Search results for: sustainable urban management

Authors: Eylem Koç, Hasan Arda Burhan

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Location selection presents a crucial decision problem in today’s business world where strategic decision making processes have critical importance. Thus, location selection has strategic importance for companies in boosting their strength regarding competition, increasing corporate performances and efficiency in addition to lowering production and transportation costs. A right choice in location selection has a direct impact on companies’ commercial success. In this study, a store location selection problem of Carglass Turkey which operates in vehicle glass branch is handled. As this problem includes both tangible and intangible criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was accepted as the main methodology. The model consists of control hierarchy and BOCR subnetworks which include clusters of actors, alternatives and criteria. In accordance with the management’s choices, five different locations were selected. In addition to the literature review, a strict cooperation with the actor group was ensured and maintained while determining the criteria and during whole process. Obtained results were presented to the management as a report and its feasibility was confirmed accordingly.

Keywords: analytic network process (ANP), BOCR, multi-actor decision making, multi-criteria decision making, real-life problem, location selection

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Authors: Demet Yesiltepe, Ruth Dalton, Ayse Ozbil

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The aim of this paper is to understand the effect of landmarks on spatial navigation. For this study, a mobile-based virtual game, 'Sea Hero Quest' (SHQ), was used. At the beginning of the game, participants were asked to look at maps which included the specific locations of players and checkpoints. After the map disappeared, participants were asked to navigate a boat and find the checkpoints in a pre-given order. By analyzing this data, we aim to better understand an important component of cities, namely landmarks, on spatial navigation. Game levels were analyzed spatially and axial-based integration, choice and connectivity values of levels were calculated to make comparisons. To make this kind of a comparison, we focused on levels which include both local and global landmarks and levels which include only local landmarks. The most significant contribution of this study to urban design and planning fields is that it provides mounting evidence about the utility of landmarks and their roles in cities due to the fact that the game was played more than 2.5 million people. Moreover, by using these results, it can be possible to encourage cities with more global and local landmarks to have more identifiable/readable areas.

Keywords: landmarks, mobile-based games, spatial navigation, virtual environment

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Authors: Hülya Torun, Ondřej Novák, Jaromír Mikulík, Miroslav Strnad, Faik A. Ayaz

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World climate is changing. Millions of people in the world still face chronic undernourishment for conducting a healthy life and the world’s population is growing steadily. To meet this growing demand, agriculture and food systems must adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable. From this perspective, to determine tolerant cultivars for undesirable environmental conditions will be necessary food production for sustainable development. Among abiotic stresses, soil salinity is one of the most detrimental global fact restricting plant sources. Development of salt-tolerant lines is required in order to increase the crop productivity and quality in salt-treated lands. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the morphological and physiological responses of barley cultivars accessions to salinity stress by NaCl. For this purpose, it was aimed to determine the crosstalk between some endogenous phytohormones and exogenous salicylic acid (SA) in two different vegetative parts (leaves and roots) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.; Poaceae; 2n=14; Ince-04) which is detected salt-tolerant. The effects of SA on growth parameters, leaf relative water content (RWC), endogenous phytohormones; including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinins (CKs), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene were investigated in barley cultivars under salinity stress. SA was applied to 17-day-old seedlings of barley in two different ways including before (pre-treated for 24 h) and simultaneously with NaCl stress treatment. NaCl (0, 150, 300 mM) exposure in the hydrophonic system was associated with a rapid decrease in growth parameters and RWC, which is an indicator of plant water status, resulted in a strong up-regulation of ABA as a stress indicator. Roots were more dramatically affected than leaves. Water conservation in 150 mM NaCl treated-barley plants did not change, but decreased in 300 mM NaCl treated plants. Pre- and simultaneously treatment of SA did not significantly alter growth parameters and RWC. ABA, JA and ethylene are known to be related with stress. In the present work, ethylene also increased, similarly to ABA, but not with the same intensity. While ABA and ethylene increased by the increment of salt concentrations, JA levels rapidly decreased especially in roots. Both pre- and simultaneously SA applications alleviated salt-induced decreases in 300 mM NaCl resulted in the increment of ABA levels. CKs and IAA are related to cell growth and development. At high salinity (300 mM NaCl), CKs (cZ+cZR) contents increased in both vegetative organs while IAA levels stayed at the same level with control groups. However, IAA increased and cZ+cZR rapidly decreased in leaves of barley plants with SA treatments before salt applications (in pre- SA treated groups). Simultaneously application of SA decreased CKs levels in both leaves and roots of the cultivar. Due to increasing concentrations of NaCl in association with decreasing ABA, JA and ethylene content and increments in CKs and IAA were recorded with SA treatments. As results of the study, in view of all the phytohormones that we tested, exogenous SA induced greater tolerance to salinity particularly when applied before salinity stress.

Keywords: Barley, Hordeum vulgare, phytohormones, salicylic acid, salinity

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Authors: Sherry Robinson, Hans Anton Stubberud

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Entrepreneurship can take many forms. Traditional entrepreneurs seek profits and growth for the businesses they start themselves. Intrapreneurs act entrepreneurially within a business they do not own. Social entrepreneurs have goals other than (but not excluding) profit and growth as they seek to solve social problems or protect the environment. This type of entrepreneur often focuses on the triple bottom line, which includes a concern for people and the planet as well as profit. Ecopreneurs in particular are driven by their desire to create and promote environmentally sustainable products and processes. All of these entrepreneurs need an entrepreneurial orientation in order to survive and thrive. The three most common elements of an entrepreneurial orientation are (1) creativity and innovation, (2) the willingness to take risks and (3) the proactiveness to put ideas into action. This study describes an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship course integrating topics regarding the triple bottom line with those relevant to an entrepreneurial orientation. The results show that students significantly increased their skill levels in many areas, including soft skills such as communicating and working in teams, as well as designing innovative products and taking calculated risk.

Keywords: creativity, entrepreneurship education, sustainability, triple bottom line

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Authors: Tayyab Ahmad, Gerard Healey

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The potential role of higher education institutes in sustainable development cannot be undermined. In this regard, it is important to investigate the established concept of sustainability in such institutes to explore the room for further improvement. In this paper, a case study of the University of Melbourne is conducted, and the institute’s commitments towards sustainability are examined by a detailed qualitative review of its policy and design standard documents. These documents are reviewed as through these; the institute portrays its vision of building environment facilities, which it aspires to procure and use. From detailed review, it is realized that these documents are updated at different times, creating the potential for mismatch between them. The occurrence of different goals and objectives in different documents is highlighted, and the interrelationships between different goals and operational objectives are explored. The role of the university aspired goals/objectives in terms of built environment sustainability is discussed, and the gaps in the articulation of goals and operational objectives are highlighted. Recommendations are provided for enhancing the built environment sustainability at the University of Melbourne.

Keywords: university, design standards, policy, sustainability, built environment

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Authors: Sandra Hartl, Meena Chavan

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This paper presents the outcome of a four year Ph.D. research on cross-cultural conflict management in transnational business relationships. An important and complex problem about managing conflicts that arise across cultures in business relationships is investigated, and conflict resolution strategies are identified. This paper particularly focuses on transnational relationships within a Chinese, German and Middle Eastern framework. Unlike many papers on this issue which have been built on experiments with international MBA students, this research provides real-life cases of cross-cultural conflicts which are not easy to capture. Its uniqueness is underpinned as the real case data was gathered by interviewing top executives at management positions in large multinational corporations through a qualitative case study method approach. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the theory of cross-cultural conflicts, and despite the sensitivity, this research primarily presents real-time business data about breaches of contracts between two counterparties engaged in transnational operating organizations. The overarching aim of this research is to identify the degree of significance for the cultural factors and the communication factors embedded in cross-cultural business conflicts. It questions from a cultural perspective what factors lead to the conflicts in each of the cases, what the causes are and the role of culture in identifying effective strategies for resolving international disputes in an increasingly globalized business world. The results of 20 face to face interviews are outlined, which were conducted, recorded, transcribed and then analyzed using the NVIVO qualitative data analysis system. The outcomes make evident that the factors leading to conflicts are broadly organized under seven themes, which are communication, cultural difference, environmental issues, work structures, knowledge and skills, cultural anxiety and personal characteristics. When evaluating the causes of the conflict it is to notice that these are rather multidimensional. Irrespective of the conflict types (relationship or task-based conflict or due to individual personal differences), relationships are almost always an element of all conflicts. Cultural differences, which are a critical factor for conflicts, result from different cultures placing different levels of importance on relationships. Communication issues which are another cause of conflict also reflect different relationships styles favored by different cultures. In identifying effective strategies for solving cross-cultural business conflicts this research identifies that solutions need to consider the national cultures (country specific characteristics), organizational cultures and individual culture, of the persons engaged in the conflict and how these are interlinked to each other. Outcomes identify practical dispute resolution strategies to resolve cross-cultural business conflicts in reference to communication, empathy and training to improve cultural understanding and cultural competence, through the use of mediation. To conclude, the findings of this research will not only add value to academic knowledge of cross-cultural conflict management across transnational businesses but will also add value to numerous cross-border business relationships worldwide. Above all it identifies the influence of cultures and communication and cross-cultural competence in reducing cross-cultural business conflicts in transnational business.

Keywords: business conflict, conflict management, cross-cultural communication, dispute resolution

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Authors: Uche A. Nnawulezi

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This paper analyzes the advancing nature of nuclear terrorism and proliferation in the global environment and its attendant impacts. It analyzes discourse and practice with respect to the general prohibition on the utilization of fissionable radioactive materials. Thus, there has been a few ideological, reasonable and academic recommendations of policies aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons which its ultimate nightmare has remained an assault including nuclear explosion in densely populated urban areas. Likewise, this paper concentrates on safety measures aimed at preventing nuclear assaults which should not just concentrate on endeavors to prevent terrorists from exploding nuclear gadgets but should be more concerned on endeavors aimed at preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons in the first place. The author of this paper has pointed out that the non-proliferation treaty should be vigorously supported as well as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty brought into force. This paper depended unequivocally on secondary sources, for example, textbooks, journals, articles, and periodicals. It concludes that the fundamental proposals made in this paper if completely used shall remain a cornerstone of efforts made in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. At last, the only way is to eliminate stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the world or else the likelihood of nuclear terrorism remains a nightmare.

Keywords: nuclear, terrorism, proliferation, global environment

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Authors: Irina-Emily Hansen, Ola Jon Mork

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The European economic growth strategy and supporting it framework for research and innovation highlight the importance of nurturing new open innovation in order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. One of the main approaches to enhance innovation in European society is the Triple Helix model that centres on science- industry collaboration where the universities are assigned the managerial role. In spite of the defined collaboration strategy, the collaboration between academics and in-dustry in Europe has still many challenges. Many of them are explained by culture difference: academic culture aims towards scientific knowledge, while businesses are oriented towards pro-duction and profitable results; also execution of collaborative projects is seen differently by part-ners involved. That proves that traditional management strategies applied to collaboration between researchers and businesses are not effective. There is a need for dynamic strategies that can support the interaction between researchers and industry intensifying knowledge co-creation and contributing to development of national innovation system (NIS) by incorporating individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning. In order to find a good subject to follow, the researchers of a given paper have investigated one of the most rapidly developing knowledge-based, innovation society, Singapore. Singapore does not dispose much land- or sea- resources that normally provide income for any country. Therefore, Singapore was forced to think differently and build society on resources that are available: talented people and knowledge. Singapore has during the last twenty years developed attracting high rated university camps, research institutions and leading industrial companies from all over the world. This article elucidates and elaborates Singapore’s national innovation strategies from Knowledge Management perspective. The research is done on the variety of organizations that enable and support knowledge development in this state: governmental research and development (R&D) centers in universities, private talent incubators for entrepreneurs, and industrial companies with own R&D departments. The research methods are based on presentations, documents, and visits at a number of universities, research institutes, innovation parks, governmental institutions, industrial companies and innovation exhibitions in Singapore. In addition, a literature review of science articles is made regarding the topic. The first finding is that objectives of collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry in Singapore correspond primary goals of the state: knowledge- and economy growth. There are common objectives for all stakeholders on all national levels. The second finding is that Singapore has enabled system on a national level that supports innovation the entire way from fostering or capturing the new knowledge, providing knowledge exchange and co-creation to application of it in real-life. The conclusion is that innovation means not only new idea, but also the enabling mechanism for its execution and the marked-oriented approach in order that new knowledge can be absorbed in society. The future research can be done with regards to application of Singapore knowledge management strategy in innovation to European countries.

Keywords: knowledge management strategy, national innovation system, research industry and business collaboration, knowledge enabling

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Authors: Aswin Kumar Krishnan, Yat Choy Wong, Reiza Mukhlis, Zipeng Zhang, Arul Arulrajah

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The continuous increase in vehicle uptake escalates the number of rubber tyre waste which need to be managed to avoid landfilling and stockpiling. The present research focused on the sustainable use of rubber crumbs in clay roof tiles. The properties of roof tiles composed of clay, rubber crumbs, NaOH, and Na₂SiO₃ with a 10% alkaline activator were studied. Tile samples were fabricated by heating the compacted mixtures at 50°C for 72 hours, followed by a higher heating temperature of 200°C for 24 hours. The effect of rubber crumbs aggregates as a substitution for the raw clay materials was investigated by varying their concentration from 0% to 2.5%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses have been conducted to study the phases and microstructures of the samples. It was found that the optimum rubber crumbs concentration was at 0.5% and 1%, while cracks and larger porosity were found at higher crumbs concentrations. Water absorption and compressive strength test results demonstrated that rubber crumbs and clay satisfied the standard requirement for the roof tiles.

Keywords: rubber crumbs, clay, roof tiles, alkaline activators

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Authors: Wai Ho Darrell Kwok

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Building entities are valuable assets of a society, however, all of them are suffered from the ravages of weather and time. Facilitating onerous maintenance activities is the only way to either maintain or enhance the value and contemporary standard of the premises. By the way, maintenance budget is always bounded by the corresponding threshold limit. In order to optimize the limited resources allocation in carrying out maintenance, there is a substantial need to prioritize maintenance work. This paper reveals the application of Fuzzy AHP in a Facilities Management Company determining the maintenance priorities on the basis of predetermined criteria, viz., Building Status (BS), Effects on Fabrics (EF), Effects on Sustainability (ES), Effects on Users (EU), Importance of Usage (IU) and Physical Condition (PC) in dealing with categorized 8 predominant building components maintenance aspects for building premises. From the case study, it is found that ‘building exterior repainting or re-tiling’, ‘spalling concrete repair works among exterior area’ and ‘lobby renovation’ are the top three maintenance priorities from facilities manager and maintenance expertise personnel. Through the application of the Fuzzy AHP for maintenance priorities decision algorithm, a more systemic and easier comparing scalar linearity factors being explored even in considering other multiple criteria decision scenarios of building maintenance issue.

Keywords: building maintenance, fuzzy AHP, maintenance priority, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: Ahmed Noor Al-Qayyim

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During the past decades, the bridge structures are considered very important portions of transportation networks, due to the fast urban sprawling. With the failure of bridges that under operating conditions lead to focus on updating the default bridge inspection methodology. The structures health monitoring (SHM) using the vibration response appeared as a promising method to evaluate the condition of structures. The rapid development in the sensors technology and the condition assessment techniques based on the vibration-based damage detection made the SHM an efficient and economical ways to assess the bridges. SHM is set to assess state and expects probable failures of designated bridges. In this paper, a presentation for Frequency Response function method that uses the captured vibration test information of structures to evaluate the structure condition. Furthermore, the main steps of the assessment of bridge using the vibration information are presented. The Frequency Response function method is applied to the experimental data of a full-scale bridge.

Keywords: bridge assessment, health monitoring, damage detection, frequency response function (FRF), signal processing, structure identification

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Authors: Nicholas Aerne, John P. Parmigiani

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There is an increasing desire for renewable and sustainable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. This desire is the result of several factors. First, is the role of fossil fuels in climate change. Scientific data clearly shows that global warming is occurring. It has also been concluded that it is highly likely human activity; specifically, the combustion of fossil fuels, is a major cause of this warming. Second, despite the current surplus of petroleum, fossil fuels are a finite resource and will eventually become scarce and alternatives, such as clean or renewable energy will be needed. Third, operations to obtain fossil fuels such as fracking, off-shore oil drilling, and strip mining are expensive and harmful to the environment. Given these environmental impacts, there is a need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources as a primary energy source. Various sources of renewable energy exist. Many familiar sources obtain renewable energy from the sun and natural environments of the earth. Common examples include solar, hydropower, geothermal heat, ocean waves and tides, and wind energy. Often obtaining significant energy from these sources requires physically-large, sophisticated, and expensive equipment (e.g., wind turbines, dams, solar panels, etc.). Other sources of renewable energy are from the man-made environment. An example is municipal water distribution systems. The movement of water through the pipelines of these systems typically requires the reduction of hydraulic pressure through the use of pressure reducing valves. These valves are needed to reduce upstream supply-line pressures to levels suitable downstream users. The energy associated with this reduction of pressure is significant but is currently not harvested and is simply lost. While the integrity of municipal water supplies is of paramount importance, one can certainly envision means by which this lost energy source could be safely accessed. This paper provides a technical description and analysis of one such means by the technology company InPipe Energy to generate hydroelectricity by harvesting energy from municipal water distribution pressure reducing valve stations. Specifically, InPipe Energy proposes to install hydropower turbines in parallel with existing pressure reducing valves in municipal water distribution systems. InPipe Energy in partnership with Oregon State University has evaluated this approach and built a prototype system at the O. H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab. The Oregon State University evaluation showed that the prototype system rapidly and safely initiates, maintains, and ceases power production as directed. The outgoing water pressure remained constant at the specified set point throughout all testing. The system replicates the functionality of the pressure reducing valve and ensures accurate control of down-stream pressure. At a typical water-distribution-system pressure drop of 60 psi the prototype, operating at an efficiency 64%, produced approximately 5 kW of electricity. Based on the results of this study, this proposed method appears to offer a viable means of producing significant amounts of clean renewable energy from existing pressure reducing valves.

Keywords: pressure reducing valve, renewable energy, sustainable energy, water supply

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Authors: Sushil Kumar Solanki, Rachna Khare

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Universal Design is a concept of built environment creation, where all people are facilitated to the maximum extent possible without using any type of specialized design. However, accessible design is a design process in which the needs of people with disabilities are specifically considered. Building standards on accessibility contains scoping and technical requirements for accessibility to sites, facilities, building and elements by individual with disability. India is also following its prescriptive types of various building standards for the creation of physical environment for people with disabilities. These building standards are based on western models instead of research based standards to serve Indian needs. These standards lack contextual connect when reflects in its application in the urban and rural environment. This study focuses on critical and comparative study of various international building standards and codes, with existing Indian accessibility standards to understand problems and prospects of concept of Universal Design building standards for India. The result of this study is an analysis of existing state of Indian building standard pertaining to accessibility and future need of performance based Universal Design concept.

Keywords: accessibility, building standard, built-environment, universal design

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Authors: Hala Abdulhafiz, Steffi Robak

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Introduction: Refugees often arrive in Germany with traumatic experiences, leading to psy-chosocial challenges. According to the World Health Organization's definition, psychosocial life skills help individuals effectively cope with everyday challenges and enhance their overall health and well-being. This study explores life skills acquired in integration courses and their impact on the integration of Syrian migrants. Methods: Qualitative expert interviews identified crucial life skills for successful integration, followed by a qualitative content analysis of integration course textbooks. Additionally, written interviews with former participants of integration courses were conducted. Results: Expert interviews highlighted the significance of communication skills and problem-solving abilities in promoting integration. Emotional and stress management, however, ranked lower in the hierarchy of essential life skills. While many highlighted life skills were addressed and encouraged in textbooks, there was a deficiency in opportunities to strengthen empathy, creativity, emotions, and stress management. The participant survey revealed that respondents possessed some of the defined life skills positively affecting their integration. However, there was a need for enhancing self-esteem, and many struggled with handling emotions and stress situations. Conclusion: The analyzed life skills should be further developed through educational programs and initiatives, with increased emphasis on textbooks.

Keywords: life skills, integration, migration, integration course

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Authors: Marco Correa, Flavio Araujo, Paulo Scalize, Antonio Albuquerque

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The increasing reduction of the volumes of surface water sources which supply most municipalities, as well as the continued rise of demand for treated water, combined with the disposal of effluents from washing of decanters and filters of the water treatment plants, generates a continuous search for correct environmentally solutions to these problems. The effluents generated by the water treatment industry need to be suitably processed for return to the environment or re-use. This article shows an alternative for the dehydration of sludge from the water treatment plants (WTP) and eventual disposal of sludge drained. Using the simple design methodology, we present a case study for a drainage in tanks geotextile, full-scale, which involve five sludge drainage tanks from WTP of the Rio Verde City. Aiming to the reutilization the water drained from the sludge and enabling its reuse both at the beginning of the treatment process at the WTP and in less noble services as for watering the gardens of the local town hall. The sludge will be used to production of building materials.

Keywords: re-use, residue, sustainable, water treatment plants, sludge

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Authors: Polycarpe Feussi

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Globalization, technological and customer increasing changes, amongst other drivers, result in higher levels of uncertainty and unpredictability for organizations. In order for organizations to cope with the uncertain and fast-changing economic and business environment, these organizations need to innovate in order to achieve flexibility. In simple terms, the organizations must develop strategies leading to the ability of these organizations to provide horizontal information connections across the supply chain to create and deliver products that meet customer needs by synchronization of customer demands with product creation. The generated information will create efficiency and effectiveness throughout the whole supply chain regarding production, storage, and distribution, as well as eliminating redundant activities and reduction in response time. In an integrated supply chain, spanning activities include coordination with distributors and suppliers. This paper explains how through postponement strategies, flexibility can be achieved in an organization. In order to achieve the above, a thorough literature review was conducted via the search of online websites that contains material from scientific journal data-bases, articles, and textbooks on the subject of postponement and flexibility. The findings of the research are found in the last part of the paper. The first part introduces the concept of postponement and its importance in supply chain management. The second part of the paper provides the methodology used in the process of writing the paper.

Keywords: postponement strategies, supply chain management, flexibility, logistics

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Authors: Bill Wang, Paul Childerhouse, Yuanfei Kang

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Purpose: The research is to extend resource orchestration theory (ROT) into supply chain management (SCM) area to investigate the dyadic relationships at both individual and organizational levels in supply chain integration (SCI). Also, we try to explore the interaction mechanism between inter-personal relationships (IPRs) and inter-organizational (IORs) during the whole SCI process. Methodology/approach: The research employed an exploratory multiple case study approach of four New Zealand companies. The data was collected via semi-structured interviews with top, middle, and lower level managers and operators from different departments of both suppliers and customers triangulated with company archival data. Findings: The research highlights the important role of both IPRs and IORs in the whole SCI process. Both IPRs and IORs are valuable, inimitable resources but IORs are formal and exterior while IPRs are informal and subordinated. In the initial stage of SCI process, IPRs are seen as key resources antecedents to IOR building while three IPRs dimensions work differently: personal credibility acts as an icebreaker to strengthen the confidence forming IORs, and personal affection acts as a gatekeeper, whilst personal communication expedites the IORs process. In the maintenance and development stage, IORs and IPRs interact each other continuously: good interaction between IPRs and IORs can facilitate SCI process while the bad interaction between IPRs can damage the SCI process. On the other hand, during the life-cycle of SCI process, IPRs can facilitate the formation, development of IORs while IORs development can cultivate the ties of IPRs. Out of the three dimensions of IPRs, Personal communication plays a more important role to develop IORs than personal credibility and personal affection. Originality/value: This research contributes to ROT in supply chain management literature by highlighting the interaction of IPRs and IORs in SCI. The intangible resources and capabilities of three dimensions of IPRs need to be orchestrated and nurtured to achieve efficient and effective IORs in SCI. Also, IPRs and IORs need to be orchestrated in terms of breadth, depth, and life-cycle of whole SCI process. Our study provides further insight into the rarely explored inter-personal level of SCI. Managerial implications: Our research provides top management with further evidence of the significance roles of IPRs at different levels when working with trading partners. This highlights the need to actively manage and develop these soft IPRs skills as an intangible competitive resource. Further, the research identifies when staff with specific skills and connections should be utilized during the different stages of building and maintaining inter-organizational ties. More importantly, top management needs to orchestrate and balance the resources of IPRs and IORs.

Keywords: case study, inter-organizational relationships, inter-personal relationships, resource orchestration, supply chain integration

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Authors: Shammael Selorfia

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The Quality improvement project aimed to improve junior doctors and nurses’ knowledge and confidence in diagnosing and managing delirium on inpatient surgical wards in a tertiary hospital. The study aimed to develop a standardised assessment and management checklist for all staff working with patients who were presenting with signs of delirium. The aim of the study was to increase confidence of staff at dealing with delirium and improve the quality of referrals that were being sent to the Mental Health Liaison team over a 6-month period. A significant proportion of time was being spent by the Mental Health Liaison triage nurses on referrals for delirium. Data showed 28% of all delirium referrals from surgical teams were being closed at triage reflecting a poor standard of quality of those referrals. A qualitative survey of junior doctors in 6 surgical specialties in a UK tertiary hospital was conducted. These specialties include general surgery, vascular, plastic, urology, neurosurgery, and orthopaedics. The standardised checklist was distributed to all surgical wards. A comparison was made between the Mental health team caseload of delirium before intervention was compared and after. A Qualitative survey at end of 3-month cycle and compare overall caseload on Mental Health Liaison team to pre-QIP data with aim to improve quality of referrals and reduce workload on Mental Health Liaison team. At the end of the project cycle, we demonstrated an improvement in the quality of referrals with a decrease in the percentage of referrals being closed at triage by 8%. Our surveys also indicated an increase in the knowledge of official trust delirium guidelines and confidence at managing the patients. This project highlights that a new approach to delirium using multi-component interventions is needed, where the diagnosis of delirium is shared amongst medical and nursing staff, and everyone plays role in management. The key is improving awareness of delirium and encouraging the use of recognized diagnostic tools and official guidelines. Recommendations were made to the trust on how to implement a long-lasting change.

Keywords: delirium, surgery, quality, improvement

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Authors: Asim Abbasi, Amer Habib, Sajid Hussain, Muhammad Sufyan, Iqra, Hasnain Sajjad

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Except for few scattered cases, powdery mildew disease was not a big problem for watermelon in the past but with the outbreaks of its pathotypes, races 1W and 2W, this disease becomes a serious issue all around the globe. The severe outbreak of this disease also increased the rate of fungicide application for its proper management. Twelve varieties of watermelon were screened in Research Area of Department of Plant pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to check the incidence of powdery mildew disease. Disease inoculum was prepared and applied with the help of foliar spray method. Fungicides and plants extracts were also applied after the disease incidence. Percentage leaf surface area diseased was assessed visually with a modified Horsfall-Barratt scale. The results of the experiment revealed that among all varieties, WT2257 and Zcugma F1 were highly resistant showing less than 5% disease incidence while Anar Kali and Sugar baby were highly susceptible with disease incidence of more than 65%. Among botanicals neem extract gave best results with disease incidence of less than 20%. Besides neem, all other botanicals also gave significant control of powdery mildew disease than the untreated check. In case of fungicides, Gemstar showed least disease incidence i.e. < 10%, however besides control maximum disease incidence was observed in Curzate (> 30%).

Keywords: botanicals, fungicides, pathotypes, powdery mildew

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Authors: Rabia Almas

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Today’s world is demanding natural and biological colorants on priority bases as an alternative to toxic and unsustainable synthetic dyes. Sustainable natural colors from plants and/or living organisms such as bacteria's and fungi attracted the world research scholars and textile industries recently due to the excitement and opportunities they covered. So, in the present study, natural colors from food waste, such as orange peels and peanuts, were extracted and applied to cotton fabric. The dyeing recipes were optimized in terms of dye concentration, processing temperature and time for higher color strength. The characterization of the dyes and fabric, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and fastness properties were measured for the identification of the chemical groups involved for a better understanding of the dyeing behavior. The results revealed that proper mordanting and concentration of dye on cotton fabric could give high color strength and good fastness to wash and light and these natural dyes can be used as an alternative to synthetic toxic colorants.

Keywords: textile, textile dyes, natural dyes, bio colors

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Authors: Saeedeh Shafiee Nahrkhalaji

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Metacognitive knowledge increases EFL students’ ability to be successful learners. Although this relationship has been investigated by a number of scholars, EFL teachers’ explicit awareness of their cognitive knowledge has not been sufficiently explored. The aim of this study was to examine the role of EFL teachers’ metacognitive knowledge in their pedagogical performance. Furthermore, the role played by years of their academic education and teaching experience was also studied. Fifty female EFL teachers were selected. They completed Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) that assessed six components of metacognition including procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies. Near the end of the academic semester, the students of each class filled in ‘the Language Teacher Characteristics Questionnaire’ to evaluate their teachers’ pedagogical performance. Four elements of MAI, declarative knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies were found to be significantly correlated with EFL teachers’ pedagogical success. Significant correlation was also established between metacognitive knowledge and EFL teachers’ years of academic education and teaching experience. The findings obtained from this research have contributing implication for EFL teacher educators. The discussion concludes by setting out directions for future research.

Keywords: metacognotive knowledge, pedagogical performance, language teacher characteristics questionnaire, metacognitive awareness inventory

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Authors: Alison Ryan, Himani Chhabra, Mohammed Dungarwalla, Judith Jones

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Background: Impacted and ectopic teeth present in 1-2% of orthodontic patients and often require joint surgical and orthodontic management. The authors present two patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, where the impacted teeth, in a hopeless position, spontaneously erupted during the period of cessation of general anaesthetic lists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient information: A healthy 11-year-old boy was referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the management of a mesioangular impacted LR7. The patient was seen by the joint oral surgery/orthodontic team, who planned for the removal of the LR7 under general anaesthetic. A healthy 13-year-old boy was referred to the same Department and team for surgical extraction of unerupted and buccally impacted UL3 and UR3 under general anaesthetic. Management and outcome: The majority of elective dental-alveolar work ceased as a result of the global pandemic. On resumption of activity, the first patient was reviewed in July 2021. The LR7 had spontaneously erupted in a favourable position, and following MDT review, a decision was made to forgo any further surgical intervention. The second patient was reviewed in July 2021. The UL3 had clinically erupted, and there was radiographic evidence of favourable movement of UR3. Due to the nature of the patient’s malocclusion, the decision was made to proceed with the extractions as previously planned. Key Learning Points: Severely impacted teeth do have a prospect of spontaneous eruption or alignment without clinical intervention, and current literature states the initial location, axial inclination, degree of root formation, and relation of the impacted tooth to adjacent teeth roots may influence spontaneous eruption. There is potential to introduce a period of observation to account for this possibility in the developing dentition, with the aim of reducing the unnecessary need for surgical intervention. This could help prevent episodes of general anaesthetic and allocate theatre space more appropriately.

Keywords: spontaneous eruption, impaction, observation, hopeless position, surgical, orthodontic, change in treatment plan

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Authors: Mazharuddin Syed Ahmed

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This research presents a framework used to develop The Ara Polytechnic College of Architecture Studies building “Kahukura” which is Green Building certified. This framework integrates the development of a smart building digital twin by utilizing Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its BIM maturity levels, including Levels of Development (LOD), eight dimensions of BIM, Heritage-BIM (H-BIM) and Facility Management BIM (FM BIM). The research also outlines a structured approach to building performance analysis and integration with the circular economy, encapsulated within a five-level digital twin framework. Starting with Level 1, the Descriptive Twin provides a live, editable visual replica of the built asset, allowing for specific data inclusion and extraction. Advancing to Level 2, the Informative Twin integrates operational and sensory data, enhancing data verification and system integration. At Level 3, the Predictive Twin utilizes operational data to generate insights and proactive management suggestions. Progressing to Level 4, the Comprehensive Twin simulates future scenarios, enabling robust “what-if” analyses. Finally, Level 5, the Autonomous Twin, represents the pinnacle of digital twin evolution, capable of learning and autonomously acting on behalf of users.

Keywords: building information modelling, circular economy integration, digital twin, predictive analytics

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Authors: Costrie Ganes Widayanti

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Learning Disabilities (LDs) are less understood by the Indonesia’s educational practitioners. As a result, students with LDs are at risk of being outcast from the learning process that requires participation, which potentially disconnects them academically and socially. Its objective is to raise the voice of students with LDs regarding their engagement in the classroom. This research is conducted in two urban regular public primary schools in Indonesia. The study uses an ethnographic case study research design, which explores the views and experiences of four (4) students with LDs. The data were collected using participant observations and interviews. The preliminary findings highlighted two areas: 1) the stigmatization about LDs; and 2) perceived membership. Having LDs was a barrier to fully engage in the academic and social life. Interestingly, they were more likely dependent on each other for support as limited assistance was offered by teachers and peers. Their peers did not take a keen interest in helping them when they found difficulties with the assignments. Furthermore, due to their low academic performance, they were not in favor of being nominated as a group member. In a situation that required them to do a group assignment, they were not expected to give a contribution, positioning themselves as incompatible. These findings indicated that such practices legitimate the hegemony of the superior over those who are powerless and left behind.

Keywords: engagement, experiences, learning disability, qualitative design

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Authors: Wasihun Girma Hailemariam

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Energy is one of the key elements required for every agricultural activity, especially for large scale agricultural production such as sugarcane cultivation which mostly is used to produce sugar and bioethanol from sugarcane. In such kinds of resource (energy) intensive activities, energy analysis of the production system and looking for other alternatives which can reduce energy inputs of the sugarcane production process are steps forward for resource management. The purpose of this study was to determine input energy (direct and indirect) per hectare of sugarcane production sector of Metehara sugar factory in Ethiopia. Total energy consumption of the production system was 61,642 MJ/ha-yr. This total input energy is a cumulative value of different inputs (direct and indirect inputs) in the production system. The contribution of these different inputs is discussed and a scenario of substituting the most influential input by other alternative input which can replace the original input in its nutrient content was discussed. In this study the most influential input for increased energy consumption was application of organic fertilizer which accounted for 50 % of the total energy consumption. Filter cake which is a residue from the sugar production in the factory was used to substitute the organic fertilizer and the reduction in the energy consumption of the sugarcane production was discussed

Keywords: energy analysis, organic fertilizer, resource management, sugarcane

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Authors: Luana Parisi, Sohrab Donyavi

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Cities have become the nodes of global networks, standing at the intersection points of the flows of capital, goods, workers, businesses and travellers, making them the spots where innovation, progress and economic development occur. The primary challenge for them is to create the most fertile ecosystems for triggering innovation activities. Design emerges as an essential feature in this process of laboratorisation of cities. This paper aims at exploring the spatial hubs of transformation within the knowledge economy, providing an overview of the current models of innovation spaces, before focusing on the innovation district of one of the cities that are riding the innovation wave, namely, Boston, USA. Useful lessons will be drawn from the case study of the innovation district in Boston, allowing to define precious tools for policymakers, in the form of a range of factors that define the broad strategy able to implement the model successfully. A mixed methodology is implemented, including information from observations, exploratory interviews to key stakeholders and on-desk data.

Keywords: Innovation District, innovation ecosystem, economic development, urban regeneration

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Authors: Paulo Cumbe

Abstract:

This work analyzes the economic and environmental impact of the exploitation of forest resources on populations and their sustainability in the regions where it occurs. There is an intensive and continuous activity of charcoal production, in the Massingir and Mabalane districts, in Gaza, Mozambique, to supply the most used fuel that is used by the population of the capital city, Maputo. Charcoal production is one of the sources of income for several families. However, it causes a negative environmental impact on biodiversity. We have analyzed different studies carried out in these communities that measure the speed, the level, and the impact of deforestation involving different actors, to deepen our understanding of this issue. The results of these studies reveal that the degraded area in five years would need one hundred years to be restored, which is unsustainable from an environmental point of view it is. Populations seek new areas for the same practice to maintain their livelihood, progressing with ecosystem degradation and increasing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. It is believed that environmental education, creation, and dissemination of new forms of charcoal production that are more profitable and less aggressive to the environment and forest repopulation actions need to be carried out to guarantee the sustainable development of the populations in these regions.

Keywords: deforestation, emissions, sustainability, charcoal

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Authors: Samar Alkindy

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Purpose: The BIM model has been used to support the planning of different construction projects in the industry by showing the different stages of the construction process. The model has been instrumental in identifying some of the common errors in the construction process through the spatial arrangement. The continuous use of the BIM model in the construction industry has resulted in various radical changes such as virtual prototyping. Construction virtual prototyping is a highly advanced technology that incorporates a BIM model with realistic graphical simulations, and facilitates the simulation of the project before a product is built in the factory. The paper presents virtual prototyping in the construction industry by examining its application, challenges and benefits to a construction project. Methodology approach: A case study was conducted for this study in four major construction projects, which incorporate virtual construction prototyping in several stages of the construction project. Furthermore, there was the administration of interviews with the project manager and engineer and the planning manager. Findings: Data collected from the methodological approach shows a positive response for virtual construction prototyping in construction, especially concerning communication and visualization. Furthermore, the use of virtual prototyping has increased collaboration and efficiency between construction experts handling a project. During the planning stage, virtual prototyping has increased accuracy, reduced planning time, and reduced the amount of rework during the implementation stage. Irrespective of virtual prototyping being a new concept in the construction industry, the findings outline that the approach will benefit the management of construction projects.

Keywords: construction operations, construction planning, process simulation, virtual prototyping

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Authors: M. Aruna

Abstract:

Emphasis on the advancement of new materials and technology has been there for the past few decades. The global development towards using cheap and durable materials from renewable resources contributes to sustainable development. An experimental investigation of mechanical behaviour of sisal fiber-reinforced concrete is reported for making a suitable building material in terms of reinforcement. Fibre reinforced composite is one such material, which has reformed the concept of high strength. Sisal fibres are abundantly available in the hot areas. The sisal fiber has emerged as a reinforcing material for concretes, used in civil structures. In this work, properties such as hardness and tensile strength of sisal fibre reinforced cement composites with 6, 12, 18, and 24% by weight of sisal fibres were assessed. Sisal fiber reinforced cement composite slabs with long sisal fibers were manufactured using a cast hand layup technique. Mechanical response was measured under tension. The high energy absorption capacity of the developed composite system was reflected in high toughness values under tension respectively.

Keywords: sisal fibre, fiber-reinforced concrete, mechanical behaviour, composite materials

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Authors: Rolf Katzenbach, Frithjof Clauss, Jie Zheng

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The final energy use can be divided mainly in four sectors: commercial, industrial, residential, and transportation. The trend in final energy consumption by sector plays as a most straightforward way to provide a wide indication of progress for reducing energy consumption and associated environmental impacts by different end use sectors. According to statistics the average share of end use energy for residential sector in the world was nearly 20% until 2011, in Germany a higher proportion is between 25% and 30%. However, it remains less studied than energy use in other three sectors as well its impacts on climate and environment. The reason for this involves a wide range of fields, including the diversity of residential construction like different housing building design and materials, living or energy using behavioral patterns, climatic condition and variation as well other social obstacles, market trend potential and financial support from government. This paper presents an extensive and in-depth analysis of the manner by which projects researched and operated by authors in the fields of energy efficiency primarily from the perspectives of both technical potential and initiative energy saving consciousness in the residential sectors especially in social housing buildings.

Keywords: energy efficiency, renewable energy, retro-commissioning, social housing, sustainability

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