = 46.71 ± 46.59 µg/m³) than LPG users (black carbon=11.08 ± 22.97 µg/m³). Most of the houses used separate kitchen. Almost all the houses that used the clean fuel like LPG had minimum amount of the particulate matter 2.5 which might be due to the background pollution and cross ventilation from the houses using biomass fuels. Conclusions: Therefore, there is an urgent need to adopt various strategies to improve indoor air quality. There is a lacking of current state of climate active pollutants emission from different stove designs and identify major deficiencies that need to be tackled. Moreover, the advancement in research tools, measuring technique in particular, is critical for researchers in developing countries to improve their capability to study the emissions for addressing the growing climate change and public health concerns.

Keywords: black carbon, biomass fuels, indoor air pollution, lung function, particulate matter

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Authors: Stanislav Perepechko

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Industrial companies - one of the major sources of harmful substances to the atmosphere. The main cause of pollution on the concrete plants are cement dust emissions. All the cement silos, pneumatic transport, and ventilation systems equipped with filters, to avoid this. Today, many Russian companies have to decide on replacement morally and physically outdated filters and guided back to the electrostatic filters as usual equipment. The offered way of a cleaning of waste-free filtering of air differs in the fact that a filtering medium of the filter is used in concrete manufacture. Basalt is widespread and pollution-free material. In the course of cleaning, one part of basalt fiber and cement immediately goes to the mixer through flow-control units of initial basalt fiber and cement. Another part of basalt fiber goes to filters for purification of the air used in systems of an air lift, and ventilating emissions passes through them, and with trapped particles also goes to the mixer through flow-control units of the basalt fiber fulfilled in filters. At the same time, regulators are adjusted in such a way that total supply of basalt fiber and cement into the mixer remains invariable and corresponds to a given technological mode.

Keywords: waste-free air filtration, concrete, basalt fiber, building automation

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Authors: Saurabh Gupta, Vanshdeep Parmar, Sri Harsha Reddy Yelly, Michele Baker, Elizabeth Bigler, Kunhee Choi

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It is known that the adoption of solar powered LED highway lighting systems or sensory LED highway lighting systems can dramatically reduce energy consumption by 55 percent when compared to conventional on-grid High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps that are widely applied to most highways. However, an initial high installation cost for building the infrastructure of solar photovoltaic devices hampers a wider adoption of such technologies. This research aims to examine currently available state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic and sensory technologies, identify major obstacles, and analyze each technology to create a benchmarking metrics from the benefit-cost analysis perspective. The on-grid HPS lighting systems will serve as the baseline for this study to compare it with other lighting alternatives such as solar and sensory LED lighting systems. This research will test the validity of the research hypothesis that alternative LED lighting systems produce more favorable benefit-cost ratios and the added initial investment costs are recouped by the savings in the operation and maintenance cost. The payback period of the excess investment and projected savings over the life-cycle of the selected lighting systems will be analyzed by utilizing the concept of Net Present Value (NPV). Researchers believe that if this study validates the research hypothesis, it can promote a wider adoption of alternative lighting systems that will eventually save millions of taxpayer dollars in the long-run.

Keywords: lighting systems, sensory and solar PV, benefit cost analysis, net present value

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Authors: Haïfa Ben Mna, Ayed Added

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To evaluate the trace metals contamination status in the Gulf of Tunis, forty one sediment samples were analyzed using different approaches. According to certain contamination and ecological risk indices (Contamination Factor, Geoaccumulation index and Ecological risk index), Hg has the highest contamination level while pollution by Ni, Pb, Cd and Cr was absent. The highest concentrations of trace metals were found in sediments collected from the offshore and coastal areas located opposite the main exchange points with the gulf particularly, the Mejerda and Meliane Rivers, the Khalij Channel, Ghar El Melh and El Malah lagoons, Tunis Lake and Sebkhat Ariana. However, further ecological indices (Potential ecological risk index, Toxic unit and Mean effect-range median quotient) and comparison with sediment quality guidelines suggest that in addition to Mercury, Cr, Pb and Ni concentrations are detrimental to biota in both the offshore and areas near to the exchange points with the gulf. Moreover, in these areas the results from sequential extraction and individual contamination factor calculation pointed to the mobility and bioavailability of Cr, Pb and Ni.

Keywords: sediment, trace metals, contamination assessment, ecological risk, Tunis gulf

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Authors: Y. Vásquez, F. Reyes, P. Oyola, M. Rubio, J. Muñoz, E. Lissi

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In several cities in Chile, there is significant urban pollution, particularly in Santiago and in cities in the south where biomass is used as fuel in heating and cooking in a large proportion of homes. This has generated interest in knowing what factors can be modulated to control the level of pollution. In this project was conditioned and set up a photochemical chamber (14m3) equipped with gas monitors e.g. CO, NOX, O3, others and PM monitors e.g. dustrack, DMPS, Harvard impactors, etc. This volume could be exposed to UVA lamps, producing a spectrum similar to that generated by the sun. In this chamber, PM and gas emissions associated with biomass burning were studied in the presence and absence of radiation. From the comparative analysis of wood stove (eucalyptus globulus) and pellet (radiata pine), it can be concluded that, in the first approximation, 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene, levoglucosan, water soluble potassium and CO present characteristics of the tracers. However, some of them show properties that interfere with this possibility. For example, levoglucosan is decomposed by radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene are emitted and formed under radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene has a vapor pressure that involves a partition involving the gas phase and particulate matter. From this analysis, it can be concluded that K+ is compound that meets the properties known to be tracer. The PM2.5 emission measured in the automatic pellet stove that was used in this thesis project was two orders of magnitude smaller than that registered by the manual wood stove. This has led to encouraging the use of pellet stoves in indoor heating, particularly in south-central Chile. However, it should be considered, while the use of pellet is not without problems, due to pellet stove generate high concentrations of Nitro-HAP's (secondary organic contaminants). In particular, 4-nitropyrene, compound of high toxicity, also primary and secondary particulate matter, associated with pellet burning produce a decrease in the size distribution of the PM, which leads to a depth penetration of the particles and their toxic components in the respiratory system.

Keywords: biomass burning, photochemical chamber, particulate matter, tracers

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Authors: Swapna Begum, Higano Yoshiro

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Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. It is considered as one of the traffic congested cities in the world. The growth of the population of this city is increasing day by day. The land use pattern and the increased socio-economic characteristics increase the motor vehicle ownership of this city. The rapid unplanned urbanization and poor transportation planning have deteriorated the transport environment of this city. Also, the huge travel demand with non-motorized traffics on streets is accounted for enormous traffic congestion in this city. The land transport sector in Dhaka is mainly dependent on road transport comprised of both motorized and non-motorized modes of travel. This improper modal mix and the un-integrated system have resulted in huge traffic congestion in this city. Moreover, this city has no well-organized public transport system and any Mass Transit System to cope with this ever increasing demand. Traffic congestion causes serious air pollution and adverse impact on the economy by deteriorating the accessibility, level of service, safety, comfort and operational efficiency. Therefore, there is an imperative need to introduce a well-organized, properly scheduled mass transit system like (Bus Rapid Transit) BRT minimizing the existing problems.

Keywords: air pollution, BRT, mass transit, traffic congestion

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Authors: Nazli Akhlaghinia, Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari

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In today's world, with increasing environmental awareness, firms are facing severe pressure from various stakeholders, including the government and customers, to reduce their harmful effects on the environment. Over the past few decades, the increasing effects of global warming, climate change, waste, and air pollution have increased the global attention of experts to the issue of the green supply chain and led them to the optimal solution for greenery. Green supply chain management (GSCM) plays an important role in motivating the sustainability of the organization. With increasing environmental concerns, the main objective of the research is to use system thinking methodology and Vensim software for designing a dynamic system model for green supply chain and observing behaviors. Using this methodology, we look for the effects of a green supply chain structure on the behavioral dynamics of output variables. We try to simulate the complexity of GSCM in a period of 30 months and observe the complexity of behaviors of variables including sustainability, providing green products, and reducing energy consumption, and consequently reducing sample pollution.

Keywords: supply chain management, green supply chain management, system dynamics, energy consumption

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Authors: Beatrice Adeoye

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Background: One of the health challenges developing countries face is air pollution from indoor and outdoor activities. Smoke as a result of cooking, burning wastes and power generators litter the air space on a continual basis due to poverty and governance challenges. The short and long term implications of these actions are enormous and studies have attributed smoke as one of the leading preventable risk factors contributing to global burden of respiratory infections. Design/Methods: The issue at hand therefore includes an exploration of the existing policy frameworks regarding smoke, adherence to international conventions and practices, and more importantly the activities of the government in addressing these issues. Aside this, an understanding of the implications of smoke on peoples’ health and well-being also become crucial. Consequently, this article seeks to interrogate the effect of smoke on the health and well-being of Nigerians and the activities of the policy makers in addressing these challenges. Results (Main Argument): This study reviewed both primary and secondary data on poverty, smoke emission and attendant health risks coupled with existing policies on smoke and air pollution in the country. For instance, over 69% of Nigerians are poor, ranking third in the world; 2.9 billion people live in homes using wood, coal or dung as their primary cooking fuel; equally, 50.6% of Nigerians has no access to regular electricity supply. Further, sustainable policy regarding smoke emission is lacking in the country. This work further submitted that continued low standard of living as a result of governance challenges coupled with a lack of sustainable policy have aggravated the health risks related to smoke in the country. Conclusions: The implication on the health of the children, mothers and vulnerable groups for the future of the country is enormous and may continue if not addressed. Urgent attention therefore needs to be focused on this area considering what this portends for the nation now and in the future.

Keywords: air pollution, indoor, outdoor, respiratory infections

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Authors: Vethathirri Ramanujam Srinivasan, S. M. Shiva Nagendra

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Air quality management in urban areas is a serious concern in both developed and developing countries. In this regard, more number of air quality monitoring stations are planned to mitigate air pollution in urban areas. In India, Central Pollution Control Board has set up 574 air quality monitoring stations across the country and proposed to set up another 500 stations in the next few years. The number of monitoring stations for each city has been decided based on population data. The setting up of ambient air quality monitoring stations and their operation and maintenance are highly expensive. Therefore, there is a need to optimize monitoring networks for air quality management. The present paper discusses the various methods such as Indian Standards (IS) method, US EPA method and European Union (EU) method to arrive at the minimum number of air quality monitoring stations. In addition, optimization of rain-gauge method and Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method using Geographical Information System (GIS) are also explored in the present work for the design of air quality network in Chennai city. In summary, additionally 18 stations are required for Chennai city, and the potential monitoring locations with their corresponding land use patterns are ranked and identified from the 1km x 1km sized grids.

Keywords: air quality monitoring network, inverse distance weighted method, population based method, spatial variation

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Authors: Mehvish Bilal, Navneet Singh, Jasir Mushtaq

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Water pollution puts people's health at risk, and it can also impact the ecology. For practitioners of integrated water resources management (IWRM), water quality modelling may be useful for informing decisions about pollution control (such as discharge permitting) or demand management (such as abstraction permitting). To comprehend the current pollutant load, movement of effective load movement of contaminants generates effective relation between pollutants, mathematical simulation, source, and water quality is regarded as one of the best estimating tools. The current study involves the Qual2k model, which includes manual simulation of the various physiochemical characteristics of water. To this end, various sensors could be installed for the automatic simulation of various physiochemical characteristics of water. An artificial intelligence model has been proposed for the automatic simulation of water quality parameters. Models of water quality have become an effective tool for identifying worldwide water contamination, as well as the ultimate fate and behavior of contaminants in the water environment. Water quality model research is primarily conducted in Europe and other industrialized countries in the first world, where theoretical underpinnings and practical research are prioritized.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, QUAL2K, simulation, physiochemical parameters

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Authors: Samson T. Obafemi, Seraphin D. Eyono-Obono

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Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are pervasive nowadays, including in education where they are expected to improve the performance of learners. However, the hope placed in ICTs to find viable solutions to the problem of poor academic performance in schools in the developing world has not yet yielded the expected benefits. This problem serves as a motivation to this study whose aim is to examine the perceptions of educators on the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning. This aim will be subdivided into two types of research objectives. Objectives on the identification and design of theories and models will be achieved using content analysis and literature review. However, the objective on the empirical testing of such theories and models will be achieved through the survey of educators from different schools in the Pinetown District of the South African Kwazulu-Natal province. SPSS is used to quantitatively analyse the data collected by the questionnaire of this survey using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations after assessing the validity and the reliability of the data. The main hypothesis driving this study is that there is a relationship between the demographics of educators’ and their adherence to learning theories on one side, and their perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning on the other side, as argued by existing research; but this research views these learning theories under three perspectives: educators’ adherence to self-regulated learning, to constructivism, and to progressivism. This hypothesis was fully confirmed by the empirical study except for the demographic factor where teachers’ level of education was found to be the only demographic factor affecting the perceptions of educators on the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning.

Keywords: academic performance, e-learning, learning theories, teaching and learning

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Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

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This research paper aimed to developing a causal relationship model of success factors of customer relationship management of tourism in Thailand and to investigating relationships among the potential factors that facilitate the success of customer relationship management (CRM). The research was conducted in both quantitative and qualitative methods, by utilizing both questionnaire and in-depth interview. The questionnaire was used in collecting the data from 250 management staff in the hotels located within Bangkok area. Sampling techniques used in this research included cluster sampling according to the service quality and simple random sampling. The data input was analyzed by use of descriptive analysis and System Equation Model (SEM). The research findings demonstrated important factors accentuated by most respondents towards the success of CRM, which were organization, people, information technology and the process of CRM. Moreover, the customer relationship management of tourism business in Thailand was found to be successful at a very significant level. The hypothesis testing showed that the hypothesis was accepted, as the factors concerning with organization, people and information technology played an influence on the process and the success of customer relationship management, whereas the process of customer relationship management factor manipulated its success. The findings suggested that tourism business in Thailand with the implementation of customer relationship management should opt in improvement approach in terms of managerial structure, corporate culture building with customer- centralized approach accentuated, and investment of information technology and customer analysis, in order to capacitate higher efficiency of customer relationship management process that would result in customer satisfaction and retention of service.

Keywords: customer relationship management, casual relationship model, tourism, Thailand

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Authors: Aude Pérard Lecomte, Georges Fokoua, Amine Mehel, Anne Tanière

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Air quality in urban areas is deteriorated by pollution, mainly due to the constant increase of the traffic of different types of ground vehicles. In particular, particulate matter pollution with important concentrations in urban areas can cause serious health issues. Characterizing and understanding particle dynamics is therefore essential to establish recommendations to improve air quality in urban areas. To analyze the effects of turbulence on particulate pollutants dispersion, the first step is to focus on the single-phase flow structure and turbulence characteristics in the wake of a heavy truck model. To achieve this, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted with the aim of modeling the wake airflow of a full- and reduced-scale heavy truck. The Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach with the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)as the turbulence model closure was used. The simulations highlight the apparition of a large vortex coming from the under trailer. This vortex belongs to the recirculation region, located in the near-wake of the heavy truck. These vortical structures are expected to have a strong influence on particle dynamics that are emitted by the truck.

Keywords: CDF, heavy truck, recirculation region, reduced scale

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Authors: M. Klimova, O. Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, J. Kurts, E. Zinchenko, N. Navolokin, A. Shirokov, A. Dubrovsky, A. Abdurashitov, A. Terskov, A. Mamedova, I. Agranovich, T. Antonova, I. Blokhina

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The direction for research of Alzheimer's disease is to find an effective non-invasive and non-pharmacological way of treatment. Here we tested our hypothesis that the opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) induces activation of lymphatic drainage and clearing functions that can be used as a method for non-invasive stimulation of clearance of beta-amyloid and therapy of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To test our hypothesis, in this study on healthy male mice we analyzed the interaction between BBB opening by repeated loud music (100-10000 Hz, 100 dB, duration 2 h: 60 sec – sound; 60 sec - pause) and functional changes in the meningeal lymphatic vessels (MLVs). We demonstrate clearance of dextran 70 kDa (i.v. injection), fluorescent beta-amyloid (intrahippocampal injection) and gold nanorods (intracortical injection) via MLV that significantly increased after the opening of BBB. Our studies also demonstrate that the BBB opening was associated with the improvement of neurocognitive status in mice with AD. Thus, we uncover therapeutic effects of BBB opening by loud music, such as non-invasive stimulation of lymphatic clearance of beta-amyloid in mice with AD, accompanied by improvement of their neurocognitive status. Our data are consistent with other results suggesting the therapeutic effect of BBB opening by focused ultrasound without drugs for patients with AD. This research was supported by a grant from RSF 18-75-10033

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, beta-amyloid, blood-brain barrier, meningeal lymphatic vessels, repeated loud music

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Authors: Fatemeh Mohsennezhad

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Air pollution is one of major problems for environment. Providing healthy food and protecting water sources from pollution has been one of the concerns of human societies and decision-making centers so that protecting food from pollution, detecting sources of pollution and measuring them become important. Nutritive and political significance of grape in this area, extensive use of leaf and fruit of this plant and development of urban areas around grape gardens and construction of Tabriz – Miandoab road, which is the most important link between East and West Azarbaijan, led us to examine the impact of this road construction and urban environment pollutants such as lead chromium and cadmium on the quality of this valuable crop. First, the samples were taken from different adjacent places and medium distances from the road, each place being located exactly by Google earth and GPS. Digestion was done through burning dry material and hydrochloric acid and their ashes were analyzed by atomic absorption to determine (Pb, Cr, Cd) accumulations. In this experiments effects of 2 following factors were examined as a variable: Garden distance from the main road with levels 1: For 50 meters, 2: For 120-200 meters, 3: For above 800 meters, and plant organ with levels 1: For fruit, 2: For leaves. At the end, the results were processed by SPSS software. 3.54 ppm, the most lead quantity, was at sample No. 54 in fruits with 800 meters distance from the road and 1.00 ppm was the least lead quantity at sample No. 50 in fruits with 1000 meters from the road. In leaves, the most lead quantity was 19.16 ppm at sample No. 15 with 50 meters distance from the road and the least quantity was 1.41 ppm at sample No. 31 with 50 meters from the road. Pb uptake is significantly different at 50 meters and 200 meters distance. It means that Pb uptake near the main road is the highest. But this result is not true for others elements. Distance has not a meaningful effect on Cr uptake. The result of analysis of variation in distance and plant organ for Cd showed that between fruit and leaf, Cd uptake is significantly different. But distance and interaction between distance and plant organ is not meaningful. There is neither meaningful interaction between these elements uptakes in fruits nor in leaves. If leaves and fruits, assumed all together, showed a very meaningful integration between heavy metal accumulations. It means that each of these elements causes uptake others without considering special organs. In the tested area, it became clear that, from the accumulation of heavy metals perspective, there is no meaningful difference in existing distance between road and garden. There is a meaningful difference among heavy metals accumulation. In other words, increase ratio of one metal to another was different from the resulted differences shown in corresponding graphs. Interaction among elements and distance between garden and road was not meaningful.

Keywords: Vitis vinifera L., phytoremediation, heavy metals accumulation, lead, chromium, cadmium

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Authors: Taguekou Kenfack Alexie

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For a long time, refugee protection has constituted one of the main concerns of the international community as a whole and for the South African government in particular.The focus of this paper is on the challenges refugees face in accessing their rights in South Africa. In particular, it analyses the legal framework for the protection of the socio economic rights of refugees under international law, regional and domestic law and the extent to which the rights have been realized. The main hypothesis of the study centered on the fact that the social protection of refugees in South Africa is in conformity with international standards. To test this hypothesis, the qualitative research method was applied. Refugee related legal instruments were analyzed as well as academic publications, organizational reports and internet sources. The data analyzed revealed that there has been enormous progress in meeting international standards in the areas of education, emergency relief and assistance, protection of women and refugee children. The results also indicated that much remain to be desired in such areas as nutrition, shelter, health care, freedom of movement and very importantly, employment and social security. The paper also seeks to address the obstacles which prevent the proper treatment of refugees and to make recommendations as how the South African government can better regulate the treatment of refugees living in its territory.Recommendations include the amendment of the legal instruments that provide the normative framework for protection and improvement of protection policies to reflect the changing dynamics.

Keywords: international community, refugee, socioeconomic rights, social protection

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Authors: Zhang Hui, Wu Caiqiu, Yuan Xuyin, Qiu Jie, Zhang Hanpei

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The heavy metal contaminations were determined with a detailed soil survey in roadside soils along Shenyang-Dalian Highway of Liaoning Province (China) and Pb, Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn were analyzed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. The average concentration of Pb, Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn in roadside soils was determined to be 43.8, 26.5, 0.119, 32.1, 71.3 mg/kg respectively, and all of the heavy metal contents were higher than the background values. Different heavy metal distribution regularity was found in different land use type of roadside soil, there was an obvious peak of heavy concentration at 25m from road edge in the farmland, while in the forest and orchard soil, all heavy metals gradually decreased with the increase of distance from road edge and conformed to the exponential model. Furthermore, the heavy metal contents of heavy metals except Cd were markedly increased compared with those in 1999 and 2007, and the heavy metals concentrations of Shenyang- Dalian Highway were considered medium or low in comparison with those in other cities around the world. The assessment of heavy metal contamination of roadside soils illustrated a common low pollution for all heavy metal and recommended that more attention should be paid to Pb contamination in roadside soils in Shenyang-Dalian Highway.

Keywords: heavy metal contamination, roadside, highway, Nemerow Pollution Index

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Authors: Lazurca Liliana Gina

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Different time series analysis of yearly air pollution at Suceava County, Nord-East of Romania, has been performed in this study. The trends in the atmospheric concentrations of the main gaseous and particulate pollutants in urban, industrial and rural environments across Suceava County were estimated for the period of 2008-2014. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test was used to determine the trends in the annual average concentrations of air pollutants (NO2, NO, NOx, SO2, CO, PM10, O3, C6H6). The slope was estimated using the non-parametric Sen’s method. Trend significance was assumed at the 5% significance level (p < 0.05) in the current study. During the 7 year period, trends in atmospheric concentrations may not have been monotonic, in some instances concentrations of species increased and subsequently decreased. The trend in Suceava County is to keep a low concentration of pollutants in ambient air respecting the limit values.All the results that we obtained show that Romania has taken a lot of regulatory measures to decrease the concentrations of air pollutants in the last decade, in Suceava County the air quality monitoring highlight for the most part of the analyzed pollutants decreasing trends. For the analyzed period we observed considerable improvements in background air in Suceava County.

Keywords: pollutant, trend, air quality monitoring, Mann-Kendall

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