Search results for: stone environmental impact

Authors: Mohibullah Zegham

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In conducting a case study to analyze the impact of literature on extremism and fundamentalism in Afghanistan, the author of this paper uses qualitative research method. For this purpose the author of the paper has a glance at the history of extremism and fundamentalism in Afghanistan, as well the major causes and predisposing factors of it; then analyzes the impact of literature on extremism and fundamentalism using qualitative method. This study relies on the moral engagement theory to reveal how some extreme-Islamists quit the ideological interpretation of Islam and return to normal life by reading certain literary works. The goal of this case study is to help fighting extremism and fundamentalism by using literature. The research showed that literary works are useful in this regard and there are several evidences of its effectiveness.

Keywords: extremism, fundamentalism, communist, jihad, madrasa, literature

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Authors: Morgan Johansson, Joosef Leppanen, Mathias Flansbjer, Fabio Lozano, Josef Makdesi

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Concrete is commonly used for protective structures and how impact loading affects different types of concrete structures is an important issue. Often the knowledge gained from static loading is also used in the design of impulse loaded structures. A large plastic deformation capacity is essential to obtain a large energy absorption in an impulse loaded structure. However, the structural response of an impact loaded concrete beam may be very different compared to a statically loaded beam. Consequently, the plastic deformation capacity and failure modes of the concrete structure can be different when subjected to dynamic loads; and hence it is not sure that the observations obtained from static loading are also valid for dynamic loading. The aim of this paper is to investigate the residual plastic deformation capacity in reinforced concrete beams subjected to drop weight impact tests. A test-series consisting of 18 simply supported beams (0.1 x 0.1 x 1.18 m, ρs = 0.7%) with a span length of 1.0 m and subjected to a point load in the beam mid-point, was carried out. 2x6 beams were first subjected to drop weight impact tests, and thereafter statically tested until failure. The drop in weight had a mass of 10 kg and was dropped from 2.5 m or 5.0 m. During the impact tests, a high-speed camera was used with 5 000 fps and for the static tests, a camera was used with 0.5 fps. Digital image correlation (DIC) analyses were conducted and from these the velocities of the beam and the drop weight, as well as the deformations and crack propagation of the beam, were effectively measured. Additionally, for the static tests, the applied load and midspan deformation were measured. The load-deformation relations for the beams subjected to an impact load were compared with 6 reference beams that were subjected to static loading only. The crack pattern obtained were compared using DIC, and it was concluded that the resulting crack formation depended much on the test method used. For the static tests, only bending cracks occurred. For the impact loaded beams, though, distinctive diagonal shear cracks also formed below the zone of impact and less wide shear cracks were observed in the region half-way to the support. Furthermore, due to wave propagation effects, bending cracks developed in the upper part of the beam during initial loading. The results showed that the plastic deformation capacity increased for beams subjected to drop weight impact tests from a high drop height of 5.0 m. For beams subjected to an impact from a low drop height of 2.5 m, though, the plastic deformation capacity was in the same order of magnitude as for the statically loaded reference beams. The beams tested were designed to fail due to bending when subjected to a static load. However, for the impact tested beams, one beam exhibited a shear failure at a significantly reduced load level when it was tested statically; indicating that there might be a risk of reduced residual load capacity for impact loaded structures.

Keywords: digital image correlation (DIC), drop weight impact, experiments, plastic deformation capacity, reinforced concrete

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Authors: Charles Akinola Imolehin

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According to the news on world population record, over 6.6 billion people on earth, and almost a quarter million added each day, the scale of human activity and environmental impact is unprecedented. Soaring human population growth over the past century has created a visible challenge to earth’s life support systems. Critical natural resources such as clean ground water, fertile topsoil, and biodiversity are diminishing at an exponential rate, orders of magnitude above that at which they can be regenerated. In addition, the world faces an onslaught of other environmental threats including degenerated global climate change, global warming, intensified acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion and health threatening pollution. Overpopulation and the use of deleterious technologies combine to increase the scale of human activities to a level that underlies these entire problems. These intensifying trends cannot continue indefinitely, hopefully, through increased understanding and valuation of ecosystems and their services, earth’s basic life-support system will be protected for the future. To say the fact, human civilization is now the dominant cause of change in the global environment. Now that human relationship to the earth has change so utterly, there is need to see to that change and understand its implication. These are two aspects to the challenges which all should believe. The first is to realize that human activity has power to harm the earth and can indeed have global and even permanent effects. Second is to realize that the only way to understand human new role as a co-architect of nature is to see human activities as part of a complex system that does operate according to the same simple rules of cause and effect commonly used to. So, understanding the physical/biological dimension of earth system is an important precondition for making sensible policy to protect our environment. Because believing in Sustainable Development is a matter of reconciling respect for the environment, social equity, and economic profitability. Also, there is strong believe that environmental protection is naturally about reducing air and water pollution, but it also includes the improvement of the environmental performance of existing process. That is why is important to always have it at the heart of business policy that the environmental problem is not our effect on the environment so much as the relationship of production activities on the environment. There should be this positive thinking in all operation to always be environmentally friendly especially in projection and considering Sustainable ALL awareness in all sites of operation.

Keywords: earth's ocean, marine animals life under treat, flooding, ctritical natiural resouces polluted

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Authors: D. Korsacilar, C. Atas

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In this study, first thermoplastic composite materials/plates that have high ballistic impact resistance were produced. For this purpose, the thermoplastic prepreg and the vacuum bagging technique were used to produce a composite material. Thermoplastic prepregs (resin-impregnated fiber) that are supplied ready to be used, namely high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was chosen as matrix and unidirectional glass fiber was used as reinforcement. In order to compare the fiber configuration effect on mechanical properties, unidirectional and biaxial prepregs were used. Then the microstructural properties of the composites were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Impact properties of the composites were examined by Charpy impact test and tensile mechanical tests and then the effects of ultraviolet irradiation were investigated on mechanical performance.

Keywords: ballistic, composite, thermoplastic, prepreg

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Authors: Tooba Sabir, Asima Jaffar, Namra Sabir, Mohammad Amjad Sabir

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Ecocriticism is the study of relationship between human and environment which has been represented in literature since the very beginning in pastoral tradition. However, the analysis of such representation is new as compared to the other critical evaluations like Psychoanalysis, Marxism, Post-colonialism, Modernism and many others. Ecocritics seek to find information like anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, ecofeminism, eco-Marxism, representation of environment and environmental concept and several other topics. In the current study the representation of environmental concepts, were ecocritically analyzed in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, one of the most read novels throughout the world, having been translated into many languages. Analysis of the text revealed, the representations of environmental ideas like landscapes and tourism, biodiversity, land-sea displacement, environmental disasters and warfare, desert winds and sand dunes. 'This desert was once a sea' throws light on different theories of land-sea displacement, one being the plate-tectonic theory which proposes Earth’s lithosphere to be divided into different large and small plates, continuously moving toward, away from or parallel to each other, resulting in land-sea displacement. Another theory is the continental drift theory which holds onto the belief that one large landmass—Pangea, broke down into smaller pieces of land that moved relative to each other and formed continents of the present time. The cause of desertification may, however, be natural i.e. climate change or artificial i.e. by human activities. Imagery of the environmental concepts, at some instances in the novel, is detailed and at other instances, is not as striking, but still is capable of arousing readers’ imagination. The study suggests that ecocritical justifications of environmental concepts in the text will increase the interactions between literature and environment which should be encouraged in order to induce environmental awareness among the readers.

Keywords: biodiversity, ecocritical analysis, ecocriticism, environmental disasters, landscapes

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Authors: Phimsupha Kokchang, Divine Ifransca Wijaya

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The energy transition is crucial for mitigating climate change and achieving sustainable development and resilience. As the energy transition advances, generation Z is entering the economic world and will soon be responsible for taking care of the environment. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing generation Z’s pro-environmental behavior to support the energy transition. The theory of planned behavior approach was combined with the pro-environmental behavior concept to examine generation Z’s support toward the energy transition through participating in activism, using energy from renewable sources, opting for energy-efficient utilities or vehicles, and influencing others. Data were collected through an online questionnaire of 400 respondents aged 18-26 living in Jakarta, Indonesia. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 3.0 software was used to analyze the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control positively correlate with generation Z’s pro-environmental behavior to support the energy transition. This finding could enhance understanding and provide insights to formulate effective strategies and policies to increase generation Z’s support towards the energy transition. This study contributes to the energy transition discussion as it is included in the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as pro-environmental behavior and theory of planned behavior literature.

Keywords: energy transition, pro-environmental behavior, theory of planned behavior, generation Z

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Authors: Subir Kundu, Sukhendra Singh, Sumedha Ojha, Kanika Kundu

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The continuous decline of petroleum and natural gas reserves and non linear rise of oil price has brought about a realisation of the need for a change in our perpetual dependence on the fossil fuel. A day to day increased consumption of crude and petroleum products has made a considerable impact on our foreign exchange reserves. Hence, an alternate resource for the conversion of energy (both liquid and gas) is essential for the substitution of conventional fuels. Biomass is the alternate solution for the present scenario. Biomass can be converted into both liquid as well as gaseous fuels and other feedstocks for the industries.

Keywords: bioenergy, biomass conversion, biorefining, efficient utilisation of night soil

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Authors: Laurent Maurin, Mervi Toivanen

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This paper estimates euro area banks’ internal target capital ratios and investigates whether banks’ adjustment to the targets have an impact on credit supply and holding of securities during the financial crisis in 2005-2011. Using data on listed banks and country-specific macro-variables a partial adjustment model is estimated in a panel context. The results indicate, firstly, that an increase in the riskiness of banks’ balance sheets influences positively on the target capital ratios. Secondly, the adjustment towards higher equilibrium capital ratios has a significant impact on banks’ assets. The impact is found to be more size-able on security holdings than on loans, thereby suggesting a pecking order.

Keywords: Euro area, capital ratios, credit supply, partial adjustment model

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Authors: Mila Fantinelli

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Cairo is the perfect modern representation of a living hell between rising temperatures and failing architecture. The works of Egyptian writer Mohamed Makhzangi may prove to add more depth to the debate that surrounds the topic of pollution in Arab literature. This Egyptian writer, who studied medicine and psychiatry before dedicating his life to writing, sheds indeed further light on the ecological condition of Cairo. In relation to this, the short story “The breeze hunter” (2018) tackles the topic of “environmental architecture”, citing the research of Hassan Fathy in “Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt” which provides examples from history of inventions to counter the effects of the hot weather. Specifically, the main character of the story is a man living in Cairo in a small apartment, which turns into a living hell in the summer season because of the high temperatures. Catastrophic urban planning, therefore, prevents the mitigation of the torrid climate but rather worsens it. Makhzangi indeed refers to the environmental issue of pollution caused by the excessive number of air conditioners, which transform Cairo into an infernal island of heat while our country becomes warmer with the passing of time. His description of the city already intersects ecocriticism and environmental issues, tackling the topic of pollution inside of cities and the impact of climate change, of which Cairo is a perfect example. History has indeed provided ways in order to reduce the heat inside houses. Yet, these have all been ignored. As a result, through the teachings of Hassan Fathy, the narrator of the story builds an opening in the house to catch the natural breeze coming from the north. He, therefore, becomes the breeze hunter of Mansoura. However, polluted waves interrupt this brief rest, thus leading to a worsening of his conditions, leading to him suffering from the effects of crowding and the consequences of climate change and pollution. Makhzangi, therefore, reflects on how architecture and urbanism affect the psychological sanity of people and how the situation is worsened by the catastrophic consequences of climate change and pollution.

Keywords: ecocriticism, Arabic literature, pollution, environmental architecture, crowding

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Authors: Kateryna Zharan, Jan C. Bongaerts

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In recent years, economic attractiveness of renewable energy (RE) for the mining industry, especially for off-grid mines, and a negative environmental impact of fossil energy are stimulating to use RE for mining needs. Being that remote area mines have higher energy expenses than mines connected to a grid, integration of RE may give a mine economic benefits. Regarding the literature review, there is a lack of business models for adopting of RE at mine. The main aim of this paper is to develop an optimized model of RE integration into the German mining industry (GMI). Hereby, the GMI with amount of around 800 mill. t. annually extracted resources is included in the list of the 15 major mining country in the world. Accordingly, the mining potential of Germany is evaluated in this paper as a perspective market for RE implementation. The GMI has been classified in order to find out the location of resources, quantity and types of the mines, amount of extracted resources, and access of the mines to the energy resources. Additionally, weather conditions have been analyzed in order to figure out where wind and solar generation technologies can be integrated into a mine with the highest efficiency. Despite the fact that the electricity demand of the GMI is almost completely covered by a grid connection, the hybrid energy system (HES) based on a mix of RE and fossil energy is developed due to show environmental and economic benefits. The HES for the GMI consolidates a combination of wind turbine, solar PV, battery and diesel generation. The model has been calculated using the HOMER software. Furthermore, the demonstrated HES contains a forecasting model that predicts solar and wind generation in advance. The main result from the HES such as CO2 emission reduction is estimated in order to make the mining processing more environmental friendly.

Keywords: diesel generation, German mining industry, hybrid energy system, hybrid optimization model for electric renewables, optimized model, renewable energy

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Authors: Claire Far, Sara Wilkinson, Deborah Ascher Barnstone

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Energy issues have been a growing concern in current decades. Limited energy resources and increasing energy consumption from one side and environmental pollution and waste of resources from the other side have substantially affected the future of human life. Around 40 percent of total energy consumption of Australian buildings goes to heating and cooling due to the low thermal performance of the buildings. Thermal performance of buildings determines the amount of energy used for heating and cooling of the buildings which profoundly influences energy efficiency. Therefore, employing sustainable design principles and effective use of construction materials for building envelope can play crucial role in the improvement of energy efficiency of existing dwellings and enhancement of thermal comfort of the occupants. The energy consumption for heating and cooling normally is determined by the quality of the building envelope. Building envelope is the part of building which separates the habitable areas from exterior environment. Building envelope consists of external walls, external doors, windows, roof, ground and the internal walls that separate conditioned spaces from non-condition spaces. The energy loss from the building envelope is the key factor. Heat loss through conduction, convection and radiation from building envelope. Thermal performance of the building envelope can be improved by using different methods of retrofitting depending on the climate conditions and construction materials. Based on the available studies, the importance of employing sustainable design principles has been highlighted among the Australian building professionals. However, the residential building sector still suffers from a lack of having the best practice examples and experience for effective use of construction materials for building envelope. As a result, this study investigates the effectiveness of different energy retrofitting techniques and examines the impact of employing those methods on energy consumption of existing dwellings in Sydney, the most populated city in Australia. Based on the research findings, the best thermal retrofitting methods for increasing thermal comfort and energy efficiency of existing residential dwellings as well as reducing their environmental impact and footprint have been identified and proposed.

Keywords: thermal comfort, energy consumption, residential dwellings, sustainable design principles, thermal retrofit

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Authors: Jessica Achebe, Susan Tighe

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The reduction of material consumption and greenhouse gas emission when maintain and rehabilitating road networks can achieve added benefits including improved life cycle performance of pavements, reduced climate change impacts and human health effect due to less air pollution, improved productivity due to an optimal allocation of resources and reduced road user cost. This is the essence of incorporating environmental sustainability into pavement management. The functionality of performance measurement approach has made it one of the most valuable tool to Pavement Management Systems (PMSs) to account for different criteria in the decision-making process. However measuring the environmental performance of road network is still a far-fetched practice in road network management, more so an ostensive agency-wide environmental sustainability or sustainable maintenance specifications is missing. To address this challenge, this present research focuses on the environmental sustainability performance of network-level pavement management. The ultimate goal is to develop a framework to incorporate environmental sustainability in pavement management systems for network-level maintenance programming. In order to achieve this goal, this paper present the first step, the intention is to review the previous studies that employed environmental performance measures, as well as the suitability of environmental performance indicators for the evaluation of the sustainability of network-level pavement maintenance strategies. Through an industry practice survey, this paper provides a brief forward regarding the pavement manager motivations and barriers to making more sustainable decisions, and data needed to support the network-level environmental sustainability. The trends in network-level sustainable pavement management are also presented, existing gaps are highlighted, and ideas are proposed for network-level sustainable maintenance and rehabilitation programming.

Keywords: pavement management, environment sustainability, network-level evaluation, performance measures

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Authors: Siti Anis Nadia Abu Bakar, Vani Tanggamani

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

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

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Authors: Siddhartha Paul, Aman Harlalka, Ashim K. Dey

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Soft clayey soil possesses poor bearing capacity and high compressibility because of which foundations cannot be directly placed over soft clay. Normally pile foundations are constructed to carry the load through the soft soil up to the hard stratum below. Pile construction is costly and time consuming. In order to increase the properties of soft clay, many ground improvement techniques like stone column, preloading with and without sand drains/band drains, etc. are in vogue. Time is a constraint for successful application of these improvement techniques. Another way to improve the bearing capacity of soft clay and to reduce the settlement possibility is to apply geocells below the foundation. The geocells impart rigidity to the foundation soil, reduce the net load intensity on soil and thus reduce the compressibility. A well designed geocell reinforced soil may replace the pile foundation. The present paper deals with the applicability of geocells on improvement of the bearing capacity. It is observed that a properly designed geocell may increase the bearing capacity of soft clay up to two and a half times.

Keywords: bearing capacity, geo-cell, ground improvement, soft clay

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Authors: Lanthony Slater

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The paper will focus on the philosophy and practices of Eugene Fischer and his impact on the German Holocaust and the Namibian genocide. Fischer played a major role in racial superiority theory, eugenics, and the impact of human heredity. Through my research and comparative examination of his positionality in both societies, much is revealed about how philosophical notions would contribute to division and ultimately acts of genocide on two countries. In addition, this research will focus on the legacy in both events of genocide. The objective of the research is to connect both the Namibian genocide and the Holocaust in Germany. For many historians, when explaining the origins of the holocaust, connections to the Namibian genocide is often omitted. The main contribution to my research is to attribute the National Socialist ideology towards the ongoing issues that the country of Namibia is faced with. Additionally, it compares how Germany and Namibia deal with the legacies created under Nazism.

Keywords: genocide, namibia, rehoboth, experiments

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Authors: Rifilwe Victor Modiba, Stefan Hendric Foord

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Alien invasive plants (IAP’s) have considerable negative impacts on freshwater habitats and South Africa has implemented an innovative Work for Water (WfW) programme for the systematic removal of these plants aimed at, amongst other objectives, restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in these threatened habitats. These restoration processes are expensive and have to be evidence-based. In this study in-stream macroinvertebrate and adult Odonata assemblages were used as indicators of restoration success by quantifying the response of biodiversity metrics for these two groups to the removal of IAP’s in a strategic water resource of South Africa that is extensively invaded by invasive alien plants (IAP’s). The study consisted of a replicated design that included 45 sampling units, viz. 15 invaded, 15 uninvaded and 15 cleared sites stratified across the upper reaches of six sub-catchments of the Luvuvhu river catchment, Limpopo Province. Cleared sites were only considered if they received at least two WfW treatments in the last 3 years. The Benthic macroinvertebrate and adult Odonate assemblages in each of these sampling were surveyed from between November and March, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 respectively. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with a log link function and Poisson error distribution were done for metrics (invaded, cleared, and uninvaded) whose residuals were not normally distributed or had unequal variance and for abundance. RDA was done for EPTO genera (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata) and adult Odonata species abundance. GLM was done to for the abundance of Genera and Odonates that had the association with the RDA environmental factors. Sixty four benthic macroinvertebrate families, 57 EPTO genera, and 45 adult Odonata species were recorded across all 45 sampling units. There was no significant difference between the SASS5 total score, ASPT, and family richness of the three invasion classes. Although clearing only had a weak positive effect on the adult Odonate species richness it had a positive impact on DBI scores. These differences were mainly the result of significantly larger DBI scores in the cleared sites as compared to the invaded sites. Results suggest that water quality is positively impacted by repeated clearing pointing to the importance of follow up procedures after initial clearing. Adult Odonate diversity as measured by richness, endemicity, threat and distribution respond positively to all forms of the clearing. The clearing had a significant impact on Odonate assemblage structure but did not affect EPTO structure. Variation partitioning showed that 21.8% of the variation in EPTO assemblage can be explained by spatial and environmental variables, 16% of the variation in Odonate structure was explained by spatial and environmental variables. The response of the diversity metrics to clearing increased in significance at finer taxonomic resolutions, particularly of adult Odonates whose metrics significantly improved with clearing and whose structure responded to both invasion and clearing. The study recommends the use of DBI for surveying river health when hydraulic biotopes are poor.

Keywords: DBI, evidence-based conservation, EPTO, macroinvetebrates

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Authors: Morteza Raei Dehaghi, Seyed Mohammad Mirhashemi

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The current study explored the effect of economic development, financial development and institutional quality on environmental destruction in upper-middle income countries during the time period of 1999-2011. The dependent variable is logarithm of carbon dioxide emissions that can be considered as an index for destruction or quality of the environment given to its effects on the environment. Financial development and institutional development variables as well as some control variables were considered. In order to study cross-sectional correlation among the countries under study, Pesaran and Friz test was used. Since the results of both tests show cross-sectional correlation in the countries under study, seemingly unrelated regression method was utilized for model estimation. The results disclosed that Kuznets’ environmental curve hypothesis is confirmed in upper-middle income countries and also, financial development and institutional quality have a significant effect on environmental quality. The results of this study can be considered by policy makers in countries with different income groups to have access to a growth accompanied by improved environmental quality.

Keywords: economic development, environmental destruction, financial development, institutional development, seemingly unrelated regression

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Authors: Milena Serzante, Viktoriia Stankevich, Yousre Badir

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Companies have a significant impact on the environment and society, and sustainability is important not only for ethical concerns but also for financial and economic reasons. The aim of the study is to analyze how the sustainable performance of the company impacts the economy and the business's economic performance. To achieve this goal, such methods as the Pearson correlation, Multiple Linear Regression, Cook's distance method, K-nearest neighbor and COPRAS technique were implemented. The results revealed that there is no significant correlation between different indicators of sustainable development of the company and both GDP and Return on Equity. It indicates that the methodology of evaluating sustainability causes the difference in ranking companies based on sustainable performance.

Keywords: economic impact, sustainability evaluation, sustainable companies, economic indicators, sustainability, GDP, return on equity

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Authors: Jack Mason, Ahmad Pourmovhed

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This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the internal combustion engine when compared to different types of electric vehicles. The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)'s overall cost, environmental impact, and usability will all be compared to different types of Electric Vehicles (EVs) including Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs). Also, the ways to solve the issues of the problems each vehicle presents will be discussed.

Keywords: interal combustion engine, battery electric vehicle, fuel cell electric vehicle, emissions

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Authors: Tiina Brandt, Isaac Wanasika

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Culturally diverse global companies need to understand cultural differences between leaders and employees from different backgrounds. Communication is culturally contingent and has a significant impact on effective execution of leadership goals. The awareness of cultural variations related to communication and interactions will help leaders modify their own behavior, and consequently improve the execution of goals and avoid unnecessary faux pas. Our focus is on young adults that have experienced cultural integration, culturally diverse surroundings in schools and universities, and cultural travels. Our central research problem is to understand the impact of different national cultures on communication. We focus on four countries with distinct national cultures and spatial distribution. The countries are Finland, Indonesia, Russia and USA. Our sample is based on business students (n = 225) from various backgrounds in the four countries. Their responses of communication and leadership styles were analyzed using ANOVA and post-hoc test. Results indicate that culture impacts on communication behavior. Even young culturally-exposed adults with cultural awareness and experience demonstrate cultural differences in their behavior. Apparently, culture is a deeply seated trait that cannot be completely neutralized by environmental variables. Our study offers valuable input for leadership training programs and for expatriates when recognizing specific differences on leaders’ behavior due to culture.

Keywords: communication, culture, interaction, leadership

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Authors: Kuangyou B. Cheng

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Tennis is among the most popular sports worldwide. During ball-racket impact, substantial vibration transmitted to the hand/arm may be the cause of “tennis elbow”. Although it is common for athletes to attach a “vibration damper” to the spring-bed, the effect remains unclear. To avoid subjective factors and errors in data recording, the effect of damper attachment on racket handle end vibration was investigated with computer simulation. The tennis racket was modeled as a beam with free-free ends (similar to loosely holding the racket). Finite difference method with 40 segments was used to simulate ball-racket impact response. The effect of attaching a damper was modeled as having a segment with increased mass. It was found that the damper has the largest effect when installed at the spring-bed center. However, this is not a practical location due to interference with ball-racket impact. Vibration amplitude changed very slightly when the damper was near the top or bottom of the spring-bed. The damper works only slightly better at the bottom than at the top of the spring-bed. In addition, heavier dampers work better than lighter ones. These simulation results were comparable with experimental recordings in which the selection of damper locations was restricted by ball impact locations. It was concluded that mathematical model simulations were able to objectively investigate the effect of damper attachment on racket vibration. In addition, with very slight difference in grip end vibration amplitude when the damper was attached at the top or bottom of the spring-bed, whether the effect can really be felt by athletes is questionable.

Keywords: finite difference, impact, modeling, vibration amplitude

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Authors: Mohamed Djalil Zaafour, Samir Chekchaki, Mohamed Benslama

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The Landfill of El Matrouha is located in El-Tarf town (extreme north east of Algeria), the Landfill is present as a gigantic wild dump. This waste dump occupies an area of over four hectares, tons of rubbish that is sent daily are scattered over kilometers, reaching farmland located west of the town, the landfill is close to a temporary Oued, which supply Oued Guergour the last tributary Oued El Kebir. The landfills are causing serious environmental damage, following the infiltration of leachates, which contribute to the degradation of water quality, in the context of this problem, the purpose of the work is focused on assessing the impact of this landfill on Oued El-Kebir, for this a series of sampling and analysis of the soil and water of this Oued was performed; The results show that the soil collected reveal the sandy texture facilitating infiltration and percolation of leachate from the landfill; the physicochemical analysis of the quality of the river water reveals high levels of sulfates in fact this element is one of the essential constituents of the mineral fraction of the waste presenting a risk of pollution by this element, The recorded values for nutrients are sub-standard, for trace elements analysis shows very low metal load on the river except for lead, which is present at high concentrations exceeding all standard.

Keywords: Algeria, landfill, leachates, Oued El-kebir

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Authors: Prescott C. Ensign

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Social enterprises play a vital role in Canada’s rural and northern communities. Most operate as non-profit organizations, use market approaches, and generate revenue from services or goods to support goals that address social, cultural, and environmental issues. As provincial and federal governments make reductions to programs providing social services to local communities, rural and northern residents who already have fewer resources from which to draw will be especially affected. Social enterprises will be called on to take up the slack. The aim of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive picture of the social enterprise as an organization and to understand the impact that context/ecosystem has on a social enterprise as it develops.

Keywords: social enterprises, structuration, embeddedness, ecosystem

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Authors: Seetanah Boopen, R. V. Sannassee

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The objective of the present study is two-fold. Firstly, to assess the impact of air access liberalization on tourism demand for Mauritius and secondly to analyses the dual impact of the interplay between air access liberalization and marketing promotion efforts on tourism demand. Using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, the results suggest that air access liberalization is an important ingredient, albeit to a lesser extent as compared to other classical explanatory variables, of tourism demand. The results also highlight the fact that Mauritius is perceived as a luxurious destination and tourists are deemed price sensitive. Moreover, our dynamic approach interestingly confirms the presence of repeat tourism in the island. Finally, the findings also uncover the positive impact of the interplay between air access liberalization and marketing promotion efforts on fostering tourism demand.

Keywords: air access liberalization, ARDL, SIDS, time series

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Authors: Emily Awuor, Helga Huszar, Zoltan Bozoki

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Isotope analysis has found numerous applications in the environmental science discipline, most common being the tracing of environmental contaminants on both regional and global scales. Many environmental contaminants contain ammonia (NH₃) since it is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere and its largest sources are from agricultural and industrial activities. NH₃ isotopes (¹⁴NH₃ and ¹⁵NH₃) are therefore important and can be used in the traceability studies of these atmospheric pollutants. The goal of the project is the construction of a photoacoustic spectroscopy system that is capable of measuring ¹⁵NH₃ isotope selectively in terms of its concentration. A further objective is for the system to be robust, easy-to-use, and automated. This is provided by using two telecommunication type near-infrared distributed feedback (DFB) diode lasers and a laser coupler as the light source in the photoacoustic measurement system. The central wavelength of the lasers in use was 1532 nm, with the tuning range of ± 1 nm. In this range, strong absorption lines can be found for both ¹⁴NH₃ and ¹⁵NH₃. For the selective measurement of ¹⁵NH₃, wavelengths were chosen where the cross effect of ¹⁴NH₃ and water vapor is negligible. We completed the calibration of the photoacoustic system, and as a result, the lowest detectable concentration was 3.32 ppm (3Ϭ) in the case of ¹⁵NH₃ and 0.44 ppm (3Ϭ) in the case of ¹⁴NH₃. The results are most useful in the environmental pollution measurement and analysis.

Keywords: ammonia isotope, near-infrared DFB diode laser, photoacoustic spectroscopy, environmental monitoring

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Authors: Spase Janevski

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We, as designers, should be aware of the consequences of our material selection, at the early stages of the design process. Some of the designer’s decisions can have a very significant impact on design for sustainability. The influence of this concept has led to years of research studies into eco-friendly materials and their potentials for creating new sustainable products. In order to answer the question, 'how cork has become a design trend', this paper will present an overview of the implications of the concept of design for sustainability on the potential uses of cork material. A decade ago, cork as a material had an association with wine stoppers, but with the evolution of sustainable product design as part of the concept of design for sustainability, cork now offers product designers a wide range of new materials and applications. The purpose of this paper is to show how the phenomenon of sustainability has had an impact on the progress of the material which is currently not being an integral component of the design material palette. At the beginning, the nature of the relationship between cork and sustainability will be explained through the following stages: 1) fundamental understanding of the concept of Design for Sustainability and the importance of material selection for sustainable product design, and 2) the importance of cork oak trees for the environment and the environmental impacts of cork products. In order to examine and present the influence of the sustainability on the innovation in cork applications, the paper will provide a historical overview of designing with cork. The overview will consist of four stages: 1) pre-industrial period - the period when ancient nations used cork and amphoras to store their wine; 2) industrial period - emergence and industrialization of well-known wine stoppers; 3) post-industrial period - commercializing cork products in the area of floors and coverings and first developments in industrial research; and 4) the period when large cork realized the importance of sustainability and started to focus more markedly on research and development. The existence of new cork materials, the investigation in new applications and the investment in new innovations have proved that the sustainability approach has had a great influence on the revival of this material. In addition, the paper will present some of the new cork innovative materials and applications and their potentials for designing promising and sustainable solutions with additive manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing. Lastly, the paper will introduce some questions for further study, such as the environmental impacts of the new hybrid materials and the gap between cork industry and cork research and development teams. The paper concludes by stating that cork is not only a material for wine stoppers anymore, thanks to the awareness of the concept of design for sustainability.

Keywords: cork, design for sustainability, innovation, sustainable materials

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Authors: Mojtaba Javdan, Kamran Jafarpour Ghalehteimouri, Moslem Ghasemi, Arezu Riazi

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Tourism has a huge multiplier effect on other socioeconomic sectors, resulting in better infrastructure and public services. However, its environmental impact is still a source of concern. As a result, a greater emphasis has been placed on improving the sustainability of tourist destinations. Despite the global significance of sustainability assessment, only a few widely accepted methods for measuring sustainability exist. As a result, the life cycle concept is used to evaluate environmental, economic, and social consequences. The Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is a crucial life cycle tool. Due to the tourism-specific service specifications, tourism-related activities are well-suited for the elaboration of data related to social sustainability. Therefore, the possibility of how the S-LCA is involved in ensuring cultural tourism destinations' long-term viability can be the main question. To answer this question, this article examines the theoretical evolution of both the S-LCA and cultural tourism. Potential application gaps are investigated, and an S-LCA framework for sustainable cultural tourism destinations is proposed and discussed. Thus, by bringing all stakeholders' interests together, the proposed S-LCA conceptual framework can play an effective role in achieving the principles and objectives of sustainable tourism destination management.

Keywords: social life cycle assessment, sustainable cultural tourism destinations, sustainable tourism destination management, S-LCA framework

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Authors: Eman Nagi Gowid Selim

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Nowadays, the relevance of places to people has been questioned from different perspectives. This is attributed to the fact that many international concrete blocks were used to create multi-use public spaces in neighborhoods based on the techniques of mass-productions concepts that became one of the most effective ways in building construction, replacing the local and traditional built environment. During the last decades, the world has become increasingly globalized and citizen more mobilized, and thus, ignoring the social and environmental dimensions of the local identity. The main enquiries of the research are “How did building technologies affect urban settlement’s identity?” and “What are the impacts of technologies and globalization on local identities in urban spaces? “From this perspective, the research presents firstly, a historical review that shows how old civilizations enhance their local identities using the newly discovered building materials in each era in different urban settlement and fabrics without losing the identity. The second part of the research highlights the different approaches of building technologies and urban design to present a clear understanding of ways of applying and merging between different methodologies to achieve the most efficient urban space design. The third part aims at analyzing some international and national case studies where the form and structure of particular spaces are vital to identifying the morphological elements of urban settlements and the links existing between them. In addition, it determines how the building materials are used to enrich the vocabulary of the local identity. This part ends with the deduction of the guidelines for the integration of the environmental and social dimensions within the building technologies` approaches to enhance the sustainability of local identities and thus, ending up with redefining "Urban Identity" to guide future research in such cultural areas. Finally, the research uses the comparative methodology for applying the deduced guidelines on a national case study namely “Othman`s Towers” in corniche El Maadi, and then ends up by some results in the form of strategies for future researcher, that identifies how to ensure local identity in urban settlements using new building materials and technologies to achieve social and environmental comfort within the cultural areas.

Keywords: building technologies, cultural context, environmental approach, participatory design, social dimension, urban spaces

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Authors: Mary David, Denis Basila

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This study assessed the Impact of Board Composition on the Performance of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. A sample of ten (10) deposit money banks formed the sample of this study. Board size, gender diversity, and board independence were used as the independent variables, and firm size as a control variable, whiles the bank performance was proxy with Tobin’s Q (TQ) as the dependent variable. Secondary data was collected from secondary source through the annual report and account of the banks and was analyzed through the support of STATA 14 versions. Descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, and OLS multiple regression model were adopted for the study. Breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test for random effect was conducted. The findings of the study reveal that board size has positive and significant impact on Tobin’s Q, gender diversity has positive and significant impact on Tobin’s Q, while board independent had a negative and nonsignificant influence on the Tobin’s Q, Similarly, firm size was found to have a negative and nonsignificant impact on Tobin’s Q of the study banks. This study recommended that policy makers, stakeholders, and corporate managers of deposit money banks of Nigeria and related industries are encouraged to adopt board sizes and gender diversity that impact positively on bank performance.

Keywords: board composition, performance, deposit money banks, nigeria

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Authors: Zeta Dooly, Aidan Duane

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The collaborative European funded research and development landscape provides prime environmental conditions for multi-disciplinary teams to learn and enhance their knowledge beyond the capability of training and learning within their own organisation cocoons. Whilst the emergence of the academic entrepreneur has changed the focus of educational institutions to that of quasi-businesses, the training and professional development of lecturers and academic staff are often not formalised to the same level as industry. This research focuses on industry and academic collaborative research funded by the European Commission. The impact of research is scalable if an optimum research network is created and managed effectively. This paper investigates network embeddedness, the nature of relationships, links, and nodes within a research network, and the enhancement of the network’s knowledge. The contribution of this paper extends our understanding of establishing and maintaining effective collaborative research networks. The effects of network embeddedness are recognized in the literature as pertinent to innovation and the economy. Network theory literature claims that networks are essential to innovative clusters such as Silicon valley and innovation in high tech industries. This research provides evidence to support the impact collaborative research has on the disparate individuals toward their innovative contributions to their organisations and their own professional development. This study adopts a qualitative approach and uncovers some of the challenges of multi-disciplinary research through case study insights. The contribution of this paper recommends the establishment of scaffolding to accommodate cooperation in research networks, role appointment, and addressing contextual complexities early to avoid problem cultivation. Furthermore, it suggests recommendations in relation to network formation, intra-network challenges in relation to open data, competition, friendships, and competency enhancement. The network capability is enhanced by the adoption of the relevant theories; network theory, open innovation, and social exchange, with the understanding that the network structure has an impact on innovation and social exchange in research networks. The research concludes that there is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the impact of network reuse and network hoping that provides scaffolding for the network members to enhance and build upon their knowledge using a progressive approach.

Keywords: research networks, competency building, network theory, case study

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