This research analyzed the importance of competencies within the development of the cooperative system through the case study of the Tejemujeres Women’s Artisan Cooperative, for which a documentary and field investigation was conducted with a descriptive and explanatory scope under a mixed approach. The importance of cooperatives as tools of social cohesion has been considered due to the progress of their members, their strengthening of social capital, and generation of the necessary conditions to adapt to the demands of the place in which they operate. From this perspective, research tools such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups were implemented for a total of 85 participants of the entity under a census and incidental sample approach to analyze each of the responses under the Working With People model, from its dimensions: ethical-social, technical-business, and political-contextual. These responses have been collected in such a way that the skills of the most significant relevance to artisans are identified, which have allowed the strengthening of the cooperative system. The results demonstrate the level of incidence of a group of indigenous women from the rural area of the Gualaceo canton. The development of their skills has participated in the construction and implementation of a social model of company cooperative that—due to the complexity of its members and its environment—must face several scenarios to adequately articulate the social-business vision and achieve its sustainability over time. Full article

In the study, we investigate the relationships between renewable energy consumption sub-indicators of G-8 countries and financial development, credit gap risk, and R&D expenditure from 1996 to 2018. The relationships among the variables in the study are analyzed by employing the Panel ARDL method and the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test. The cointegration relationships between the variables have been analyzed using the bounds test approach, and an unrestricted error correction model has been established. Contrary to previous studies in the renewable energy literature, this study employed the variable of credit gap risk. Therefore, we believe that this study will fill the gap in the literature and attract the attention of researchers and policymakers. The results indicate that increases in total demand for renewable energy positively affect the financial development of countries. Moreover, R&D expenditures increase as the demand for hydro energy and solar energy increases. This result indicates that wind power consumption has a short-term impact on R&D expenditure, and such an impact ceases to exist in the long run. According to the empirical research findings, the rise in demand for renewable energy may be a factor mitigating the credit gap risk of countries. In other words, the credit gap risk, which is considered a leading indicator of systemic banking crises, can be mitigated by the rise in the demand for renewable energy. Full article

The sequential pricing game model is an approach that can be effectively used to solve the problem with multi-oligopoly pricing mechanisms in raw material supply chains. However, the existing sequential pricing mechanism does not fully consider constraints such as the purchase volume of downstream firms and the change information of each parameter, which leads to the pricing mechanism being detached from the real market. According to the concept of the sequential pricing game model being used among multi-oligopolies under constraints, we constructed the constrained sequential pricing game model by incorporating the parameters related to the product demand function, marginal production cost, dominant coefficient, following coefficient, and agreed minimum purchase volume as constraints, and the model was converted into a nonlinear bilevel programming model to facilitate model solving. Furthermore, we provided the analytical solution formulas for six special cases, thus making the model more similar to the real market. In addition, the effects of the agreed minimum purchase volume and the dominant and following coefficients on the equilibrium quoted prices and profits of the firms were analyzed. The results of the numerical simulation show that the constrained sequential pricing game model is more effective than the unconstrained sequential pricing game model in solving the problem with the multi-oligopoly pricing mechanism, which means that it can be used to establish a better pricing mechanism and provide a more reasonable and scientific basis for market operation and policymakers in solving practical problems. Full article

The transportation system is one of the major infrastructures in urban areas, and it serves 56% of the world’s population. Nowadays, metro lines are developing fast in urban areas. Due to the restrictions of urban fields, metro lines are usually not planned straight, and a curved line is required to connect stations in different locations in a city. As a result, small curvature tunnels are commonly constructed in urban areas. The tunneling construction in a city area may cause ground settlement, which is sensitive to surrounding buildings and underground utilities. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of curvature alignment on the ground settlement. In this paper, ground settlements induced by small curvature shield tunneling were evaluated by using a numerical analysis. A total of six cases were selected for the analysis. The results obtained from the numerical simulations were compared with Peck’s equation. It is observed that Peck’s equation can be used for the estimation of the maximum settlement. However, the ground settlements on both sides of the central axis of the curved tunnel are asymmetrical, and Peck’s equation, which provides a symmetrical settlement, may not be applicable in the case of small curvature tunnels. Full article

E-commerce transactions have increased during the pandemic as people living in urban areas turn to buy goods online rather than offline. A two-echelon distribution system using parcel mobile hubs (PMHs) with small vehicles can increase operational cost efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The originality of this study is in building and testing a conceptual framework for selecting PMH locations with three variables (parcel distribution, internet quota for e-commerce, and center of e-buyer) and two constraints (space availability and traffic flow). Spatial analysis is used as a method to test the conceptual framework with a parcel distribution database from Bandung. As a city whose profile represents urban areas in developing countries well, Bandung is chosen as a case study. The proportion of distance to variables and the outermost point of each cluster is less than 10%, which proves that the three variables are correlated. This study proves that the selection of PMH locations based on this conceptual framework results in better sustainable performance compared to existing conditions. Using PMHs combined with city freighters can reduce operational costs by 19.7% and prevent 3.4 tons of CO₂ emissions per year with conventional motorcycles and 7.2 tons of CO₂ emissions per year with electric motorcycles or scooters. Full article

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for the plant life cycle. The agricultural management of phosphorus is complicated by the inefficient use of phosphorus by plants, consequent environmental losses, and the rapid consumption of slowly renewed phosphate rock (PR). These issues represent a huge environmental burden and jeopardise food production. In this study, we proposed the combination of this fertiliser with food-processing by-products such as olive pomace, barley spent grain, and citrus pomace to increase phosphate rock solubility and the efficient use of P. Phosphate rock, by-products, and mixtures of phosphate rock and by-products were placed into litterbags and buried in sand. Periodically, one replicate per treatment was collected for the destructive measurement of total and water-soluble phosphorus. In parallel, pH, organic matter, and ash content were measured to investigate the mechanisms behind changes in P content. The mixtures’ P-release values ranged between 80% and 88%, whereas phosphate rock lost 23% of its P over 30 days. Phosphate rock showed a constant water-soluble P fraction at the four sampling times, whereas the mixtures exhibited a highly water-soluble P fraction that tended to decrease over time. Specifically, citrus pomace led to the significant and rapid release of phosphorus, barley spent grain maintained the highest water-soluble fraction over 30 days, and olive pomace was not the best-performing product but still performed better than pure phosphate rock. Moreover, the increased solubility of phosphate rock in mixtures was significantly (p < 0.001) ascribed to the reduction in pH. The results of this experiment are promising for in vivo trials and suggest the possibility of simple and easily achievable solutions for more sustainable production systems and effective P-fertilisation strategies. Proposing such easily applicable and inexpensive solutions can reduce the distance between research achievements and field applications. Full article

Having proficiency in English macro skills has been of foremost importance among English language learners to have a sustainable education. Evidently, knowing English corresponds with being able to articulate the language. However, many language learners still struggle to successfully master speaking skills. Previous studies advocated mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) as an innovative pedagogical practice that has the potential to be utilized in the acquisition of the speaking skills. Nevertheless, current studies that specify the usage of MALL in the readiness of speaking English are still limited. Therefore, this paper plans to fill in the gap by propounding a systematic review of published studies from the year 2013 to 2022 that are relevant to the implementation of MALL in the readiness to speak English. The findings of this review indicated that the usage of MALL fosters affective variables such as motivation, self-confidence, less anxiety, and learners’ control in the readiness of speaking skills, but most of the reviewed studies’ focal point were on older or adult learners, which created a gap in the literature. Hence, this requires the study of the usage of MALL in primary and secondary levels of education for the benefits of English language learners of all ages in the acquisition of speaking English. Full article

Hyperspectral imaging performed by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has proven its potential in environmental surveillances, especially in the field of water quality monitoring. In this study, three polynomial forms of inversion models for six water quality indicators were specified, with different numbers of spectral reflectance (1/2/3) as independent variables. Each model was designed with seven parameters, and the differential evolution algorithm was used to optimize the parameters by minimization of the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) between the retrieval results and field observations. Hyperspectral data from a (UAV)-mounted imager and the corresponding river water quality measurements were obtained in a case area in Suzhou City, China. Both MAPE and the coefficient of certainty (R²) are used to evaluate the model performance. All the models are useable, with an MAPE range of 3–18% and an R² range of 0.65–0.94, while the retrieval accuracy is more indicator-dependent and two nitrogen-related indicators have the lowest MAPE of around 5%. Considering the MAPE during model training and verification, the two-band model structure is more robust than the single- or three-band structures. It is certain that such a data-driven approach for large-scale, continuous, and multiple-indicator monitoring with considerable accuracy could facilitate water quality management. Full article

Barite and hematite are the most common heavy-weight minerals applied as aggregates in radiation shielding concrete (RSC). Therefore, to limit the cement consumption and reduce the CO₂ emissions accompanying its production, the aim of this study is to use Egyptian barite and hematite minerals in their native status and evaluate their attenuation efficiency against fast neutrons and γ-rays. This was implemented through the measurement of their radiation attenuation against fast neutrons and γ-rays in the energy ranges of 0.80–11 and 0.40–8.30 MeV, respectively, employing a Pu-Be source and a stilbene scintillator. Theoretical calculations were prepared using the NXcom program to validate the fast neutron attenuation measurements. Furthermore, the implications of the physical, mineralogical, geochemical, and morphological characteristics of these heavy-weight minerals with respect to their attenuation efficiencies were considered. We found that barite has superior radiation attenuation efficiency for fast neutrons and γ-rays compared to hematite by 9.17 and 51% for fast neutrons and γ-rays, respectively. This was ascribed to the superior physical, mineralogical, geochemical, and morphological properties of the former relative to those of the latter. Furthermore, a satisfactory agreement between the experimental and theoretical results was achieved, with a deviation of 16 and 19.25% for the barite and hematite samples, respectively. Eventually, barite and hematite can be successful candidates for their use as sustainable alternatives to common RSC. Full article

The objective of this research was to review the manuscripts registered in the Scopus database related to business ecosystems during the period 2018–2022. A total of 96 documents were selected and examined under a bibliometric and bibliographic approach. The results showed an annual growth rate of 13.21%. The United Kingdom (n = 22) led the countries with the most documents, computer science (n = 40) is the subject area with the most publications, and articles (n = 61) and conference papers (n = 23) dominated the types of documents. The nine most studied topics were innovation ecosystems, collaborative ecosystems, sustainable business ecosystems, digital business ecosystems, ecosystems of the Internet of Things, circular ecosystems in companies, regulatory frameworks for digital business ecosystems, resilience of business ecosystems, and ecosystems in smart cities. Six unexplored themes were extracted for future research: ICT industries, smart contracts, electric vehicles, serious games, energy, and blockchain. It should be noted that this study is one of the most up to date, and 85.5% of the 96 publications were original studies, i.e., valuable information that supports the results. Full article

During the last decade, many cities worldwide have implemented various green policies; in this way, they have gradually transformed into “green cities”. The emergence of green cities may provide a promising venue to address cities’ environmental degradation and citizens’ disengagement with current socio-environmental issues, thus giving rise to the notion of Environmental Citizenship (EC). Despite these assumptions, empirical research on the topic is currently emerging. In this study, we examine citizens’ engagement in green cities and its interrelatedness with EC through a systematic literature review. The selected empirical studies (n = 25) were published in peer-reviewed journals during the timespan of the last 12 years (2010–2021). In total, 31 green cities were analyzed in the 25 selected empirical studies. Thematic and frequency analysis revealed that green cities encourage citizens’ engagement with the implemented green policies, while also advancing citizens’ EC. Furthermore, correlational analysis between citizens’ engagement and the Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) model revealed that citizens’ engagement with the implemented green policies fosters citizens’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behaviors, fueling the undertaking of various EC actions. Importantly, green cities have also proved successful in achieving EC’s outcomes leading to sustainability. Full article

Carbon emission assessment in civil engineering has gained worldwide attention due to the negative effects of greenhouse gases on the environment. Significant amounts of building materials and electric power are consumed during the construction of tunnels, causing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In addition, building information modeling (BIM) can be utilized to realize the computerized design of tunnels, and improve construction efficiency. However, the traditional BIM software (Autodesk Revit) lacks tunnel components and is unable to directly create a three-dimensional tunnel axis. This paper adopted BIM to build a three-dimensional model of the tunnel components for tunnel and carried out batch parameterization and component lofting based on Dynamo visual programming. The BIM of the tunnel guided the construction procedures and improved the construction efficiency. Based on the emission coefficient method, we calculated the carbon emissions from each component and loaded them into the BIM during the parameterization process. After the tunnel modeling design was completed, a bill of quantities was obtained. Then, the carbon emissions from the whole tunnel construction were calculated according to the bill. Thus, the combination of BIM technology and tunnel engineering was realized; this has practical significance for reductions in emissions, and cleaner construction in relation to tunnel engineering. Full article

The rapid economic growth of Korea was accompanied by the side effect of disproportionate growth between regions. The central government has implemented balanced development strategies by enacting the Special Act on Balanced National Development. For example, central administrative institutions were relocated to Sejong-si, which was built as the administrative capital. This study examines whether the top-down strategy promoted balanced growth between regions using public big data. We use various indicators to pay attention to not only quantitative growth, such as population size and economic growth, but also qualitative growth, such as life satisfaction. The results show that, despite the government’s efforts, the population was concentrated in the major metropolitan areas and the economic gap between regions did not narrow. While metropolitan areas achieved steady growth based on the preemption of spatial competitiveness, non-metropolitan areas did not take advantage of more investment from government. However, it shows a significant increase in job creation in Sejong-si, suggesting it is more efficient to move institutions in groups than to completely disperse public institutions in the balanced development strategy. In terms of the quality of life, Sejong-si had the lowest personal life satisfaction and local life satisfaction, indicating that the top-down strategy has failed to manage the quality of life. We propose that promoting a compact city with multiple functions in the non-metropolitan areas will help balance development. To achieve a better quality of life, centralized power should be transferred to local governments, and policies should be built based on communication with local residents. Innovative and sustainable policies that efficiently utilize the uniqueness and potential of the region are needed for balanced growth. Full article

Climate clocks are currently ticking down to a point in time when it will be impossible to arrest the rate of CO₂ emissions within the bounds of the parameters set by the Paris Climate Agreement. The tourism academy has been at the forefront of efforts to draw attention to the climate threat and to develop adaptation and mitigation responses in conjunction with industry. However, whilst the tourism academy is generally said to be in lock-step with the urgency of the climate threat and tourism’s need to respond, outliers do exist. Why might a tourism scholar view the urgency of the climate threat differently from his or her colleagues? Drawing on conceptual insights from Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, the present paper explores the sociological framing of time in relation to tourism academics and the implications for the development of a tourism knowledge force-field as a foundation for tourism knowledge creation. Full article

Saudi Arabia, like other countries, has established several strategies and initiatives to support the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision recognizes the technological dimension of the SDGs. Furthermore, higher education institutes are an essential component of Saudi Arabia’s sustainable development goals, and the government is eager to adopt sustainability measures in universities in this regard. Saudi universities have implemented significant e-learning and digital transformation projects aimed at long-term development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi universities discontinued traditional face-to-face classes in favor of online learning. The rate of use of online education has been extraordinary and overwhelming. Given this background, this paper aims to study the impact of digital learning on sustainable development in the higher education institutions of Saudi Arabia post COVID-19 by highlighting the educational processes followed during the pandemic. In addition, we analyze the obstacles and values of digital learning in Saudi higher education institutes. We used the PRISMA statement 2020 for the inclusion and exclusion of the records and the VOS viewer software for the classification of literature. The results identified the three primary data streams, higher education, e-learning and digital transformation after the co-occurrences of critical terms and content analysis. Findings indicate the significant changes brought by the recent pandemic outbreak for the higher education institutes in Saudi Arabia. Results suggest that E-learning programmes have gained recognition as effective learning aids for higher education since conventional education (face-to-face) was abruptly forced to relocate online owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, findings demonstrate a substantial and positive relationship between digital transformation performance and Saudi Arabia’s higher education institutions, as well as their potential for e-learning toward sustainable development, their capacity for improvisation, and their organizational readiness. Full article