ALBERT

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2138: Impact of the Interactive Learning Environments in Children’s Prosocial Behavior Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072138 Authors: Lourdes Villardón-Gallego Rocío García-Carrión Lara Yáñez-Marquina Ana Estévez Prosocial behavior consists of a set of behaviors that are beneficial to others in the form of sharing and helping. It includes aspects such as solidarity and friendship, and it fosters development and positive psychological functioning; it also improves classroom and school climate. Interactive learning environments may play a crucial role in creating affordances for students to develop prosocial behavior. This study analyzes the impact of two educational interventions based on egalitarian dialogue (Dialogic Literary Gathering and Interactive Groups) on prosocial behavior among fourth grade elementary students. A quasi-experimental design has been carried out, in which measurements have been taken before and after the intervention. Results show that students involved in the Dialogic Literary Gatherings increased significantly their level of prosocial behavior more than those in the control groups. However, no significant differences have been found between students in the experimental and control condition, when considering Interactive Groups. These results have important educational implications for creating conducive learning environments for the development of prosocial behavior.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2136: Evaluating the Quality of Enterprise Environmental Accounting Information Disclosure Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072136 Authors: Ming Li Anning Tian Shuyi Li Xiaoyu Qi To grasp the overall disclosure of the quality of enterprise environmental accounting information and find the weakness of disclosure for precise improvements, an approach for the evaluation for the quality of enterprise environmental accounting information disclosure was proposed. First, the evaluation index system of enterprise environmental accounting information disclosure quality was constructed from three aspects: relevance, reliability, and compliance. Relevance measured whether the relevant information was disclosed comprehensively; reliability checked whether the disclosed information was in accordance with the reality; and compliance assessed whether the disclosed information complied with the laws and regulations. Considering that the ratings derived from multiple appraisers with respect to the evaluation index were in linguistic forms, the aggregation method based on triangular fuzzy numbers was constructed. The consistency of ratings was used to calculate the weight of appraisers for the deduction of personal bias and a case study verified the feasibility and practicality of the proposed approach. The approach not only was applied to the assessment of the company, but also provided some suggestions based on the evaluation results.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2134: Sustainable Public Procurement Policies on Promoting Scientific and Technological Innovation in China: Comparisons with the U.S., the UK, Japan, Germany, France, and South Korea Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072134 Authors: Xiaoli Wang Yun Liu Yanbing Ju In many countries, sustainable public procurement is a powerful tool to reflect on national strategic intentions and promote scientific and technological innovation. Based on the perspective of an institutional structure, we filtered out the core policies. Using policy bibliometrics, we analyzed Chinese public procurement policies on promoting scientific and technological innovation, revealed policy-making characteristics, and concluded that the Ministry of Finance should appropriately decentralize the policy-making work to other relevant agencies of the State Council. This article compares the main policy tools from four dimensions in China, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, and South Korea. We issued these pertinent strategies: establishing the vendor database for small and medium enterprises, developing a grade system and the post-evaluation system, formulating detailed implementation methods for high-tech products (services), and carrying out classification management for imported products. For sustainable public procurement policies on promoting scientific and technological innovation, this article provides an effective reference to organize the agencies and formulate the detail measures. This article’s research framework could be applied to analyze other industry policies.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2130: Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Electricity Grid Corporations Employing a Novel MCDM Model Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072130 Authors: Haoran Zhao Huiru Zhao Sen Guo Under the new round reform of electricity market in China, a large amount of electricity sales companies has emerged in some provinces, and the reform of transmission and distribution tariffs is also in progress. Electricity grid corporations are required to update their operational strategies and improve comprehensive performance to adapt to the fierce competition in the electricity market. Considering this, a novel MCDM (multi-criteria decision making) model integrating Fuzzy-Delphi, the best-worst method (BWM), the entropy weight calculation approach, and the VIKOR method is established in this investigation to assess the comprehensive performances of five selected provincial electricity grid corporations. The comprehensive performance assessment indicator system is constructed in accordance with Fuzzy-Delphi approach, composed of 21 significant sub-criteria from the aspects of profitability capacity, development capacity, safety production capacity, electricity supply reliability, outstanding service provision, energy conservation, and environmental protection. The sub-criteria weights are computed by combining subjective weights determined by BWM and objective weights computed by the entropy weight calculation approach. The comprehensive performance evaluation model is established based on VIKOR. As the electricity grid corporation A is superior in profitability capacity (especially in electricity sales amount) and safety production capacity criterion, it is superior over other four electricity grid corporations. The established novel MCDM is practical and rational, which is applicable for electricity grid corporations’ comprehensive performance evaluation.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2132: Assessment of a Concealed Karst Cave’s Influence on Karst Tunnel Stability: A Case Study of the Huaguoshan Tunnel, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072132 Authors: Xin Huang Shucai Li Zhenhao Xu Ming Guo Yucheng Chen In order to assess a concealed karst cave’s influence on karst tunnel stability, an assessment model is proposed based on the analytic hierarchy process and a statistical analysis of relevant engineering projects. Major factors are studied and selected as impact factors of the assessment model based on a statistical analysis on a karst cave’ s development conditions (karst hydrogeological and engineering geological conditions), construction conditions, and controlling measures. A weight analysis of factors shows that the surrounding rock grade, supporting measurement, formation lithology, unfavorable geology, construction methods, blasting techniques, advanced geological forecast, and groundwater level are the main controlling factors of the tunnel stability when there is a concealed karst cave in the tunnel. Topography and geomorphology, attitude of rocks, monitoring measurement, strata combination, and interlayer fissures are the minor influence factors. Tunnel section shapes, in situ stress, and geological logging are the least important factors. The proposed method is successfully applied to the assessment of a concealed karst cave’s influence on the stability of the Huaguoshan Tunnel on the Enshi-Laifeng and Enshi-Qianjiang Expressways. The evaluation result agrees well with the construction site situation. In addition, the result provides good guidance with respect to the implementation of the treatment scheme and effectively avoids accidents in real-time.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2142: Community-Based Rural Tourism in Inter-Organizational Collaboration: How Does It Work Sustainably? Lessons Learned from Nglanggeran Tourism Village, Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072142 Authors: Asnawi Manaf Novia Purbasari Maya Damayanti Nanda Aprilia Winny Astuti In recent years, socio-economic disparities, especially between rural and urban areas (Gini index up to 0.4) have attracted significant concern from the Government of Indonesia, which developed a community-based rural tourism program as one of the attempts to overcome this problem. Though the program seems quite promising, the implementation was challenging, especially regarding sustainability. Therefore, successful and sustainable practical examples are needed. This paper analyzes the results of a case study from the experiences of community-based tourism implementation in Nglanggeran Tourism Village, Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which was considered as successful and sustainable. The main focus of this research is on how the collaboration and involvement of the related inter-organizational stakeholders, initiated by the local community, particularly the youth, has contributed to the program sustainability. Data and information for this study were obtained through in-depth interviews, observation, and documents review. This study found that the local community has a major role in implementing the program, among those various entities of stakeholders. Hence, the paper states this is the key to the success and sustainability of the program.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2143: The Fourth Regime of Open Space Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072143 Authors: Hubert Gulinck Ernesto Marcheggiani Anna Verhoeve Kirsten Bomans Valerie Dewaelheyns Frederik Lerouge Andrea Galli This article reinterprets open space as the theatre of adaptive regimes in the interfering wakes of two major waves of transformation: the agricultural and the urban transformation. The aim of the wave regime concept is to accommodate traditional and emerging land uses in a logical scheme of co-existing regimes separated by transition waves in space and time. Each wave corresponds to a transitional stage from one set to another set of value regime, which by the agents of the transformation is interpreted as a major value increase. The current struggle for space and the difficult interpretations of quality and sustainability can be explained as expressions of competition between value regimes. These value regimes tend to be driven and perpetuated by customary paradigms of land-use planning and management (urban planning, ecology, agronomy, etc.). Land-use sectors ask for rather unambiguous definitions and clear use rights of land use categories and zoning, leaving limited possibility for interaction, mixed regimes and innovative multifunctional land-use. New service demands, new sustainability and resilience urgencies challenge these customary land-use planning paradigms and their rules and instruments. This paper acknowledges a third wave and consequent fourth regime. This regime seeks overall increased sustainability and resilience in open spaces, stressing the strategic importance of unsealed soils and other life conditioning substrates. Different existing land-use models, such as “transition towns”, “agroforestry” and many more, can be interpreted as fourth regime examples, but altogether there is a need for more coordination or integration to turn the third wave concept into a real “wave”. A specific target is to scan territories for characteristics and values according to the prevailing regimes, and assess each unit in terms of third wave transition opportunities, even within active uses that may be at odds with customary rules and expectations. This is illustrated for cases of illegal intake of farmland for non-agricultural activities and for domestic gardens as a missing category in customary rural and land use policy.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2146: Impacts of Dryland Farm Management Systems on Weeds and Ground Beetles (Carabidae) in the Northern Great Plains Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072146 Authors: Subodh Adhikari Fabian D. Menalled Farming systems act as ecological filters impacting cropland associated biodiversity; however, the extent of these effects is largely unknown in the drylands of the Northern Great Plains (NGP), a key conventional and organic crop production region. In this 3-year (2013–2015) on-farm study, we addressed this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of conventional and organic farming systems on weed and ground beetle (carabidae) communities. We observed 25 weed species in conventional and 44 in organic fields. Weed species richness and weed species evenness were 237% and 137% greater in organic fields than in conventional fields. We collected a total of 1520 beetle specimens, representing 28 species in conventional and 37 in organic fields. Beetle activity-density and species richness were 220% and 156% greater in organic fields than in conventional fields. Both weed and ground beetle communities differed between conventional and organic fields, indicating that farming systems act as distinct ecological filters. We conclude that, in the drylands of the NGP, adoption of organic farming enhances weed abundance which could have potential management challenges, but provide floral resources to the pollinators and parasitoids. Similarly, greater diversity of ground beetles could enhance conservation biological control of crop pests, ultimately supporting for sustainable agriculture.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2144: Financial Risk Measurement and Prediction Modelling for Sustainable Development of Business Entities Using Regression Analysis Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072144 Authors: Katarina Valaskova Tomas Kliestik Lucia Svabova Peter Adamko The issue of the debt, bankruptcy or non-bankruptcy of a company is presented in this article as one of the ways of conceiving risk management. We use the Amadeus database to obtain the financial and accounting data of Slovak enterprises from 2015 and 2016 to calculate the most important financial ratios that may affect the financial health of the company. The main aim of the article is to reveal financial risks of Slovak entities and to form a prediction model, which is done by the identification of significant predictors having an impact on the health of Slovak companies and their future prosperity. Realizing the multiple regression analysis, we identified the significant predictors in conditions of the specific economic environment to estimate the corporate prosperity and profitability. The results gained in the research are extra important for companies themselves, but also for their business partners, suppliers and creditors to eliminate financial and other corporate risks related to the unhealthy or unfavorable financial situation of the company.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2119: Optimization of Water Consumption Distribution Based on Crop Suitability in the Middle Reaches of Heihe River Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072119 Authors: Liuyue He Sufen Wang Congcong Peng Qian Tan Optimizing regional crop water consumption is considered to be a significant approach for increasing yields and reducing water consumption. This paper proposes a single-objective linear programming model which couples the distributed water consumption model with crop suitability. The impacts of meteorological, topographic, and soil factors were taken into account in both the distributed water consumption model and the crop suitability. The developed model was applied to a real case study in the middle reaches of Heihe River basin, in the northwest of China. In the optimization model, the net benefit which combined the water consumption with crop suitability was regarded as the objective function, while the limits on available water and planting area were set as the constraints. Optimal results regarding crop distribution and water consumption were generated for dry, normal, and wet hydrological years. Two optimization strategies were analyzed, including one with a fixed area of each crop and the other with a fixed total planting area. Economic analyses showed that net income under both optimization strategies increased by 31% and 33%, respectively. Although water consumption increased slightly in both optimization scenarios, the unit water income and unit area income were much higher than in the pre-optimization conditions. The obtained results are valuable for supporting the adjustment of planting patterns and the identification of desired plans for sustainable irrigation water allocation.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2184: A Holistic Sustainability Framework for Waste Management in European Cities: Concept Development Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072184 Authors: Sue Ellen Taelman Davide Tonini Alexander Wandl Jo Dewulf Waste management represents a challenge for public authorities due to many reasons such as increased waste generation following urban population growth, economic burdens imposed on the municipal budget, and nuisances inevitably caused to the environment and local inhabitants. To optimize the system from a sustainability perspective, moving the transition towards a more circular economy, a better understanding of the different stages of waste management is necessary. A review of recently developed sustainability frameworks for waste management showed that no single framework captures all the instruments needed to ultimately provide a solid basis for comprehensive analyses of the potential burdens associated with urban waste management. Bearing this limitation in mind, the objective of this research is to propose a conceptual and comprehensive sustainability framework to support decision-making in waste management of European cities. The framework comprises a combination of methods capable of identifying future strategies and scenarios, to assess different types of impacts based on a life cycle perspective, and considers the value of waste streams, the actors involved, and possible constraints of implementing scenarios. The social, economic, environmental, technical and political domains are covered, and special attention is paid to impacts affecting foremost the local population.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2180: An Improved Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method for Evaluating Spatial Accessibility to Urban Emergency Shelters Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072180 Authors: Xiaomeng Zhu Zhijun Tong Xingpeng Liu Xiangqian Li Pengda Lin Tong Wang As an important component of urban disaster prevention and mitigation systems, the balance and equity of emergency shelter distribution can be measured based on spatial accessibility utilizing the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method. However, there are some issues in previous studies on emergency shelter accessibility evaluated by the 2SFCA method: (1) the high discretization of population distribution data and the travel cost being measured base on Euclidean distance; (2) ignoring the difference between shelter and population catchment sizes. To address these issues, we propose an improved 2SFCA method that computes the shelter and population catchments respectively to evaluate the emergency shelter accessibility in Changchun, China. We compare the proposed improved 2SFCA method to the original 2SFCA method. The results indicate that the catchment size and shelter accessibility calculated by the proposed method are more realistic and objective. The improved 2SFCA method is applicable method for evaluating the shelter accessibility and can provide advice for the planning and management of emergency shelters in the future.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2182: Development of Climate-Based Index for Hydrologic Hazard Susceptibility Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072182 Authors: Mohamed Salem Nashwan Shamsuddin Shahid Eun-Sung Chung Kamal Ahmed Young Hoon Song An index has been developed for the assessment of geographical distribution of susceptibility to hydrological hazards using easily available climate data. Catastrophe fuzzy theory and data clustering methods were used to avoid subjectivity in the estimation of the index of multiple climate indicators. The proposed index was used for the estimation of geographical distribution of hydrological hazard susceptibility index (HHSI) in Peninsular Malaysia using gauge-based, gridded rainfall and temperature data for the period 1948–2010. The results showed that the northeast regions of Peninsular Malaysia are more susceptible to hydrological hazard, which matches very well with the general conception of the hydrological hazard susceptible zones. Assessment of susceptibility for sliding different 30-year periods between 1950 and 2010 revealed that HHSI has increased in the south and decreased in the northeast of the peninsula. The decrease in temporal and spatial variability of rainfall in the northeast and the increase in other parts can become the causes of spatial changes in hazard susceptibility. The changes of HHSI in recent years compared to the base period revealed the increase of hazard susceptibility in the south in the range of 8.81% to 21.01%, while a significant decrease (>−31.84%) was observed in the northeast.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2204: Does Migrant Status and Household Registration Matter? Examining the Effects of City Size on Self-Rated Health Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072204 Authors: Chunshan Zhou Jing Chen Shaojian Wang Rapid urban population growth, especially in the last three decades, has begun to present a serious threat to living conditions, and posing increased risks to human health. Investigating the relationship between population size of city areas and self-rated health (SRH) can, we argue, provide insights for the management of population growth and improving SRH. This study employed a multilevel analysis to reveal the effects of city size on SRH both from migrant status and household registration perspectives, using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) for 2013. The results indicate that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between city size and SRH. Income and population density were shown to constitute significant positive impact drivers in relation to SRH. In contrast, migrant status and household registration exerted a significant negative effect on SRH. While the SRH status of migrants was not influenced by city size, city size was found to influence the SRH of individuals differently in different regions (i.e., eastern, central, and western parts of China). The results will be helpful in understanding the effect of the dynamics of city size on SRH in China, and will assist the Chinese government in employing effective strategies to improve SRH status.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2198: Cooperative Longevity and Sustainable Development in a Family Farming System Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072198 Authors: Cynthia Giagnocavo Emilio Galdeano-Gómez Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa This paper focuses on small holding, family farming in Southeast Spain where agricultural economic activity is predominantly organized around cooperative business models. A variety of diverse studies on the Almería agricultural and credit cooperative sector and the exploration of social-economic and eco-social indicators, in addition to economic-market indicators are presented. Each correspond to a cooperative “logic” that spans theoretical perspectives from the dominant economic-market model, new institutionalism, and an eco-social approach, echoing theories on collective coordination governance, and the avoidance of the “tragedy of the commons”. The latter is of particular importance given environmental challenges and scarce resources for agricultural activity. The cooperatives in Almería have increasingly relied on collective collaboration and coordination in order to meet social-economic and social-ecological challenges, transforming their role from that founded on a market dominant logic to that of cooperation as a coordination mechanism based on the mutual benefit of the community and environment. In turn, their ability to meet a wide range of needs and challenges of members and the community leads to their longevity. Cooperatives are able to act as both a market and non-market coordination mechanism, balancing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions, such that neither market nor non-market logics are dominant or exclusive.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2199: Extrinsic Value Orientation and Decreased Sustainability of Shared Resources: The Moderating Role of Situational Characteristics Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072199 Authors: Geurim Han Junghwa Kim Sun W. Park In the present research, we investigated the roles of both personal values and situational characteristics in predicting environmentally irresponsible behavior using the tragedy of commons dilemma. Graduate or undergraduate students (n = 138) visited the laboratory as a group of four and completed measures of personal values and played a commons dilemma game online. Participants were led to believe that they were playing with the other three participants, but they were in fact playing with three bot players that were manipulated to use the shared resources either cooperatively or competitively. It was found that people who put more emphasis on extrinsic values (financial success, appealing appearance, and social recognition) relative to intrinsic values (personal growth, affiliation, and community contribution) consumed more shared resources than their counterparts. However, this link was significant only in the competitive condition, suggesting an interaction between personal and situational factors. Supplementary analyses indicate that financial success and community contribution are particularly important in predicting environmentally irresponsible behavior.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2195: A Countryside to Sip: Venice Inland and the Prosecco’s Uneasy Relationship with Wine Tourism and Rural Exploitation Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072195 Authors: Francesco Visentin Francesco Vallerani In 2016, Italian production of wine exceeded 51 million hectolitres and among the twenty regions, the region with the most production by volume (millions of hectolitres) was the Veneto region, north-east of Italy, with almost 11 million. In particular, the success of Prosecco at the global level is the most important driving factor at both the economic and productivity levels. The worldwide success of Prosecco wine entails a remarkable change in both the local and regional configuration of agrarian landscapes. Traditional winegrowing swiftly changed into an intensive monoculture with remarkable investments and the spread of new viticulture entrepreneurships. The discussion proposed here intends to investigate the process of heritage construction or ‘heritagisation’, UNESCO candidacy, as an important issue for rural tourism promotion in the context of a productive winescape. We concentrated our analysis on the DOCG area, a complex space where several forces need to coexist; the productive drive of growing requests (global and local) of Prosecco, as well as rural representation based on local habits and a concrete hilly landscape. Rural tourism is clearly an important sector in terms of revenue and employment, especially for local communities, and it can help to ensure economic stability; however, doing so in a way that benefits the area and the landscape is not so straightforward. There are potential problems in facilitating increased urbanization, such as the standardization of landscape and damage to the area if plans are mismanaged. In the case of best practices, a desirable model of tourism can be tapped into while helping rural regions take advantage of more sustainable tourism development and landscape management.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2192: Strategies, Advances, and Challenges in Breeding Perennial Grain Crops Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072192 Authors: Timothy E. Crews Douglas J. Cattani The development of new perennial crop species is gaining momentum as a promising approach to change the fundamental nature of ecosystem processes in agriculture. The ecological argument for perennial crops grown in polycultures is strong, but until recently, perennial herbaceous grain crops have been absent from agricultural landscape. This is not because perennial herbaceous species do not exist in nature—there are thousands of perennial grasses, legumes, and other broad leaf plants. Rather, for a variety of reasons, early farmers focused on cultivating and domesticating annuals, and the perennial herbs were largely ignored. Today, we have a tremendous opportunity to explore another agricultural path. Building on contemporary knowledge of plant biology and genetics that early farmers lacked, and using a rapidly expanding toolbox that includes sophisticated genomic and analytical approaches, we can develop viable perennial grain crops. These crops can then be used to assemble diverse agroecosystems that regenerate soils and capture other important ecosystem functions.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2187: Synergy Degree Evaluation Based on Synergetics for Sustainable Logistics Enterprises Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072187 Authors: Juan Huang Yuhong Shuai Qi Liu Hang Zhou Zhenggang He Today, logistics activities have become a major source of pollution that affects the environment and green logistics is becoming a hot topic. A logistics company’s operating strategy determines the direction of logistics activities and impact degree of logistics activities on the environment. And in logistics enterprises, there is a direct relationship between efficiency and collaboration as collaboration can reduce logistics costs and the negative impact of the bullwhip effect and increase the service level. Synergy degree evaluation, therefore, is crucial to analyze collaboration, identify vulnerabilities, promote development and is also a key step in building a green logistics system. This paper employs Synergetics to comprehensively evaluate the synergy degree in sustainable logistics enterprises. First, Synergetics is introduced to evaluate the synergy degree of sustainable logistics enterprises and the basic Synergetics principles are presented. Second, based on the Law of the Factors of Production, the synergy elements and logistics enterprise content is divided into three main factors: subject elements, object elements and facility and equipment elements. Then, a measurement model and framework for the synergy degree of logistics enterprises is built. Finally, a case study is given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and framework. It was found that the higher the logistics enterprise synergy degree, the higher the efficiency.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2191: Pathways to Equitable and Sustainable Education through the Inclusion of Roma Students in Learning Mathematics Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072191 Authors: Javier Díez-Palomar Ainhoa Flecha Fernández de Sanmamed Rocío García-Carrión Silvia Molina-Roldán Education is a key feature in the development of an agenda for a sustainable world. Education usually is associated with developing a responsible and ethical citizenship, aware of the main challenges for a sustainable development. Mathematics used to play a role as gatekeeper to achieve good educational performance. This article explores six case studies of Roma developing successful learning stories in learning mathematics. We identify five main characteristics in their educational trajectories that may explain Roma students’ success in the school. This article moves forward previous studies characterizing Roma cultural features of mathematics learning, reporting stereotypes towards Roma in school. We conclude that in order to promote educational inclusion, successful stories may inform effective educational programs that, ultimately, may lead towards a sustainable education, including students from the most disadvantaged groups, as in the case of the Roma people.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2190: From Learner-Centered to Learner-Driven Sustainability Education Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072190 Authors: Jaana Herranen Veli-Matti Vesterinen Maija Aksela Learner-centered sustainability education has been advocated to be used in higher education, but the pedagogy is blurry. In the discussions, also an idea of a learner-driven approach has been promoted. The aim of this study is to study how these pedagogies have been described and suggested to be used by a group of higher education students responsible for planning a teacher education course on sustainability education. This case study uses grounded theory to analyze the higher education students’ beliefs about learner-centered and learner-driven sustainability education. The data was obtained from audio-recordings of the planning process and two semi-structured interviews of five students acting as course designers. The course designers showed to have beliefs about the nature of learner-centered/learner-driven pedagogy, freedom, meaningfulness, acting and making an influence in the learning environment, the nature and ownership of sustainable development knowledge, the diversity of the learners, and pedagogical support. The results indicate that the learner-centered and learner-driven approach are fundamentally different in terms of all of the categories. In conclusion, it is suggested that the terminology concerning learner-centered and learner-driven approaches should be more precise, and sustainability education should be developed towards a more transformative, learner-driven education.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2233: Overconfidence, Optimism and Entrepreneurship Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072233 Authors: Indy Bernoster Cornelius A. Rietveld A. Roy Thurik Olivier Torrès Overconfidence is one of the alleged drivers for market entry. However, establishing its effect is challenging and much of the existing entrepreneurship literature confusingly conflates overconfidence with optimism. In the present study, we use validated scales to analyze the relationship between overconfidence and two important aspects of entrepreneurship, while explicitly controlling for optimism. Specifically, we study the role of overconfidence in developing intentions about entering entrepreneurship as well as how overconfidence relates to entrepreneurial orientation. Our findings show that overconfidence is related to intended market entry but not to the market position (entrepreneurial orientation) of the business.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2227: Combining Satellite and UAV Imagery to Delineate Forest Cover and Basal Area after Mixed-Severity Fires Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072227 Authors: Fernando C. Rossi Andreas Fritz Gero Becker In northern Argentina, the assessment of degraded forests is a big challenge for both science and practice, due to their heterogeneous structure. However, new technologies could contribute to mapping post-disturbance canopy cover and basal area in detail. Therefore, this research assesses whether or not the inclusion of partial cover unmanned aerial vehicle imagery could reduce the classification error of a SPOT6 image used in an area-based inventory. BA was calculated from 77 ground inventory plots over 3944 ha of a forest affected by mixed-severity fires in the Argentinian Yungas. In total, 74% of the area was covered with UAV flights, and canopy height models were calculated to estimate partial canopy cover at three tree height classes. Basal area and partial canopy cover were used to formulate the adjusted canopy cover index, and it was calculated for 70 ground plots and an additional 20 image plots. Four classes of fire severity were created based on basal area and adjusted canopy cover index, and were used to run two supervised classifications over a segmented (algorithm multiresolution) wall-to-wall SPOT6 image. The comparison of the Cohan’s Kappa coefficient of both classifications shows that they are not significantly different (p-value: 0.43). However, the approach based on the adjusted canopy cover index achieved more homogeneous strata (Welch t-test with 95% of confidence). Additionally, UAV-derived canopy height model estimates of tree height were compared with field measurements of 71 alive trees. The canopy height models underestimated tree height with an RMSE ranging from 2.8 to 8.3 m. The best accuracy of the canopy height model was achieved using a larger pixel size (10 m), and for lower stocked plots due to high fire severity.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2228: Millets for Food Security in the Context of Climate Change: A Review Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072228 Authors: Rachit Saxena Sai Kranthi Vanga Jin Wang Valérie Orsat Vijaya Raghavan A growing population means an ever-increasing demand for food. This global concern has led to antagonism over resources such as water and soil. Climate change can directly influence the quality and availability of these resources, thereby adversely affecting our food systems and crop productivity, especially of major cereals such as rice, wheat and maize. In this review, we have looked at the availability of resources such as water and soil based on several modeling scenarios in different regions of the world. Most of these models predict that there will be a reduction in production rates of various cereal crops. Furthermore, all the major cereal crops are known to have a higher contribution to global warming than alternative crops such as millets which should be considered in mitigating global food insecurity. In this study, we have used the data to predict which regions of the world are most adversely affected by climate change and how the cultivation of millets and other crops could aid in the reduction of stress on environmental resources.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2223: Quantitative Assessment of Regional Debris-Flow Risk: A Case Study in Southwest China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072223 Authors: Guangxu Liu Erfu Dai Xinchuang Xu Wenxiang Wu Aicun Xiang This paper uses a comprehensive risk assessment method to investigate the population risk of debris flows in Southwest China. The methodology integrates models from hazard, vulnerability literature and some empirical equations. The main steps include debris-flow disaster-hazard zoning, estimation of the frequency of the disaster, factor identification of population vulnerability, and calculation of the fragility rate. The results demonstrate that the most hazardous regions in Southwest China are primarily observed in the mountains around the Sichuan Basin, the border area between Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, the eastern and southern regions of Yunnan Province, and the eastern area of Guizhou Province. The extremely high vulnerability zones are characterized by a fragility rate of 3.89 persons per 10,000 people. The comprehensive risk gradually increases from the southeast of the study area to the central region, reaching its highest value (more than 100 persons/year) on the Jiangyou–Zhaotong–Baoshan Line and decreasing thereafter to its lowest in the northwestern region. Extremely large-scale disasters are the major factor of casualties. Appropriate risk management and mitigation solutions should be comprehensively determined based on the combination of debris-hazard levels and fragility rates in the hazardous regions.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2224: Temporal Stability of Groundwater Depth in the Contemporary Yellow River Delta, Eastern China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072224 Authors: Ruiyan Wang Simon Huston Yuhuan Li Huiping Ma Yang Peng Lihua Ding Sustainable development calls for the wise use of groundwater resources. Of particular concern is saline intrusion into productive agricultural land, which is contiguous with densely populated coastal settlements. To reverse saline intrusion in such coastal regions, information about the groundwater depth in terms of its spatio-temporal variability is essential. Using survey data from 2004 to 2007, the research revealed the temporal variation characteristics of groundwater depth in the Contemporary Yellow River Delta. It explored the temporal stability characteristics of groundwater depth by using the coefficient of variation, Spearman rank correlation coefficient, and average relative deviation and standard deviation, and confirmed that the representative point reflected the average groundwater depth of the study area. Results showed that spatial variation of the groundwater depth in the study area was medium, but the variation coefficient of groundwater depth showed the seasonal changes. The spatial variation coefficient was largest in the dry season; the other months were relatively stable. The groundwater depth in the study area had strong temporal stability. The correlation between the Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the time lags showed that the spatial pattern of groundwater depth in the study area was similar across two or three years but the similarity weakened beyond this period. The representative points of the whole area showed a good linear correlation, and were spatially concentrated. In different years or time periods, the representative points were not the same but belonged to the medium groundwater depth grade in the area. The study provides useful guidance for Yellow River irrigation, preventing saline intrusion and the restoration of saline-alkali soils. It offers a theoretical basis for identifying regional satellite groundwater depth monitoring points.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2229: Research on the Pricing Model of the Dual-Channel Reverse Supply Chain Considering Logistics Costs and Consumers’ Awareness of Sustainability Based on Regional Differences Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072229 Authors: Juhong Chen Di Wu Peng Li With the prevalence of Internet technology, many recycling centers have developed a dual-channel reverse supply chain by introducing online recycling channels on the basis of offline third-party recyclers (TPR). In addition, great imbalanced development has been observed in different regions in China, as supported by the literature review. It is necessary to help companies in the supply chain to adjust their pricing strategies according to regional differences. This paper is aimed at answering the following two questions: (1) After introducing online channels, what strategies should the recycling center adopt to adjust online recycling prices and to readjust the transfer price of offline channels? (2) How do recycling centers and TPR in city A & B modify their pricing strategies in accordance with logistics costs or consumers’ awareness of sustainability changes in city B? To solve the above questions, models were made to study the pricing strategies of recycling centers and the TPR based on the Stackelberg game in a dual-channel reverse supply chain in two cities. The results indicate that recycling centers will benefit from the increase in consumers’ awareness of sustainability and the reduction in logistics costs of the online channel in city B; this is in contrast to the TPR in this city. We also find that the revenue of the TPR in city A will be affected when the above two factors in city B change. Its increase or decrease depends on the selection of pricing strategy by the recycling center.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2211: Design for Manufacture and Assembly Oriented Design Approach to a Curtain Wall System: A Case Study of a Commercial Building in Wuhan, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072211 Authors: Ke Chen Weisheng Lu A curtain wall system (CWS) is one of the most popular elements for the external walls of large, multistory buildings. Applying the design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) principles to the design of a CWS aims to increase the quality, sustainability, and cost efficiency associated with the assembly of the CWS. Studies reporting a DfMA-oriented design approach to CWSs are extremely rare. This paper reports a case study of a successful application of a DfMA-oriented design approach to a CWS in a commercial building in Wuhan, China. The case study provides valuable information about how DfMA could be applied to the construction industry. Through interviews with key project participants and on-site observations, the benefits of a DfMA-oriented CWS design were revealed, including decreased material cost and waste, reduced on-site assembly time, and improved quality and aesthetic performance of the CWS. It was also found that an operative multidisciplinary team underpinned the success of DfMA application in the case project, which, however, might be held back by the absence of any use of digital, parametric design technologies during the design process.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2207: PCR Species-Specific Primers for Molecular Gut Content Analysis to Determine the Contribution of Generalist Predators to the Biological Control of the Vector of Xylella fastidiosa Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072207 Authors: Esther Lantero Beatriz Matallanas Susana Pascual Carmen Callejas The European Union (EU) is facing the recent arrival of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Its fast spread has caused great alarm because of the economic impact it implies for the agroeconomy of European countries. Among its insect vectors, Philaenus spumarius has been demonstrated to transmit the bacterium from infected to uninfected trees in the EU, where different measures have been established to control it. One of the proposals to manage this vector is the augmentation of natural enemy populations. However, the identification of candidate predator species is essential if such a management system is to be introduced. The present paper describes a set of species-specific primers designed to detect the presence of P. spumarius DNA in soil arthropod fauna generalist predators’ gut which can reveal candidate species for the pest’s biological control. Such primers have been proven to be a useful and reliable taxonomic tool for P. spumarius identification at any life stage, i.e., nymphs. This rapid and accurate identification is essential for control strategies designed to avoid the spread of the pest and consequently the considerable economic losses it causes in crops.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2216: Experimental Analysis of Stresses in Subsoil below a Rectangular Fiber Concrete Slab † Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072216 Authors: Eva Hrubesova Marek Mohyla Hynek Lahuta Tuan Quang Bui Phi Dinh Nguyen This paper is focused on sensitivity analysis of the behavior of subsoil foundation systems by considering the variant properties of a fiber concrete slab that result in different relative stiffness of the whole cooperating system. The character of the slab and its properties are very important for the character of external load transfer. However, the character of the subsoil also cannot be neglected because it determines the stress–strain behavior of the entire system and, consequently, the bearing capacity of the structure. The sensitivity analysis was carried out based on experimental results, which included both the stress values in the soil below the foundation structure and settlements of the structure that are characterized by different quantities of fibers in it. Flat GEOKON dynamometers were used for the stress measurements below the observed slab, the strains inside the slab were registered by tensometers, and the settlements were monitored geodetically. This paper is focused on the comparison of soil stresses below the slab for different quantities of fibers in the structure. Results obtained from the experimental stand can contribute to more objective knowledge of the soil-slab interaction, the evaluation of real carrying capacity of the slab, the calibration of corresponding numerical models, the optimization of quantity of fibers in the slab and finally, contribute to higher safety and more economical designs of slabs.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2206: Striving towards the Deployment of Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS): A Review of Research Priorities and Assessment Needs Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072206 Authors: Vassilis Stavrakas Niki-Artemis Spyridaki Alexandros Flamos Assessing the performance or the implications of climate change mitigation options (CCMOs) is instrumental in achieving research and innovation efficiency in the field of climate change and becomes more imperative considering the Paris Agreement (‘the Agreement’). Many climate scientists already believe that meeting the Agreement’s goals and stabilizing “well-below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels” signals the deployment of currently undetermined and contentious mitigation technologies, such as bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). BECCS is considered one of the most promising negative emissions technologies (NETs) with many scenarios already exhibiting its mitigation potential. However, stakeholders and policymakers remain skeptical about widespread reliance on BECCS questioning its unproven credibility. In this article, we aim at identifying research priorities and assessment needs to intensify the further deployment of BECCS, considering relevant technology associations’ and platforms’ perspectives and insights raised by scientific literature. The main outcome of our study is a list of 10 research priorities along with more specific assessment needs for each priority area. We also focus attention on several implications for potential end-users involved in the field of policy and practice. Overall, our work seeks to bridge the gap between market/industry and academia and to assist policymakers to make better-informed decisions.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2210: Merging Vehicles and Lane Speed-Flow Relationship in a Work Zone Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072210 Authors: Li Li Dong Zhang In addition to closed merge lanes as physical bottlenecks of work zones, traffic oscillations caused by merging vehicles at multiple locations could reduce work-zone capacity. This study took a step-wise procedure to reveal spatial distributions of merging vehicles along work zones and their influence on speed-flow relationships of lane traffic flows. Field data showed that inserting vehicles from merge lanes could spread their influence over adjacent unclosed through lanes. Moreover, with increases in total volume, merging vehicles could choose their inserting positions further upstream of the work zone, which could induce oscillations near the insertion point. At the identified upstream bottlenecks, capacity drop was found in speed-flow diagrams of through-lane traffic, but it was not found in the diagrams of merge-lane traffic flows. Lack of sufficient demand and special merging behaviors on merge lanes could be attributed to the distinct speed-flow relationship. Two-part piecewise regression models were developed to fit the speed-flow relationships of uncongested and congested flows of through lanes. By comparing the estimated speed-flow models, it was found that when a queue is forming, the extent of the capacity drop and speed reduction is different for through lanes. Queue discharge uses different lengths of time on through lanes and multiple merging locations.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2209: Machine Vision Retrofit System for Mechanical Weed Control in Precision Agriculture Applications Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10072209 Authors: Federico Pallottino Paolo Menesatti Simone Figorilli Francesca Antonucci Roberto Tomasone Andrea Colantoni Corrado Costa This paper presents a machine vision retrofit system designed for upgrading used tractors to allow the control of the tillage implements and enable real-time field operation. The retrofit package comprises an acquisition system placed in the cabin, a front-mounted RGB camera sensor, and a rear-mounted Peiseler encoder wheel. The method combines shape analysis and colorimetric k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) clustering for in-field weed discrimination. This low-cost retrofit package can use interchangeable sensors, supplying flexibility of use with different farming implements. Field tests were conducted within lettuce and broccoli crops to develop the image analysis system for the autonomous control of an intra-row hoeing implement. The performance showed by the system in the trials was judged in terms of accuracy and speed. The system was capable of discriminating weed plants from crop with few errors, achieving a fairly high performance, given the severe degree of weed infestation encountered. The actuation time for image processing, currently implemented in MATLAB integrated with the retrofit kit, was about 7 s. The correct detection rate was higher for lettuce (from 69% to 96%) than for broccoli (from 65% to 79%), also considering the negative effect of shadows. To be implementable, the experimental code needs to be optimized to reduce acquisition and processing times. A software utility was developed in Java to reach a processing time of two images per second.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2595: The Water-Economy Nexus and Sustainable Transition of the Pearl River Delta, China (1999–2015) Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082595 Authors: Lei Liu Tong Wu Zhihang Xu Xiaofeng Pan As the world’s largest urban area in both size and population, the rapid development of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) during past three decades has been accompanied by worsening water problems. This paper examines the water-economy nexus of the PRD from the perspectives of both water use and water quality between 1999 and 2015, with a Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition model as well as an Environmental Kuznets Curve model, in order to assess the sustainable transition of the area. The results show that in this period, while the water dependency of economic development went down by a significant extent, the efficiency gains did not prevail over problems caused by economic scale expansion. However, at the city level, the 2008 financial crisis stimulated an economic transformation of the main economies from being scale-dominated to being efficiency-dominated. From 2009 to 2015, the sewage decreases driven by water dependency of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan outweighed the sewage increases driven by economic scale. While sewage discharge increased, the river water quality of the PRD kept improving. We found an inverted “U”-shaped relationship between GDP per capita and water quality of the PRD, with GDP per capita = ¥14,228.27 as the inflection point for river water quality. Once dubbed the “factory floor” of the world, the PRD has moved into a less environmentally impactful phase of development, with more expenditure on environmental protection and policy reform. However, given the huge and ever-increasing economic and population scales, ensuring a sufficient and safe water supply through industrial recycling and public education, along with even further pollution abatement, will be particularly important.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2600: How Intellectual Property Management Capability and Network Strategy Affect Open Technological Innovation in the Korean New Information Communications Technology Industry Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082600 Authors: So Young Kim Eungdo Kim This paper analyses factors in open innovation activity in the Korean new information and communications technology (ICT) industry, with a focus on cooperation network strategy and intellectual property (IP) management capability, by applying multiple regression models with data collected from 300 companies within the industry. The results of this analysis suggested that the intensity and variation of a company’s technological cooperation with a new ICT company has a statistically meaningful impact on its innovation. In particular, the impact depended on the type of cooperation network. Though IP management capability was also shown to have an important influence on a new ICT company’s innovation, the impact of specific actions for IP management varied by the specific type of innovation results. This study suggests that new ICT companies need to construct technological innovation networks using multiple external sources and enhance their IP management capability in order to increase their technological innovation performance. The factors influencing technological innovation are elements of open innovation, indicating the open technological innovativeness of the new ICT Industry.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2685: Experimentalist Governance to Foster Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region: A Focus on the Turku Process Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082685 Authors: Savitri Jetoo The Baltic Sea is one of the most severely polluted water bodies on earth, with stressors resulting from anthropogenic pressures of 85 million inhabitants in nine coastal countries. All are members of the European Union (EU) with the exception of Russia. This exception poses challenges for governing the Sea, as Russia is excluded as a member country from EU Baltic Sea governing policies, such as the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). This added complexity has led to the emergence of new forms of cooperation to include Russia in the governing process. One such initiative is the Turku process, an initiative by the cities of Turku (Finland), Hamburg (Germany), and St. Petersburg (Russia) to promote cooperation, especially with Russian partners. Since its emergence in 2010, there has been no study of it in the literature. This study aims to bridge this gap by analyzing the history and evolution of the Turku process under the lens of experimentalist governance. It aims to illustrate the experimentalist governance perspective through the Turku process and to present the theoretical foundations of the concept. It does the former through key informant interviews with main actors in the Turku Process and the latter with the help of the literature on experimentalist governance. This study adds to the dialogue on governance in an especially challenging time when the Ukraine crisis has negatively impacted EU–Russia relations.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2682: How to Enhance Sustainability through Transformational Leadership: The Important Role of Employees’ Forgiveness Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082682 Authors: Byung-Jik Kim Tae-Hyun Kim Se-Youn Jung The present research attempts to investigate an intermediating process that influences an association between transformational leadership and innovative behavior. Previous studies have mainly focused on the intrapsychic traits of individual employees (e.g., intrinsic motivation and psychological empowerment) as an important mediator to explain the enhancing effect of transformational leadership on employee’s creativity. Yet, given that many interactions among employees in an organization tend to occur in the form of ‘interpersons’, the importance of interpersonal relationship-based traits has received relatively less attention from leadership scholars. Based on the context-attitude-behavior framework, we posit that transformational leadership enhances innovative behavior by boosting the level of employees’ forgiveness which is an interpersonal relationship-based trait among employees. We conducted structural equation modeling analysis with a survey from 374 employees in South Korea. The result demonstrated that forgiveness partially mediates the influence of transformational leadership on innovative behavior. We believe that our finding may contribute to expanding transformational leadership and positive organizational scholarship literature by identifying a new path that transformational leadership increases innovative behavior. The theoretical and practical implications, limitations of this study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2683: Fast Identification of Urban Sprawl Based on K-Means Clustering with Population Density and Local Spatial Entropy Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082683 Authors: Lingbo Liu Zhenghong Peng Hao Wu Hongzan Jiao Yang Yu Jie Zhao As urban sprawl is proven to jeopardize the sustainability system of cities, the identification of urban sprawl is essential for urban studies. Compared with previous related studies which tend to utilize more and more complicated variables to recognize urban sprawl while still retaining an element of uncertainty, this paper instead proposes a simplified model to identify urban sprawl patterns. This is a working theory which is based on a diagram interpretation of the classic urban spatial structure patterns of the Chicago School. The method used in our study is K-means clustering with gridded population density and local spatial entropy. The results and comparison with open population data and mobile phone data verify the assumption and furthermore indicate that the accuracy of source population data will limit the precision of output identification. This article concludes that urban sprawl is mainly dominated by population and surrounding unevenness. Moreover, the Floating Catchment Area (FCA) local spatial entropy method presented in this research brings about an integration of Shannon entropy, Tobler’s first law of geography and the Moore neighborhood, improving the spatial homogeneity and locality of Batty’s Spatial Entropy model which can only be used in a general scope.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2681: Governance Mechanisms for Green Supply Chain Partnership Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082681 Authors: Chen-lung Yang Suyuan Lien The literature has recognized the value of green supply chain management in achieving the goals of environmental management. Yet developing and fostering sustainability partnerships among supply chain organizations remains challenging. Bounded rationality and opportunistic behaviors are likely to hinder joint sustainability collaboration and performance. The literature has called for a better understanding of the governance of green supply chain collaboration. This study applies transactional cost economics as a conceptual framework to investigate the relationships among transaction features, governance mechanisms, and environmental performance. Using the data collected from 969 plants in 17 countries, the statistical analysis compares and validates the effectiveness of three alternative governance mechanisms: contractual governance, problem-solving cooperation governance, and information-sharing governance. The statistical results reveal significant performance differences in how firms apply alternative governance mechanisms to mitigate opportunism, manage adaptation problems, and improve green supply chain collaboration and performance. Overall, this study makes research contributions by confirming the mediation effects of governance mechanisms on green supply chain practices. For green supply chains to be a viable practice, firms should apply governance mechanisms in proper alignment with the nature of the collaborative and environmental conditions.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2680: Analysis of Loss of Offsite Power Events at China’s Nuclear Power Plants Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082680 Authors: Feng Jiao Shanshan Ding Juan Li Lixin Zheng Qinghua Zhang Zhi Xiao Jie Zhou The function of the electric power system of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is to provide safe and reliable electricity for the equipment both in normal operation and accident conditions, and to provide emergency power for nuclear safety-related systems to maintain the safety of NPPs. Station blackout (SBO) occurs when loss of offsite power (LOOP) happens concurrently with unavailability of the onsite emergency alternating current (ac) power. LOOP is a precursor of SBO which rarely occurs but contributes significantly to reactor core damage frequency (CDF). Collecting and analyzing all LOOP events in NPPs of China from 1993 to 2017, this paper summarizes the common features of the LOOP events, and identifies the weaknesses and lessons learned from these events. Conclusions and experience feedback suggestions are put forward for improving the reliability of the offsite power supply of NPPs in China.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2684: Effect of Pig and Cattle Slurry Application on Heavy Metal Composition of Maize Grown on Different Soils Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082684 Authors: Giorgio Provolo Giulia Manuli Alberto Finzi Giorgio Lucchini Elisabetta Riva Gian Attilio Sacchi Cattle and pig manure contain useful mineral nutrients (N, P, and K) and are therefore used as organic fertilizer. However, excessive applications of manure can cause environmental problems and threaten animal and human health because these materials also hold significant amounts of heavy metals, particularly Cu and Zn. To assess the potential risk due to the increased concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cr) in a harvested crop, two maize hybrids were grown in pots on four different soils with three different fertilisers (urea, pig manure, and cattle manure). Both soil and manure characteristics influenced the heavy metal concentrations in the plant shoots. Organic fertilisation strongly interacted with the soils and, in general, reduced the shoot content of Cu, Mn, and Zn. A preliminary assessment of the heavy metal balance of the agricultural systems based on the intensive livestock production and maize cultivation showed that the potential soil enrichment of the long-term application of livestock manure arises mainly from the application of pig slurries that have a high content of Cu and Zn. The time required to apply an amount of metal that is equal to the initial soil content is 60–300 years for Zn and 240–450 years for Cu, depending on the soil type and the initial heavy metal content.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2679: The Relationship between Unbilled Accounts Receivable and Financial Performance of Construction Contractors Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082679 Authors: Minhyuk Jung Shira You Seokho Chi Ilhan Yu Bon-Gang Hwang Operating profit is one of the most important measures in financial statements to evaluate a organizational performance. In the construction industry, however, the profit has a possibility to be misestimated as a loss and can be included in Unbilled Accounts Receivable (UAR) and shown as a profit; this is due to the uncertainty of predicting a total construction cost and project progress on which the calculation of profit is based. UAR results from the different perceptions regarding project progress between clients and contractors and can include costs related to loss that cannot be acknowledged as a progress. Therefore, UAR can be a significant clue to understanding estimation errors of a contractor’s financial performance data. This study investigated the possibility of estimation error of contractors’ operating profit by analyzing the relationship between UAR and other relevant financial performance measures. The accounting data of 41 Korean major contractors was collected and analyzed based on the correlation analysis. The results of this study implies that the profit of construction companies has the possibility to contain estimation errors, causing a significant variance in the process of adjusting the evaluation errors at the end of projects, which can cause unexpected losses to investors. In addition, this study found that the UAR containing estimation errors could be different depending on market in which contractors operate; therefore, when dealing with contractors’ financial performance data, it is necessary to discern whether their profit data contains distortion and, in the case that errors are included, appropriate data preprocessing should be conducted for more reliable and sustainable construction investment and project management.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2678: Biogas Potential of Coffee Processing Waste in Ethiopia Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082678 Authors: Bilhate Chala Hans Oechsner Sajid Latif Joachim Müller Primary coffee processing is performed following the dry method or wet method. The dry method generates husk as a by-product, while the wet method generates pulp, parchment, mucilage, and waste water. In this study, characterization, as well as the potential of husk, pulp, parchment, and mucilage for methane production were examined in biochemical methane potential assays performed at 37 °C. Pulp, husk, and mucilage had similar cellulose contents (32%). The lignin contents in pulp and husk were 15.5% and 17.5%, respectively. Mucilage had the lowest hemicellulose (0.8%) and lignin (5%) contents. The parchment showed substantially higher lignin (32%) and neutral detergent fiber (96%) contents. The mean specific methane yields from husk, pulp, parchment, and mucilage were 159.4 ± 1.8, 244.7 ± 6.4, 31.1 ± 2.0, and 294.5 ± 9.6 L kg−1 VS, respectively. The anaerobic performance of parchment was very low, and therefore was found not to be suitable for anaerobic fermentation. It was estimated that, in Ethiopia, anaerobic digestion of husk, pulp, and mucilage could generate as much as 68 × 106 m3 methane per year, which could be converted to 238,000 MWh of electricity and 273,000 MWh of thermal energy in combined heat and power units. Coffee processing facilities can utilize both electricity and thermal energy for their own productive purposes.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2677: Agricultural Internet Entrepreneurs’ Social Network Behaviors and Entrepreneurship Financing Performance Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082677 Authors: Zichun Yan Kai Wang Ze-Yu Wang Jian Yu Sang-Bing Tsai Guodong Li From the perspective of social network behavior, our paper discusses the relationship between agricultural entrepreneurial social network behavior and entrepreneurial financing performance in an Internet crowdfunding setting, and investigates the moderating role of entrepreneurial team size. In this paper, the data-mining method is used to capture and collate data regarding 7585 venture projects on an Internet crowdfunding platform between 2014 and 2017. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and Probit models are applied to the empirical test. The results show that first, compared with other industries, the effect of agricultural entrepreneurs’ quality information disclosure on entrepreneurship financing performance is lower, whereas the effect of their social network interaction is higher. Second, the entrepreneurial team size has a positive moderating role on the former and a negative moderating role on the latter. Our research is of significance for agricultural enterprises to raise their financial performance in Internet crowdfunding, especially for Chinese agricultural micro-enterprises.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2728: Developmental Trajectories in Electrical Steel Technology Using Patent Information Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082728 Authors: Donghyun You Hyunseok Park Recently there has been growing demand for low-electricity consuming transformers and electric vehicles due to global trend of reducing use of fossil fuels and the role of electrical steel became important. Tracing and analyzing research trend and development of electrical steel will give insight for development of R&D direction and strategies. We used patent citation network and GBFP (Genetic Backward-Forward Path analysis) to identify technological trajectories of electrical steel domain and patent contents with other papers to qualitatively analyze research trend of the domain. As a result, we found that some sub-domains of electrical steel domain had close technological relationship to each other in their developmental paths and suggested further R&D direction in the electrical steel technology.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2731: SentiFlow: An Information Diffusion Process Discovery Based on Topic and Sentiment from Online Social Networks Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082731 Authors: Berny Carrera Jae-Yoon Jung In this digital era, people can become more interconnected as information spreads easily and quickly through online social media. The rapid growth of the social network services (SNS) increases the need for better methodologies for comprehending the semantics among the SNS users. This need motivated the proposal of a novel framework for understanding information diffusion process and the semantics of user comments, called SentiFlow. In this paper, we present a probabilistic approach to discover an information diffusion process based on an extended hidden Markov model (HMM) by analyzing the users and comments from posts on social media. A probabilistic dissemination of information among user communities is reflected after discovering topics and sentiments from the user comments. Specifically, the proposed method makes the groups of users based on their interaction on social networks using Louvain modularity from SNS logs. User comments are then analyzed to find different sentiments toward a subject such as news in social networks. Moreover, the proposed method is based on the latent Dirichlet allocation for topic discovery and the naïve Bayes classifier for sentiment analysis. Finally, an example using Facebook data demonstrates the practical value of SentiFlow in real world applications.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2722: Local Agroforestry Practices for Food and Nutrition Security of Smallholder Farm Households in Southwestern Ethiopia Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082722 Authors: Omarsherif Jemal Daniel Callo-Concha Meine van Noordwijk Food and nutrition security (FNS) rests on five pillars: availability, access, utilization, stability, and sovereignty. We assessed the potentials of local agroforestry practices (AFPs) for enabling FNS for smallholders in the Yayu Biosphere Reserve (southwestern Ethiopia). Data was collected from 300 households in a stratified random sampling scheme through semi-structured interviews and farm inventory. Utility, edibility, and marketability value were the key parameters used to determine the potential of plants in the AFPs. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation analysis were employed to determine the form, variation, and association of local AFP attributes. Homegarden, multistorey-coffee-system, and multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands are the predominant AFPs in Yayu. Multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands are used mainly for food production, multistorey-coffee-system for income-generation, and homegarden for both. The 127 useful plant species identified represent 10 major plant utility groups, with seven (food, fodder, fuel, coffee-shade, timber, non-timber-forest-products, and medicinal uses) found in all three AFPs. In total, 80 edible species were identified across all AFPs, with 55 being primarily cultivated for household food supply. Generally, household income emanates from four major sources, multistorey-coffee-system (60%), homegarden (18%), multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands (13%), and off-farm activities (11%). Given this variation in form, purpose, and extracted benefits, existing AFPs in Yayu support the FNS of smallholders in multiple ways.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2783: Analysis and Research on the Key Success Factors of Marketing Ugly Fruits and Vegetables Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082783 Authors: Jui-Che Tu Yi-Lin Lee Miao-Yu Wei According to the 2011 research report of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, one-third of the world’s edible fruits and vegetables are wasted every year, totaling about 1.3 billion metric ton. A source of such waste is ugly fruits and vegetables, which have the same nutritional value as that of normal fruits and vegetables, but are discarded due to poor appearance for selling. If consumers can rediscover their value, it will be one of the ways to change food waste. This study first explored related topics through the literature; then, it drew up an interview outline, obtained and ranked the key success factors for the evaluation indices through education and interviews with industry professionals, and summarized the key success factors of marketing ugly fruits and vegetables through questionnaire and experts interview perspectives that targeted consumer groups as the questionnaire respondents. The conclusion of the study provides suggestions for enterprises to innovate service marketing through the blueprint of service design, which hopes to reduce food waste and maintain a balance with the environment, in order to achieve the goal of environmental sustainability. The results show that if consumers understand the relevant issues and pay attention to the truth of vegetable and fruit production, they can use their consumption power to protect their own and environmental rights. However, the trust between producers and consumers requires strengthening. Reducing the unnecessary waste of food and labor is expected to create more ecological and environmental consumption patterns in the future.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2782: Integrating the Additive Seasonal Model and Super-SBM Model to Compute the Efficiency of Port Logistics Companies in Vietnam Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082782 Authors: Chia-Nan Wang Jen-Der Day Nguyen This Kim Lien Luu Quoc Chien The growing trade process is pushing the importing and exporting ratio of products at ports in Vietnam. The total amount of goods is determined by analyzing the effectiveness of products that are delivered at ports. Thus, this research presents a whole performance picture of the port logistics operation process at two airports and six seaport logistics companies in Vietnam to describe exchanging products by utilizing additive trend methods to formulate the efficiency and rank them from previous periods to future terms. Based on the prediction analysis, the best accuracy result is calculated by the additive Holt Winters method when the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) indicators remain at the standard level, and its average qualification is also the lowest. Combining the actual and prediction values, the ranking of all ports accordingly by year during the past, current, and future time periods from 2011–2022 is obtained after calculating the final efficiency via the super-SBM model. The empirical result of the current and estimated efficiency denotes that Da Nang port logistics is always selected as the best port logistics company and maintained the first ranking with consistently high scores on the basis of the performance qualification. The empirical analysis result proposes the status quo of port logistics companies in Vietnam from the past to future to describe the amount of exchanging goods.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2779: Exploring the Research Trend of Smart Factory with Topic Modeling Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082779 Authors: Hyun-Lim Yang Tai-Woo Chang Yerim Choi Growing competition among manufacturing businesses and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has meant that many countries are conducting various research projects to understand how to introduce and populate smart factories. Smart factories are expected to provide a way of solving the manufacturing industries’ complex problems, to take a role in breakthroughs in factories and to carry on a sustainable business. Smart factories are currently in the introduction stage, so we should follow up on the majorities and check their tendencies. However, smart-factory research is an interdisciplinary field that should be studied by researchers with diverse backgrounds in various domains. Thus, studying the past and present overall research trends of smart factory studies is required for their successful introduction and sustainable research. In this study, we explored the research trends of smart factories in both international and specifically Korean research, as an example of a nation case, to determine the major research directions. We determined trends using latent semantic analysis, which is a known topic-modeling technique, and analyzed the trends with regression-based methods. As a result, we could read the clear trends by analyzing existing studies related to smart factories. In addition, it is possible to compare research trends in Korea and international research trends for the commonly appeared topics, such as ‘ICT’ (Information and Communications Technology) and ‘R&D (Research and Development)/Technology Innovation’. We expect that the quantitative analysis results and suggestions presented in this study can be used to formulate strategies for the future diffusion of smart factories.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2774: Pattern-Based Set Partitioning Algorithm for the Integrated Sustainable Operation of a District Heating Network Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082774 Authors: Sang Hwa Song Taesu Cheong District heating is a system of distributing heated water from centralized facilities to local homes and buildings. In this paper, we model the distribution planning problem as a supply chain planning problem and propose an explicit column generation algorithm to handle large-scale data and nonlinear constraints. The algorithm is successfully applied to a Korean district heating company and computational experiments show that the integrated operation of the district heating network increases the total profit compared to previous isolated networks.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2781: Pathways for Sustainable Supply Chain Performance—Evidence from a Developing Country, Malaysia Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082781 Authors: Kai-Chong Thong Wai-Peng Wong Malaysia has recently started to adopt sustainable business best practices to benefit companies, environment and stakeholders. Therefore, this study demonstrates pathways to sustainable supply chain triple bottom line performance derived from linkages of institutional pressures (IP) and organizational identity (OI) to environment and social sustainable practices. It shows that the superordinate goal of sustainable supply chain management is met in spite of unyielding external pressures and desirable OI driving the unequivocal environmental and responsible social practices of firms. A survey approach was adopted to gather the data required for this study. A total of 118 completed questionnaires were received from respondents, who were managers and senior executives in supply chain management (SCM) in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) version 3.0. Our findings showed that all hypothesized relationships are significant except both process- and market-based social practices could not directly impact economic performance. This is in sharp contrast to environmental practices. However, the significant linkage between social practices and social performance is a pathway for the former to economic performance. Therefore, the economic benefits derived from social practices are salvaged through its performance outcomes. The novel and useful impact of institutional pressures on sustainable supply chain practices are also unearthed.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2773: Measuring and Spatio-Temporal Evolution for the Late-Development Advantage in China’s Provinces Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082773 Authors: Fei Ma Fei Liu Qipeng Sun Wenlin Wang Xiaodan Li The coordinated development of regional economies is a major economic goal of many countries around the world. To that end, China has actively carried out a series of strategies to expedite the development of its late-developing regions. This study explores the issues raised by this coordinated development from the perspective of late-development advantages, which refer to a region’s late-development advantages compared with the early-developing regions in the country. The 15 indicators applied for evaluating the late-development advantages fall into five categories including capital, technology, industrial structure, institutions and human resources. Then, the model of entropy-weighted technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (EW-TOPSIS) is applied to evaluate the late-development advantages of China’s provinces. Following this, ArcGIS and GeoDa are used to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution pattern of the late-development advantages of China’s provinces, and to compare the spatio-temporal effect of these advantages between the provinces. The results show that the overall late-development advantages of China’s provinces had a downward trend from 2006 to 2015, with the Eastern Region falling by 8.07%, the Central Region falling by 14.37% and the Western Region falling by 8.05%, indicating that the development gap between China’s Eastern and Western Regions is still large. The temporal effect analysis shows the temporal autocorrelation changes from positive status to negative status with the increase of lagging order, which means the trend of late-development advantage will reverse over time. The spatial effect analysis shows there were only significant Low-Low and Low-High aggregation in 2006 and 2010, but significant High-High and High-Low aggregations emerge in 2012 and 2015, implying that the development environment has effectively promoted the use of the provincial late-development advantage. The research results could provide theoretical basis for the policy making of the accelerating development of late-developing regions in China.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2780: Dynamic Decomposition of Factors Influencing the Export Growth of China’s Wood Forest Products Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082780 Authors: Xuping Cao Shuai Yang Xiangmeng Huang Juxi Tong Wood forest products (WFPs) are globally important environmental products, with economic, ecological, and renewable characteristics. China is the world’s largest WFP exporter. However, many factors, such as the downturn of traditional major export markets and the rise of the price of production factors, have generated great challenges and uncertainties for China’s WFP export market. This study improves the product scope of WFPs. The category of WFPs has been expanded to 14 categories and 30 sub-categories, which is more detailed and more developed than in previous literature. Based on the United Nations’ Comtrade Database (COMTRADE), this paper uses the revised constant market share (CMS) model to measure and analyze empirically the factors affecting the export growth of China’s WFPs from the perspective of market, structure, and competitiveness. It is found that (1) the competitive effect exerts the biggest influence on export growth, followed by market size effects, with the effects of market distribution and product structure both being small; (2) wooden furniture, wooden products, plywood, paper, and its products play a main role in enhancing the competitive effect in China’s WFPs; and (3) China’s WFPs have a strong market competitiveness in other markets such as the USA, China Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, it is crucial for China’s WFP market to improve its product structure effects and market distribution effects in order for it to participate in international competition. On the other hand, considering that China’s exports of WFPs mainly consist of resource- and labor-intensive products, the improvement of standards such as the technology level, environmental protection and sustainable development, must not be ignored.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2776: Comparative Analysis of Biological Effects Induced on Different Cell Types by Magnetic Fields with Magnetic Flux Densities in the Range of 1–60 mT and Frequencies up to 50 Hz Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082776 Authors: Cristian Vergallo Luciana Dini Moderate static magnetic fields (SMFs) are generated from sources such as new-generation electric trams and trains, electric arc welding, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, as well as during the industrial production of aluminium, while extremely low frequency pulsed magnetic fields (ELF-PMFs) are produced by house power installations, household appliances, and high voltages transmission lines. Moderate SMFs and ELF-PMFs with magnetic flux densities (B) in the range of 1–60 mT and frequencies (f) up to 50 Hz are common MF exposure sources for the population. Even though humans are continually exposed to these MFs, to date no definitive endpoint has been drawn about their safety. In this review, the state of knowledge about the biological effects induced by these MFs on different cell types will be addressed. In our own observation, the putative modulation of Ca2+/H+ and Na+/H+ plasma membrane antiporters of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) was found to occur after a 24 h exposure to a 6 mT SMF, and the bystander effect observed on U937 cells cultivated for up to 6 h in the conditioned medium harvested from human PBLs previously exposed for 24 h to the same MF (secondary necrosis induction) will be also herein discussed.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2765: Urban Growth and Demographic Dynamics in Southern Europe: Toward a New Statistical Approach to Regional Science Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082765 Authors: Mariateresa Ciommi Francesco M. Chelli Margherita Carlucci Luca Salvati Metropolitan growth in Europe has resulted in drastic changes of urban forms, socio-spatial structures and land-use patterns due to sequential processes of urbanization, suburbanization and re-urbanization. To assess latent shifts from mono-centric models towards more disarticulated and decentralized settlement configurations, the present study evaluates spatio-temporal patterns of growth between the 1920s and the 2010s in three Mediterranean cities with different structure and functions (Barcelona: compact and moderately polycentric; Rome: dispersed, medium-density; Athens: mono-centric, hyper-compact). To identify and characterize long-term urban transformations, an original approach was illustrated in this study, based on a multivariate analysis of 13 indicators resulting from descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling the relationship between population density and distance from inner cities. The empirical results of this study indicate that Barcelona, Rome and Athens have experienced different urbanization cycles, characterized by a (more or less) concentrated distribution of population along urban gradients. Despite similarities in demographic dynamics and planning practices, these processes have determined (i) a mostly centralized growth in Barcelona, (ii) a relatively dispersed and discontinuous spatial structure in Rome, and (iii) a steep decline of population density with the distance from downtown Athens. Compact urban expansion, population decline and urban de-concentration were finally assessed using the analytical approach proposed in this study.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2764: Terrestrial Vertebrate Biodiversity Loss under Future Global Land Use Change Scenarios Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082764 Authors: Abhishek Chaudhary Arne O. Mooers Efficient forward-looking mitigation measures are needed to halt the global biodiversity decline. These require spatially explicit scenarios of expected changes in multiple indicators of biodiversity under future socio-economic and environmental conditions. Here, we link six future (2050 and 2100) global gridded maps (0.25° × 0.25° resolution) available from the land use harmonization (LUH) database, representing alternative concentration pathways (RCP) and shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs), with the countryside species–area relationship model to project the future land use change driven rates of species extinctions and phylogenetic diversity loss (in million years) for mammals, birds, and amphibians in each of the 804 terrestrial ecoregions and 176 countries and compare them with the current (1900–2015) and past (850–1900) rates of biodiversity loss. Future land-use changes are projected to commit an additional 209–818 endemic species and 1190–4402 million years of evolutionary history to extinction by 2100 depending upon the scenario. These estimates are driven by land use change only and would likely be higher once the direct effects of climate change on species are included. Among the three taxa, highest diversity loss is projected for amphibians. We found that the most aggressive climate mitigation scenario (RCP2.6 SSP-1), representing a world shifting towards a radically more sustainable path, including increasing crop yields, reduced meat production, and reduced tropical deforestation coupled with high trade, projects the lowest land use change driven global biodiversity loss. The results show that hotspots of future biodiversity loss differ depending upon the scenario, taxon, and metric considered. Future extinctions could potentially be reduced if habitat preservation is incorporated into national development plans, especially for biodiverse, low-income countries such as Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Philippines, and The Democratic Republic of Congo that are otherwise projected to suffer a high number of land use change driven extinctions under all scenarios.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2763: Global Agricultural Trade Pattern in A Warming World: Regional Realities Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082763 Authors: Huey-Lin Lee Yu-Pin Lin Joy R. Petway Global warming, coupled with disparate national population growth projections, could exert significant pressure on food prices, increasing the risk of food insecurity, particularly for net-importing countries. We investigated projected eventualities for a comprehensive set of 133 countries by the year 2030, and identified changes in the global agricultural crop trading pattern, with simulations from a multi-regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. We based our model on population growth and temperature scenarios, as per the IPCC fifth assessment report (AR5). Our simulations suggest an increase of 4.9% and 6.4% in global average prices and aggregate export crop volumes, respectively. This global exports expansion requires an increased 4.46% in current global aggregate crop output, since population growth raises demand, and thus, global average crop prices, further aggravating net importing countries’ financial burdens for food acquisition. Conversely, net exporting countries will fare better in the projected scenario due to increased agricultural income, as they are able to increase crop exports to meet the rising global demand and price. The gap in global income distribution widens, given that the majority of developing countries are coincidently located in tropical zones which are projected to experience negative crop yield shocks, while industrialized countries are located in cold and temperate zones projected to have favorable crop yield changes. National and international policy measures aimed at effectively alleviating net importing countries’ food security issues should also consider how global crop yields are geographically and diversely impacted by climate change.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2790: Fossil Carbon Fraction and Measuring Cycle for Sewage Sludge Waste Incineration Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082790 Authors: Seongmin Kang Changsang Cho Ki-Hyun Kim Eui-chan Jeon In this study, the fossil carbon contents of the two facilities were analyzed using 10 or more samples for each facility from June 2013 to March 2015. In addition, the optimal measurement period was calculated from the analyzed fossil carbon contents using a statistical method. As a result of the analysis, the fossil carbon contents were found to be less than 35%, indicating that the biomass content of sewage sludge was not 100%. The fossil carbon content could be representative of using yearly period measurements value. When calculating Green house gas (GHG) emissions from waste incineration, South Korea has been calculating only Non-CO2 emissions because it regarded the CO2 emitted in GHGs from sewage sludge (SS) incineration facilities as originating from biomass. However, biomass of the sewage sludge incineration facility is not 100%, so it is necessary to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions considering the fossil carbon content. Therefore, there is a need to increase the reliability of the greenhouse gas inventory by conducting further studies (such as CO2 concentration analysis) related to the calculation of CO2 emissions for the relevant facilities (sewage sludge incinerator).

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2789: In Vivo Cytotoxicity Induced by 60 Hz Electromagnetic Fields under a High-Voltage Substation Environment Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082789 Authors: J. Antonio Heredia-Rojas Abraham Octavio Rodríguez-De la Fuente Ricardo Gomez-Flores Omar Heredia-Rodríguez Laura E. Rodríguez-Flores Michaela Beltcheva Ma. Esperanza Castañeda-Garza Living beings permanently receive electromagnetic radiation, particularly from extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs), which may cause adverse health effects. In this work, we studied the in vivo cytotoxic effects of exposing BALB/c mice to 60 Hz and 8.8 µT EMFs during 72 h and 240 h in a switchyard area, using animals exposed to 60 Hz and 2.0 mT EMFs or treated with 5 mg/kg mitomycin C (MMC) as positive controls. Micronucleus (MN) frequency and male germ cell analyses were used as cytological endpoints. ELF-EMF exposure was observed to significantly (p < 0.05) increase MN frequency at all conditions tested, with the 2 mT/72 h treatment causing the highest response, as compared with untreated control. In addition, increased sperm counts were observed after switchyard area ELF-EMF exposure, as compared with untreated control. In contrast, low sperm counts were obtained for 72 h/2.0 mT-exposed animals and for MMC-treated mice (p < 0.05), without altering male germ cell morphological characteristics.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2791: Enhanced Cooperation among Stakeholders in PPP Mega-Infrastructure Projects: A China Study Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082791 Authors: Long Li Zhongfu Li Lei Jiang Guangdong Wu Daojin Cheng Despite the consensus that enhanced cooperation among stakeholders is critical to the successful delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) mega-infrastructure projects, there has been a limited utilization of the quantitative approach to explore the cooperation mechanism. Drawing on research and the actual practice of PPP projects in China, a quantitative mathematical model using evolutionary game theory is constructed to explore the internal cooperation mechanism. Numerical simulation is implemented to investigate the impact of the punitive mechanism and allocation mechanism on the enhanced cooperation. The simulation result indicates that reasonable benefit allocation and a strong punitive mechanism are crucial to enhanced cooperation. Action research supported by a case study in Dalian was conducted to verify the scientific practicalities of the simulation method. An enhanced cooperation framework was proposed. The role conversion of the government and the private sectors makes the enhanced cooperation feasible. This evolution model and cooperation framework can facilitate enhanced cooperation in PPP mega-infrastructure projects.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2816: Digital Acceleration of Sustainability Transition: The Paradox of Push Impacts Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082816 Authors: Jack H. Townsend Vlad C. Coroama Sustainability requires ongoing reform of resource production and consumption to reduce environmental harms. The main way that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can address these resource impacts is through digital optimization. Spreng found that optimization of an industrial process either increases energy use or accelerates production or consumption. It was assumed that reducing energy use progresses sustainability, whilst accelerating production or consumption to meet market demand is consumerist and generally detrimental to sustainability. In this paper, we argue that there are two important cases in which accelerating economic processes actually has an essential role in enabling sustainability by ICT: (1) when the process drives the production and adoption of an environmentally beneficial product such as a solar panel, often referred to as “cleantech”, or (2) when the process being increased is specific to the Circular Economy, such as recycling, maintenance/refurbishment, and sharing/reuse e.g., car-sharing, ride-sharing and tool-sharing in the Sharing Economy. The opportunities for ICT4S optimization are thus threefold: not just saving resources with efficiency, but also pushing the adoption of cleantech, and pushing the circulation of resources.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2815: Logistics Space: A Literature Review from the Sustainability Perspective Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082815 Authors: Meiling He Jiaren Shen Xiaohui Wu Jianqiang Luo The acceleration of economic globalization and integration has led to a dramatic increase in the flow of goods worldwide and changes in the spatial location of logistics facilities. The location of logistics facilities affects not only the cost and efficiency of cargo transportation activities, but also the rational allocation of logistics resources. Recently, the two major perspectives of logistics space research—cluster (the concentration of logistics facilities and functions in geography) and sprawl (movement of facilities from the urban core to peripheral places) have received extensive attention from academia and policy makers. The evolution of logistics space is influenced by land prices, traffic accessibility, market demand, agglomeration advantages and government policies. The purpose of this study is to present a literature review of logistics space, including data sources, research methods as well as research theories, and to study the impact of logistics space from the perspective of sustainable development. The research results provide some reference for logistics space researchers and logistics facility planners, and play a role in formulating new logistics development strategies and promoting the sustainable development of logistics.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2814: Costs and Benefits of Implementing Green Building Economic Incentives: Case Study of a Gross Floor Area Concession Scheme in Hong Kong Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082814 Authors: Ke Fan Edwin H. W. Chan C. K. Chau Economic incentives are widely used to promote green buildings (GB) and consume social resources. However, few studies evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing economic incentives, including hidden costs and benefits. This paper applies cost–benefits analysis (CBA) and transaction cost (TC) theory to systematically evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing the green building economic incentives, with focused study on the Gross Floor Area (GFA) Concession Scheme in Hong Kong. The data of costs and benefits indicate how the GFA Concession Scheme motivates stakeholders and how much it benefits the built environment, which provides a solid foundation for the improvement of the GFA Concession Scheme. Expert interviews were conducted to verify and compliment the new CBA framework and provide empirical evidence for policy-makers and researchers to better understand the allocation of costs and benefits. The results show that the effectiveness of the GFA Concession Scheme is readily justified even if it has caused a lot of extra transaction costs and actual costs. A 10% GFA concession attracts developers to enter the GB market but discourages them to go for a higher level of GB. It is the right time to differentiate the GFA concession to promote a higher level of GB.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2811: Modeling the Social Factors That Determine Sustainable Consumption Behavior in the Community of Madrid Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082811 Authors: Edna C. Figueroa-García Juan J. García-Machado Diana C. Pérez-Bustamante Yábar This paper defines the social factors that determine sustainable behavior and identifies the elements that promote such behavior. These factors are external from the individual and causal regarding sustainable behavior, an area that receives little attention in literature. It uses a theoretical model, based on existing research, which is tested through a questionnaire with 26 indicators adapted to the Spanish context. In an initial analysis, this model proposed, as determining social factors in the CCS, aspects such as government action, social pressure, influence of the social environment, demographic variables (age, gender, education level), education and information, and market conditions. Finally, it was concluded that 43.4% of the variance of the endogenous latent variable (SCC) can be explained only by three exogenous latent constructions: environmental influences (in particular the influence of family and friends, as well as that generated by cultural factors such as traditions), education and information (specifically related to information on sustainability and the effects of personal consumption on the environment), and market conditions (referring to the positive perception of sustainable products by consumers, including their willingness to pay higher prices than those of conventional products). The rest of the exogenous variables did not have a significant relationship with the endogenous variable. These results are very useful for government institutions, companies that operate in the sector and pro-environmental and pro-social groups, that knowing what motivates people to adopt this form of behavior can design relevant strategies to get positive answers about the environment, the economy and the society.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2809: Evolving Temporal–Spatial Trends, Spatial Association, and Influencing Factors of Carbon Emissions in Mainland China: Empirical Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data from 2006 to 2015 Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082809 Authors: Weidong Chen Ruoyu Yang Based on provincial panel data from 2005 to 2016, this paper analyzes evolving temporal–spatial trends, spatial correlation and influencing factors of carbon emissions in China. The results show that there is a great heterogeneity in the evolving temporal–spatial trends of carbon emissions among provinces and regions in China, with the heterogeneity in eastern provinces most obvious. At the same time, there exists significant spatial correlation and agglomeration of carbon emissions in 30 provinces. It is found that the distribution characteristics of carbon emissions are affected by various economic and social factors based on the extended STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) model. Population pressure, affluence, energy intensity, industrial structure, urbanization level and investment in fixed assets can significantly promote the increase of carbon emissions. The technological level and government environmental supervision have significant inhibitory effects on carbon emissions, but foreign direct investment (FDI) has no significant impact. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen environmental supervision and upgrade technology level to promote carbon emission reduction.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2810: Exploring Technological Trends in Logistics: Topic Modeling-Based Patent Analysis Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082810 Authors: Donghyun Choi Bomi Song With the strategic importance of discerning opportunities and threats from technological development to achieve sustainable competitiveness, exploring technological trends becomes critical for a successful technology strategy in logistics. Given the rapid pace of development and varying technological options, logistics also increasingly requires methodological support and appropriate data to reduce the complexity and burden of exploring technology trends. While previous research has largely relied on experts’ insights, the value of patent-based approaches for exploring technological trends has been underestimated in logistics. To address this gap, this study proposes a topic modeling-based approach using logistics-related patents registered at the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO). The core of the suggested approach is latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), allowing the identification of logistics-related technological topics behind patents. The topics identified by LDA are further investigated regarding both filed-level and firm-level trends. The suggested approach is expected to offer implications of the use of patents for the purpose of exploring the trends of technology development outside the organization in logistics. In addition, we believe that the information on the technological topics and their trends generated by the suggested approach can offer an enhanced understanding of the technological landscape in logistics.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2805: Multidimensional Self-Concept in Elementary Education: Sport Practice and Gender Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082805 Authors: Diana Amado-Alonso Santiago Mendo-Lázaro Benito León-del-Barco Mario Mirabel-Alviz Damián Iglesias-Gallego Background: The purpose of this study was to analyse the relation between the number of hours of organized sports practice and self-concept, considered from a multidimensional approach (physical, emotional, academic, social and family self-concept). The relation between these variables as a function of gender was also investigated. Methods: We used a sample of 840 students from fifth and sixth grade of Elementary Education (494 boys and 346 girls), aged 9 to 12 years, from Spain. To assess the students’ self-concept, we used the AF-5 Self-Concept Form 5 questionnaire. Results: The results show that children who practice organized sport, present a better physical self-concept (0 h a day [h/d]: M = 5.20, SD = 1.82; 1 h/d: M = 5.90, SD = 1.82; 2 h/d: M = 5.99, SD = 1.56; 3 h/d: M = 6.00, SD = 1.42). Boys present a higher emotional self-concept than girls (p < 0.05). Moreover, children’s sports practice is beneficial for the academic and family self-concept but in the case of girls, a high number of hours of daily practice may be decreasing these potential benefits. Conclusions: The findings suggest that organized sports practice could have a positive effect on self-concept. We underline the importance of encourage children to practice sport and paying particular attention to gender differences in the development of the emotional self-concept during elementary education.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2804: A Practical Approach to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Open Dumps through Infrastructure Restructuring: A Case Study in Nanjing City, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082804 Authors: Jing Ma Zhanbin Luo Fu Chen Qianlin Zhu Shaoliang Zhang Gang-Jun Liu A new environmental ban has forced the restructure of open dumps in China since 1 July 2011. A technical process was established in this study that is feasible for the upgrade of open dumps through restructuring. The feasibility of restructuring and the benefit of greenhouse gas emission reductions were assessed according to field surveys of five landfills and four dumps in Nanjing. The results showed that the daily processing capacities of the existing landfills have been unable to meet the growth of municipal solid waste (MSW), making restructuring of the landfills imperative. According to an assessment of the technical process, only four sites in Nanjing were suitable for upgrading. Restructuring the Jiaozishan landfill effectively reduced the leachate generation rate by 5.84% under its scale when expanded by 60.7% in 2015. CO2 emissions were reduced by approximately 55,000–86,000 tons per year, in which biogas power generation replaced fossil fuels Fossil fuels accounted for the largest proportion, up to 45,000–60,000 tons. Photovoltaic power generation on the overlying land has not only reduced CO2 emissions to 26,000–30,000 tons per year but has also brought in continuing income from the sale of electricity. The funds are essential for developing countries such as China, which lack long-term financial support for landfill management after closure.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2808: How Willing Are Herders to Participate in Carbon Sequestration and Mitigation? An Inner Mongolian Grassland Case Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082808 Authors: Yanyun Zhao Yongzhi Yan Qingfu Liu Frank Yonghong Li Reasonable carbon sequestration and mitigation measures play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emission and realizing regional sustainable development. How willing herders are to participate in carbon sequestration and mitigation directly determines the corresponding implementation effect. Relevant studies mostly focus on forest households and peasant households, but great uncertainty remains regarding herdsman households. Based on a survey of 404 herdsman households in Inner Mongolian grasslands, this study assessed the cognitive level and participation willingness of herders on carbon sequestration and mitigation of grasslands, and investigated the factors influencing their willingness to participate in the activity. We found that the cognitive level of herders on carbon sequestration and mitigation in Inner Mongolian grasslands was relatively low, with 83% of herdsman households having low cognition and 17% in the state of medium cognition. However, herders are mostly willing to take grassland carbon sequestration and mitigation measures, with 60% of herdsman households being willing to participate, 28% moderately willing to do so, and 12% of unwillingness. This pattern was mainly influenced by the impact of carbon sequestration and mitigation on household income, the economic subsidies and the call for ecological environment protection from the government. The herders tend to be willing to participate when they think that the government calls for ecological environment protection are essential. In contrast, they tend to be unwilling to participate if they think the subsidies too low and the negative effect of sequestration measure on income is essential. We found that the family financial income of herders is a key factor limiting the improvement of participation willingness in this area. It is necessary to improve the cognition of herders for the development of carbon sequestration and mitigation projects.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2803: “Oh This Learning, What a Thing It Is!”—Putting Sustainability First in Teaching Techniques and in Content Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082803 Authors: Joanna Gusc Coen Heijes Although sustainability has become a strategic topic at many universities, working towards a learning approach in which sustainability is the fundament underlying and permeating the entire course is hardly straightforward. This paper is a case study on the development, the teaching, and the evaluation of one specific course that aims to achieve this. Based on (participant) observation, documents, and discussion with students and other stakeholders, we describe and analyze the results of the transformation of the course ‘advanced management accounting techniques’ for Masters students at the University of Groningen, in the academic year 2017–2018. We show how the course was transformed in a way to increase both a general, a business, and an accounting awareness of the importance of sustainability, while also applying a new teaching approach, namely lemniscate learning, to support this. Our course was the first in the faculty to make this transformation, and although the majority of the students were enthusiastic, the faculty staff was cautiously positive. In presenting our findings, we aim at supporting educators and other stakeholders at universities, by supplying a case study on the transformation of our course, and by scrutinizing the problems that we encountered, the feedback, both positive and negative, that we received, and the challenges that still face us, both on a course and a university level. Thus, we hope to be a source of inspiration and advice for others and to further advance our understanding of the dilemmas, practicalities, and challenges in working towards sustainability in teaching.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2826: Soil Salinity Mapping of Urban Greenery Using Remote Sensing and Proximal Sensing Techniques; The Case of Veale Gardens within the Adelaide Parklands Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082826 Authors: Hamideh Nouri Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni Sina Alaghmand Sharolyn J. Anderson Paul C. Sutton Somayeh Parvazian Simon Beecham More well-maintained green spaces leading toward sustainable, smart green cities mean that alternative water resources (e.g., wastewater) are needed to fulfill the water demand of urban greenery. These alternative resources may introduce some environmental hazards, such as salt leaching through wastewater irrigation. Despite the necessity of salinity monitoring and management in urban green spaces, most attention has been on agricultural fields. This study was defined to investigate the capability and feasibility of monitoring and predicting soil salinity using proximal sensing and remote sensing approaches. The innovation of the study lies in the fact that it is one of the first research studies to investigate soil salinity in heterogeneous urban vegetation with two approaches: proximal sensing salinity mapping using Electromagnetic-induction Meter (EM38) surveys and remote sensing using the high-resolution multispectral image of WorldView3. The possible spectral band combinations that form spectral indices were calculated using remote sensing techniques. The results from the EM38 survey were validated by testing soil samples in the laboratory. These findings were compared to remote sensing-based soil salinity indicators to examine their competence on mapping and predicting spatial variation of soil salinity in urban greenery. Several regression models were fitted; the mixed effect modeling was selected as the most appropriate to analyze data, as it takes into account the systematic observation-specific unobserved heterogeneity. Our results showed that Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) was the only salinity index that could be considered for predicting soil salinity in urban greenery using high-resolution images, yet further investigation is recommended.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2824: Niche Evolution of China’s Provincial Social–Economic–Natural Complex Ecosystems, 2005–2015 Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082824 Authors: Yuantong Jiang Shoukai Sun Yening Wang Shuanning Zheng The ecological niche of a complex regional ecosystem reflects the fit of various human activities and the advantages and disadvantages of the environment in the region. This study examined China’s comprehensive niches of the compound social–economic–natural ecological system during the “11th Five-Year” and “12th Five-Year” periods using a Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator method. The results showed that before the 11th Five-Year period, the levels of comprehensive niches in the country were generally low, and, by the end of the 11th Five-Year period, the comprehensive niche levels in Beijing, Tianjin, and the eastern coastal regions each exceeded 0.40. During the 12th Five-Year period, after the ecological civilization construction plans were implemented, the average national comprehensive ecological level reached 0.57, the comprehensive ecological niche levels in eastern coastal areas reached more than 0.84, those in southern regions and some developed middle and western regions were greater than 0.72, and, in central regions, the levels were between 0.50–0.70. This shows that the concept of compound sustainable natural–societal–economic ecosystem development was incorporated into planning and used to guide local policies and assessment criteria for regional development. This paper compares the advantages and disadvantages of regional development plans through time, and can be used to promote coordinated and sustainable regional development.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2823: Does Institutional Context Affect CSR Disclosure? A Study on Eurostoxx 50 Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082823 Authors: Daniela Coluccia Stefano Fontana Silvia Solimene We propose to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and institutional/environmental factors among a sample of European listed companies. We find that, by using several traditional explicative variables, institutional factors affect the level of CSR disclosure, in a context where the EU Commission has been paying growing attention to social and environmental accountability of listed companies (see the EU Dir. 95/2014). Our findings are further supported by multivariate regression, where ESG score (measure of CSR disclosure) is regressed on nine variables which represent the expression of institutional factors. By looking at the institutional determinants of CSR disclosure, we are seeking to pose a challenge for future research agenda, in order to understand whether CSR does actually reflect an effective commitment of firms to accounting practices and rules, as a form of social behavior, or whether it is just a tool to manage stakeholders’ perception and to comply with regulation.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2829: A Study on the Sustainable Growth of SMEs: The Mediating Role of Organizational Metacognition Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082829 Authors: Wang-Jin Yoo Hyun Ho Choo Sang Jin Lee This study investigates a method to improve small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) business performance and organizational effectiveness for sustainable growth. This study hypothesizes that technological innovation capabilities have a positive impact on business performance and organizational effectiveness and that metacognition at the organizational level has a mediating role in the relationship. To verify the relationship, this study conducts an empirical analysis using a survey questionnaire. The findings are as follows. First, technological innovation capability has a positive effect on both business performance and organizational effectiveness. Second, organizational metacognition has a partial mediating effect on the effect of technological innovation capability on business performance and organizational effectiveness. The results suggest that chief executive officer (CEO) and middle managers contemplate the methodology of metacognition at the organizational level and that they should focus more on enhancing business performance by developing technological innovation capability and organizational metacognition.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2827: Re-Planning the Intermodal Transportation of Emergency Medical Supplies with Updated Transfer Centers Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082827 Authors: Junhu Ruan Felix T. S. Chan Xiaofeng Zhao Helicopters and vehicles are often jointly used to transport key relief supplies and respond to disaster situations when supply nodes are far away from demand nodes or the key roads to affected areas are cut off. Emergency transfer centers (ETCs) are often changed due to secondary disasters and further rescue, so the extant intermodal transportation plan of helicopters and vehicles needs to be adjusted accordingly. Disruption management is used to re-plan emergency intermodal transportation with updated ETCs in this study. The basic idea of disruption management is to minimize the negative impact resulting from unexpected events. To measure the impact of updated ETCs on the extant plan, the authors consider three kinds of rescue participators, that is, supply recipients, rescue drivers, and transport schedulers, whose main concerns are supply arrival time, intermodal routes and transportation capacity, respectively. Based on the measurement, the authors develop a recovery model for minimizing the disturbance caused by the updated ETCs and design an improved genetic algorithm to generate solutions for the recovery model. Numerical experiments verify the effectiveness of this model and algorithm and discern that this disruption management method could produce recovery plans with shorter average waiting times, smaller disturbances for all the supply arrival times, intermodal routes and transportation capacity, and shorter running times. The comparison shows the advantage of this disruption management method over the rescheduling method.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2819: A Comparison of Markov Chain Random Field and Ordinary Kriging Methods for Calculating Soil Texture in a Mountainous Watershed, Northwest China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082819 Authors: Jinlin Li Lanhui Zhang Chansheng He Chen Zhao Accurate mapping the spatial distribution of different soil textures is important for eco-hydrological studies and water resource management. However, it is quite a challenge to map the soil texture in data scarce, hard to access mountainous watersheds. This paper compares a nonlinear method, the Markov chain random field (MCRF) with a classical linear method, ordinary kriging (OK) for calculating the soil texture at different search radiuses in the upstream region of the Heihe River Watershed. Results show that soil texture values that were calculated by the OK method tends to predict soil texture values within a certain range (sand (12.098~40.317), silt (47.847~71.231), and clay (12.781~19.420)) because of the smoothing effect, thus leading to greater accuracy in predicting the major soil texture type (silt loam). Nonetheless, the MCRF method considers the interclass relationships between sampling points, leading to greater accuracy in predicting minor types (loam and sandy loam). Meanwhile, the OK method performed best for all the types at the radius of 65 km influenced by the densities of all the sampling points, while the best performance of the MCRF method differs with radiuses as the largest densities varying for different soil types. For loam and sandy loam, the OK method ignored them, thus the MCRF method is more suitable in mountainous areas with high soil heterogeneity.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2846: Nonlinear Error Propagation Analysis of a New Family of Model-Based Integration Algorithm for Pseudodynamic Tests Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082846 Authors: Bo Fu Huanjun Jiang Tao Wu Error propagation properties of integration algorithms are crucial in conducting pseudodynamic tests. The motivation of this study is to investigate the error propagation properties of a new family of model-based integration algorithm for pseudodynamic tests. To develop the new algorithms, two additional coefficients are introduced in the Chen-Ricles (CR) algorithm. In addition, a parameter—i.e., degree of nonlinearity—is applied to describe the change of stiffness for nonlinear structures. The error propagation equation for the new algorithms implemented in a pseudodynamic test is derived and two error amplification factors are deduced correspondingly. The error amplification factors for three structures with different degrees of nonlinearity are calculated to illustrate the error propagation effect. The numerical simulation of a pseudodynamic test for a two-story shear-type building structure is conducted to further demonstrate the error propagation characteristics of the new algorithms. It can be concluded from the theoretical analysis and numerical study that both nonlinearity and the two additional coefficients of the new algorithms have great influence on its error propagation properties.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2844: IPO Underpricing After the 2008 Financial Crisis: A Study of the Chinese Stock Markets Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082844 Authors: Rui Li Wei Liu Yong Liu Sang-Bing Tsai A firm’s capability of raising funding is closely related to its sustainable development. With a more efficient allocation of funding among the whole society, social resources will be better utilized. Initial Public Offering (IPO) can indeed be an effective means of raising capital for corporate ventures. Using 1069 firms which completed IPOs on Chinese stock exchanges between 1st January 2004 and 1st January 2013, we investigate the difference in IPO underpricing before and after the 2008 financial crisis. Based on OLS regression models, we find that the IPOs are less underpriced in the post-crisis period. We examine the moderating effects of firm size on the difference in IPO underpricing between pre- and post-crisis periods, finding that small firms experienced less IPO underpricing than large firms after the financial crisis. After applying different model specifications such as Robust and OProbit regressions, the results remain consistent. Our study contributes to understanding the dynamics and influences of the financial crisis on firms’ IPO cost from the perspective of information asymmetry.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2843: Market Power Extended: From Foucault to Meadows Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082843 Authors: Katharina Biely Dries Maes Steven Van Passel Market power is a complex matter that is approximated with quantitative indicators within economics. However, these indicators may not fully capture market power, or they may fail to identify it, although it may be present. Moreover, a quantitative approach restricts market power as a concept, impeding the ability to discuss its relationship with other concepts, such as sustainability. This paper extends the definition of market power, following Foucault’s understanding of power and the associated theoretical discussions of power from different disciplines. We extended Foucault’s work by including systems thinking to capture the importance of the prevalent system’s paradigm, which is the ultimate initiator of action. Apart from distinguishing different elements of power, we also integrate an instrumental view on the elements of power. The developed frame allows us to understand the dynamic character of power as a force that strives to maintain or ameliorate the position of the paradigm that it serves. Based on this frame, we outline how this extended understanding of power can be used to analyze market power itself, and its relation with sustainability.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2841: Electricity as a Cooking Means in Nepal—A Modelling Tool Approach Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082841 Authors: Ramchandra Bhandari Surendra Pandit Cooking energy has an important role in energy demand of Nepal. Over the last decade, import of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has increased by 3.3 times as an alternate cooking fuel to kerosene and firewood. The growing subsidy burden to endorse modern fuel switching from traditional energy sources and high import of LPG are challenges for sustainability and energy security. This paper analyzes the future residential cooking energy demand and its environmental and economic impacts from 2015 to 2035 using a Long-range Energy Alternative Planning System (LEAP) tool. In 2035, the LPG demand for cooking is projected to be 26.5 million GJ, 16.3 million GJ, 45.2 million GJ and 58.2 million GJ for business as usual (BAU), low growth rate (LGR), medium growth rate (MGR) and high growth rate (HGR) scenarios, respectively. To substitute LPG with electricity in the cooking sector by 2035, an additional 1207 MW, 734 MW, 2055 MW and 2626 MW hydropower installation is required for BAU, LGR, MGR and HGR scenarios, respectively. In the MGR scenario, substituting LPG with electricity could save from $21.8 million (2016) to $70.8 million (2035) each year, which could be used to develop large-scale hydropower projects in the long term.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2860: The Impact of Administrative Reform on Labour Market Transformations in Large Polish Cities Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082860 Authors: Katarzyna Przybyła Marian Kachniarz Maria Hełdak The purpose of the article was to discuss the impact of administrative reforms on the dynamics and the direction of changes occurring in the labour market structure of cities. In the existing research the view prevails that the loss of the voivodship capital function contributes strongly to the socio-economic degradation of the city. In Poland, this discussion has been caused by an administrative reform, as a result of which 49 existing voivodships and the related 49 voivodship capitals were replaced by 16 voivodships and 18 regional capitals. The carried out research focused on both these Polish urban centres which lost their voivodship status and the ones which retained it and become the centres of new, large regions. The Bray-Curtis measure was used to analyse the studied transformations. The data for 2005 and 2016 were used in the research. The conducted study allowed the identification of groups of the cities characterised by a similar range of changes in labour market structure. The research focused on answering the question whether retaining or losing the status of a voivodship city is related to the scale of these changes. The research results presented in the article seem to confirm that the role of administrative changes in the development of cities is not as extensive as it has commonly been attributed. The actual reasons for the economic growth of large centres, or the shrinking of some former voivodship cities, cannot be reduced to the effects of the reform itself. They result, to a much greater extent, from the processes of deindustrialisation, predominantly related to the regression of the declining industry sectors.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2856: Social and Personal Dimensions as Predictors of Sustainable Intention to Use Facebook in Korea: An Empirical Analysis Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082856 Authors: Hong The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of social and personal dimensions in predicting sustainable intention to use a social networking site (SNS). We propose and test an integrative SNS acceptance model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the social influence theory. Included in the model are the attitudes toward the use of a SNS, the subjective norm, prevalence of information cascades, and the perceived behavioral control as antecedents of intention to use a SNS. An empirical analysis was conducted using data collected from a questionnaire survey with 228 college students in Korea, and it yielded the following findings. First, the two social dimensions, namely subjective norm and information cascade, were each found to have a significant positive relationship with behavioral intention to use a SNS. In particular, information cascades turned out to have a stronger impact than the remaining two antecedents to behavioral intention to use a SNS. Second, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were found to have a significant positive influence on the attitude toward SNS use.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2858: Application of the Vector Measure Construction Method and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity Ideal Solution for the Analysis of the Dynamics of Changes in the Poverty Levels in the European Union Countries Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082858 Authors: Mateusz Piwowarski Danuta Miłaszewicz Małgorzata Łatuszyńska Mariusz Borawski Kesra Nermend In the context of the development of countries, the issue of sustainability is one of the most important aspects that are currently dealt with by scientists and organizations worldwide. There are developed concepts, sustainable development objectives, as well as indicators and tools for measuring sustainability. Following the scientific approach, which aims at operationalization of the concept of sustainable development, the authors propose the application of their own Vector Measure Construction Method for evaluation of sustainable development progress. This method enables creation of aggregated measures with the use of discretionary configuration of indicators and it can be applied for establishing rankings, classifications, and for analyzing dynamics of changes. The research was conducted for European Union countries based on data related to execution of one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (No Poverty). The results may constitute the recommendation on the selection of methodological approach for activities related to evaluation of sustainable development.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2862: Regional Innovation Systems as Complex Adaptive Systems: The Case of Lagging European Regions Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082862 Authors: Cristina Ponsiglione Ivana Quinto Giuseppe Zollo This article proposes an agent-based model to support the development of self-sustaining regional innovation systems (RIS). The model is the base of a computational laboratory, CARIS (Complex Adaptive Regional Innovation System), which aims at evaluating the self-sustainability of RIS and at investigating what are the resources, competencies and mechanisms able to trigger powerful innovation and economic growth processes. Such a topic is particularly interesting for the so-called lagging regions, which, notwithstanding noticeable policy interventions, have been unable to significantly improve their innovation performances. Results of this study show that the exploration capacity, the propensity to cooperation, and the endowed competencies of actors belonging to a region could be considered as key aspects in affecting the regional innovation performance. This means that policy-makers should (i) incentivize investments in research and development activities both at the public and private levels; (ii) support public-private partnerships; (iii) enhance national and regional university systems; and (iv) increase the number of researchers employed both in the public and private sectors. In the next future, the CARIS laboratory could be adopted as policy support instrument to evaluate how much effective are current innovation policies and what are the most effective ones to reassess the current patterns.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2875: Managing Bubbles in the Korean Real Estate Market: A Real Options Framework Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082875 Authors: Kyungwon Kim Jae Song The aim of this paper is to propose a real options framework to measure and manage bubbles in the Korean real estate market. The proposed framework carefully defines and utilizes the unique leasing mechanism in Korea, called the Jeonse system, a tentative contract for one or two years with a large amount of deposit, to represent the value of residence. Furthermore, the proposed framework applies the volatility with heteroscedasticity to improve the numerical accuracy in comparison to the traditional real options valuation model. The results of the model ultimately suggest the investment strategy that takes into account the measured bubbles in the market. Specifically, given that the Korean real estate market could be regarded as an American option, the investment strategy with early exercise completely eliminates the existing arbitrage opportunities in both long and short positions. In this context, the investment decisions based on the results of the proposed framework are expected to encourage the reflection of bubble-related information in the market, which eventually reduces the formation of bubbles via market mechanism for arbitrage elimination. In conclusion, the bubble-related information obtained from the model is expected to contribute to the stability of the real estate market by reducing the volatility of house price and quick price adjustment to new information.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2872: Carbon Emissions Cost Analysis with Activity-Based Costing Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082872 Authors: Wen-Hsien Tsai Shi-Yin Jhong Due to growing awareness about environmental issues, consumers are becoming more likely to purchase environmentally friendly products that involve lower carbon emissions (CE). Environmental regulations are being enforced and lower-carbon products are being produced in order to maintain competitiveness when complying with such regulations. This paper aims to explore the effect of CE on profit through three kinds of models using the activity-based costing (ABC) approach. The results indicate that governmental policy makers can effectively decrease CE by Total Quantity Control (TQC) to resolve problems of environmental degradation. Governmental policy makers can control CE by limiting the quantities of CE, thereby forcing manufacturers to decrease CE during production. Furthermore, policy makers can set up regulations on CE quotas to control CE well instead of imposing carbon taxes. Therefore, manufacturers will try their best to find methods of improving production processes, equipment, and/or materials to decrease the CE quantity and achieve maximum profit under the restricted carbon emissions quotas.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2873: Examination of the Status of Financial Inclusion and Its Determinants in Tanzania Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082873 Authors: Josephat Lotto The primary motive of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in Tanzania. The paper borrows data from a household survey conducted by TWAWEZA. Employing the probit regression, the findings of this paper reveal that gender, education, age and income are the pertinent factors which affect the financial inclusion in Tanzania. The paper further shows the following: First, if you are a man, financially stable, have a good education and are relatively older, you then stand better chances of being financially included. The results show that, as the level of education increases, the individual is more likely to be financially included. The possible reason for this observation may be clearly linked with the financial ability of educated individuals to afford holding bank accounts and presenting personal guarantees when required by the banks during loan application because the level of education goes parallel with the income level. In addition, the results confirm a gender gap in formal financial inclusion, and this may be due to the factors such as inability of women to show collateral, their poor financial education awareness and lower business experience. Second, the paper also shows that the factors which affect traditional banking services are the same as those affecting mobile banking services (gender, age, income and education), and that there is a negative trend and a clear departure of customers’ usage from banking retail services to mobile financial services. Although this gap has been narrowed recently, the best option with the banking sector is to create more new delivery channels while using mobile financial services as an infrastructure to deepen financial access reaching more un-banked population. The paper, therefore, recommends banks to create more delivery channels while using mobile telecommunication network as an infrastructure to deepen financial access reaching more unbanked people rather than competing with mobile network operators. The findings of this paper may also be used as a wake-up call for policy makers to put more emphasis on women and young people who are often left behind during Government’s effort toward reaching the entire population as far as financial inclusion is concerned.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2867: A Model for the Optimal Recovery of Multiple Substances from Waste Water with a Focus on Phosphate Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082867 Authors: Jan C. Bongaerts In recent times, the issue of a “Phosphate Peak” has entered the academic debate and it is widely present in social media. Arguments in favour and against are similar to those mentioned in the much earlier debate on the “Oil Peak”. However, whereas the “Oil Peak” is supply driven, the “Phosphate Peak”, if at all, is demand driven. In contrast with oil, most of which is chemically transformed in CO2, vapor and other constituting elements, phosphate is not “consumed” during its primary use as a fertilizer. Hence, whilst phosphate rock, from which phosphate is mined, is a depletable resource, phosphate itself is potentially recyclable and re-usable. Research on the technologies for such a recovery is manifold and, specifically, efforts are spent on waste water as a source of phosphate. This, if successful, could lead to a changing perception of waste water treatment plants as a set of backstop technologies to eliminate an environmental problem into a “secondary liquid mine” from which phosphate, but not only phosphate, could be extracted for re-use. Hence, for that purpose, an economic model of efficient extraction of phosphate and other elements from waste water in a waste water treatment plant could give guidance to operators. This paper presents such a model describing the optimal simultaneous extraction of several elements, including phosphate, from a “secondary liquid mine”. The elements are assumed to be present in given proportions (ratios) in this “mine” and the model shows that these ratios have an impact on the optimal extraction path and on resulting “implicit” shadow pricing rules to be adopted by the waste water treatment plant operator.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2871: Assessing the Runoff Reduction Potential of Highway Swales and WinSLAMM as a Predictive Tool Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082871 Authors: Bailee N. Young Jon M. Hathaway Whitney A. Lisenbee Qiang He Across the United States, the impacts of stormwater runoff are being managed through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) in an effort to restore and/or maintain the quality of surface waters. State transportation authorities fall within this regulatory framework, being tasked with managing runoff leaving their impervious surfaces. Opportunely, the highway environment also has substantial amounts of green space that may be leveraged for this purpose. However, there are questions as to how much runoff reduction is provided by these spaces, a question that may have a dramatic impact on stormwater management strategies across the country. A highway median swale, located on Asheville Highway, Knoxville, Tennessee, was monitored for hydrology over an 11-month period. The total catchment was 0.64 ha, with 0.26 ha of roadway draining to 0.38 ha of a vegetated median. The results of this study indicated that 87.2% of runoff volume was sequestered by the swale. The Source Loading and Management Model for Windows (WinSLAMM) was used to model the swale runoff reduction performance to determine how well this model may perform in such an application. To calibrate the model, adjustments were made to measured on-site infiltration rates, which was identified as a sensitive parameter in the model that also had substantial measurement uncertainty in the field. The calibrated model performed reasonably with a Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency of 0.46. WinSLAMM proved to be a beneficial resource to assess green space performance; however, the sensitivity of the infiltration parameter suggests that field measurements of this characteristic may be needed to achieve accurate results.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2863: Measuring the Inclusive Growth of China’s Coastal Regions Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082863 Authors: Caizhi Sun Ling Liu Yanting Tang Inclusive growth captures the need to alleviate the problems of global income disparity and poverty, particularly in Asia. The study’s goal is to construct an indicator system that measures the inclusive growth of 11 coastal provinces and cities in China from five aspects, namely, survival, capacity, development, freedom, and opportunity, examining the area from 2000 to 2015. The system is based on Bossel’s basic orientor indicator framework. Dynamic changes in overall levels in the five fields are investigated and spatial differences calculated using the Gini coefficient. Among the provinces, Guangxi shows the strongest survival conditions, giving it an advantage over other regions. Shanghai has the highest level of capacity and freedom. Guangdong has the strongest development momentum, but this appears to be weakening. Finally, Shandong shows many more social opportunities. The study suggests that inclusive growth in the area has increased as a result of the area’s rapid development, but the growth rates remain low. The level of inclusive growth shows a large gap across the regions. Gini coefficient differences show that the eastern coastal areas have strong development trends, whereas the northern and southern coastal areas show weaker ones. We also offer suggestions on how to promote inclusive growth in these regions.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2874: The Prism of Elasticity in Rebound Effect Modelling: An Insight from the Freight Transport Sector Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082874 Authors: Franco Ruzzenenti If the rebound effect is to be considered a major obstacle to sustainable freight transport, then action and timely policy must be made in advance. This, however, requires a theoretical understanding of the nature of the rebound effect and an empirical grasp of its underlying mechanism. Elasticity is the centrepiece of current models on the rebound effect (or Jevons paradox). Although elasticity is a metric of indisputable usefulness for empirical purposes, it may be misleading when applied to the complex rebound effect. Drawing on the parallel case of the ‘distance puzzle’ in international economics, it will be shown how elasticity can be misinterpreted or how it can misdirect an investigation of the phenomenon by following a predetermined mindset. This particular bias is shown to widen in the long term and evolving systems in which the elasticity metric continues to output a constant number, eliciting a persistent effect. Drawing on previous research, an alternative approach to studying the rebound effect based on complex network theory and statistical mechanics of networks will be described. It will be shown how the interplay between spatial and non-spatial effects in freight transport networks can inform us about the evolution of the effect of distances on trade relationships, upon which a new metric for the rebound effect can be built.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2866: Local Resilience to Natural Hazards in Serbia. Case Study: The West Morava River Valley Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082866 Authors: Tamara Lukić Jelena Dunjić Bojan Đerčan Ivana Penjišević Saša Milosavljević Milka Bubalo-Živković Milica Solarević During the past decade, the valley of the West Morava in the central part of the Republic of Serbia experienced several natural hazards that have changed the life of the inhabitants. The aim of this paper is to show how people perceive natural hazards in the areas where they do not have catastrophic consequences for the entire population. The perceptions of natural hazards were examined according to similar studies and collected through surveys and interviews. The obtained stratified sample information was coded, and the results are expressed in the parameters of descriptive statistics, using T-test and ANOVA. The population is partially affected if inhabited locations are in the threatened part of the West Morava River valley and if their activities have direct consequences by natural disasters. They emphasize the importance of the political influences and mass media, but they show the need for additional information on prevention and protection. That is where they see geography as profession that sublimates all knowledge of natural disasters, unlike others that are more narrowly skilled. The results of the research are the starting point for further regional comparisons, which will complement the picture of the people’s attitude and resilience to natural hazards in Serbia and the Balkan Peninsula.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2865: Impacts of Freight Transport on PM2.5 Concentrations in China: A Spatial Dynamic Panel Analysis Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082865 Authors: Yan Wang Dong Yang Freight transport policies have been developed to reduce air pollution in China. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a freight modal shift on PM2.5 concentrations using the panel data of 30 provinces in China over the period 1999–2016. The direct and spillover effects of a freight modal shift on PM2.5 concentrations in China, as well as the effects of other socioeconomic factors, were estimated by employing spatial dynamic panel data models. In particular, the channel through which the freight modal shift might be beneficial in reducing PM2.5 concentrations was examined. The results show that PM2.5 concentrations in China do not only decrease with a modal shift of freight from road to rail in a province, but also and to a larger extent with that in neighboring provinces. However, there exist heterogeneous effects across different regions of China. The interaction between a freight modal shift and energy efficiency may lead to a decrease in the PM2.5 concentrations, but only in the central and western regions. These findings provide suggestions for government policies directed to sustainable development.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2915: A Multi-Data Approach for Spatial Risk Assessment of Topsoil Compaction on Arable Sites Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082915 Authors: Sandra Ledermüller Marco Lorenz Joachim Brunotte Norbert Fröba Soil compaction is a human-induced threat which negatively affects soil functions and is highly dependent on site-specific soil conditions and land use patterns. Proper management techniques are indispensable for sustainable soil protection to ensure its function in the long term. A number of concepts exist to develop risk maps on the basis of soil inherent susceptibility to compaction at a given soil moisture level (mostly field capacity). However, the real soil conditions, e.g., current soil moisture content at the time of field work and the real machinery load, are not taken into account. To bridge this gap, we present a multi-data approach for qualitative risk assessment, which combines spatially and temporally explicit data on soil, soil moisture, and land use information. The contributing components integrate daily probability distribution, including inter- and intra-annual variations in land use and weather. We combined soil susceptibility to compaction and field work for the federal state of Lower Saxony per half-months and identified three clusters with more or less compaction risk for Lower Saxony. In spring, mainly manure spreading to maize and in autumn harvesting of maize and sugar beets are contributing to the yearly probability of compaction risk in top soils. With the presented approach risk areas can be identified. For the evaluation of the current compaction risks, farm specifications on machinery and timing of field work must also be taken into account.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2914: Impact of Climate Change: Environmental Assessment of Passive Solutions in a Single-Family Home in Southern Spain Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082914 Authors: Rafael Suárez Rocío Escandón Ramón López-Pérez Ángel Luis León-Rodríguez Tillmann Klein Sacha Silvester According to the IPCC Climate Change projections by 2050 temperatures in southern Spain will have increased noticeably during the summer. Housing—in its current form—will not be able to provide a suitable response to this new climate scenario, and will in turn prompt an increase in cooling energy consumption and a series of problems relating to health and comfort. The DesignBuilder simulation tool was used to quantify the impact of this future climate scenario on energy demand, as well as its effect under free-running conditions on indoor temperature. Different passive conditioning strategies were evaluated to establish their influence on the indoor comfort conditions. The case study examined a theoretical single-family residential unit model in order to establish guidelines for the pre-selection of the most suitable passive solutions. The results show that passive conditioning strategies analysed (envelope treatment, solar gain protection and night-time natural ventilation) reduce energy demand and indoor temperatures, thus increasing energy efficiency and improving indoor comfort conditions. Therefore, these passive conditioning strategies reduce the cooling energy consumption.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2916: Implementation and Unification of the ERP System in a Global Company as a Strategic Decision for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082916 Authors: Michal Pohludka Hana Stverkova Beata Ślusarczyk This article considered factors connected with the implementation and unification of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, and their influence on the sustainable development of global companies. It showed a cognitive model on such impact and gave an example in the form of a case study of a global company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The basic strategic objectives of each organization include long-term growth and sustainability. In a growing competitive environment, it is essential to manage the company effectively. This can be achieved provided that the company’s organizational structure and operations are properly set from the point of view of the ERP system. The research results were aimed at creating the generalized process of the ERP system’s gradual implementation, to make the development of an organization progressive. The paper was focused on describing the implementation and unification of the Enterprise Resource Planning System, in a global company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The aim of the paper was to monitor and evaluate, the links between Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management. This process is time consuming and costly. To achieve the aim, the case study was carried out in the form of an expert survey aimed at assessing the impact of the unification and implementation of the ERP system in a global company. The study included methods of systemic analysis, methods of sociological expert survey, a method of qualitative peer review, and a method for a cognitive model. It leads not only to effective management of global companies but enables the monitoring and comparison of Key Performance Indicators and the Net Promoter Score in each country, using the same parameters. The implementation of a unified Enterprise Resource Planning system leads to a significant cost reduction and has a positive impact on the financial indicators reported on the stock exchange. This study highlighted the importance of the implementation of an effective ERP system, to make the development of organizations sustainable.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2908: Carbon Footprint Analyses and Potential Carbon Emission Reduction in China’s Major Peach Orchards Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082908 Authors: Chaoyi Guo Xiaozhong Wang Yujia Li Xinhua He Wushuai Zhang Jie Wang Xiaojun Shi Xinping Chen Yueqiang Zhang An excess of material input in fruit orchards has brought serious environmental problems, particularly in China. However, studies on the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in peach orchards are limited. In this study, based on questionnaire surveys in major peach-producing regions, including the North China Plain (n = 214), as well as northwest (n = 22) and southwest (n = 33) China, the carbon footprints (CFs) of these orchards were calculated by the life cycle assessment. The potential emission reduction in each region was estimated by combining the GHG emissions and CFs with plantation areas and fruit yields. The results showed that the average GHG emissions in the North China Plain, northwest, and southwest regions were 15,668 kg CO2-eq ha−1, 10,386 kg CO2-eq ha−1, and 5580 kg CO2-eq ha−1, with corresponding CFs of 0.48 kg CO2-eq ha−1, 0.27 kg CO2-eq ha−1, and 0.20 kg CO2-eq kg−1, respectively. The main contribution source of GHG emissions in these three regions was fertilizer (77–95%), followed by electricity, pesticides, and diesel. By adopting advanced farming practices with high yield and a high partial factor productivity of fertilizer, the GHG emissions could be reduced by ~13–35%, with the highest potential reduction in the North China Plain. In conclusion, the GHG emissions and their CFs were impressively high in China’s major peach-producing regions, but these GHG emissions could be substantially decreased by optimizing nutrients and irrigation management, including the rational selection of fertilizer rates and types with water-saving irrigation systems or practices (e.g., mulching) for increasing fertilizer and water use efficiency, and maintaining a sustainable peach production in China or similar countries.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2910: Green Payment and Perceived Rural Landscape Quality: A Cost-Benefit Analysis in Central Italy Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082910 Authors: Raffaele Cortignani Federica Gobattoni Raffaele Pelorosso Maria Nicolina Ripa The conservation of perceived scenery of traditional extensive and diversified landscapes is a valuable aim for reaching sustainable rural development. Considering the financial budget assigned and the application rules of European Union agricultural policy (Common Agricultural Policy—CAP), the relationship between perceived landscape benefits and CAP first pillar payments is an interesting aspect to analyze. In this study, a cost-benefit analysis has been carried out in a rural area of Central Italy that represents typical Italian conditions of hilly territories. Greening payment, a mechanism aimed to boost public goods, including landscapes and their ecological functionality, was selected as a proxy for policy cost of preserving traditional extensive landscapes. The benefits of greening have been evaluated through the analysis of the people’s willingness to pay for the maintenance of extensive and diversified landscapes. The analysis conducted does not explicitly consider the full range of environmental benefits determined by greening, even if some interviewees may have perceived them in addition to the visual perception of the rural landscape. The present study can contribute to the debate on the agricultural policy post-2020, especially for a future definition of long-lasting and cost-effective sustainable interventions in hilly and extensive rural landscapes.

Beschreibung: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2909: Assessment of the Sustainability of the Territories Affected by Gully Head Advancements through Aerial Photography and Modeling Estimations: A Case Study on Samal Watershed, Iran Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082909 Authors: Aliakbar Nazari Samani Fatemeh Tavakoli Rad Maryam Azarakhshi Mohammad Reza Rahdari Jesús Rodrigo-Comino Gully erosion is considered one of the major issues of land sustainability because it can remove considerable volumes of sediment and productive soils. Once started, gullies can continue to move by headcut retreat, or slumping of the side walls. Studies of gully development require constant monitoring activities which are not possible in not-well-explored areas, such as the arduous region of Iran, due to costs and a lack of geoinformation. Thus, the present research attempts to assess gully evolution using only two digital aerial photographs of different periods (1968 and 1994) and field assessment (2009) to estimate the gully head advancement based on frames geometry and rigorous procedure in southwestern Iran. Also, the gully head advancement was estimated and compared among them by different empirical equations. The results indicated that the mean of gully head advancement was 1.4 m year−1 and 1.2 m year−1 during 1968–1994 and 1994–2009, respectively, and the annual average of sediment mobilization was 26.8 m3 ha−1 in 2009. The model assessment indexes indicated that SCS (Soil Conservation Service) II was the best model for gully head advancement estimations in this study area. The main reasons for this can be associated with the Rp factor (previous gully head advancement) and the local environmental conditions. We conclude that the sustainability of the territory has been greatly affected due to this advancement. We also hypothesize that gully head changes could be related to the susceptibility of geological formations, climate, soil properties, and the coincidence of other gullies’ formation with common drainage networks in the study area. Based on the obtained results, land managers can use the results to distinguish the gullies in this region with a higher environmental risk, and to decide an effective implementation of soil conservation measures in order to include them in the land management plans.