This study highlights the challenges faced in providing professional development programs for teachers, including limited resources and conventional training methods. Mobile technology, with its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, is increasingly being used as a part of professional development programs, but existing frameworks do not adequately support the integration of technology. This study proposes a mobile-based training certification framework that includes support for mobile phones, a training curriculum and assessment, expert support, and CPD evaluation. The framework was piloted with 35 participants from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with positive results indicating that mobile-based training is effective in enhancing teachers’ learning outcomes. According to the teachers’ responses, 100% agreed that this was a groundbreaking endeavor and expressed excitement to use it. Additionally, 98% found mobile learning easier and more enjoyable than traditional methods. The study recommends the implementation of the mobile-based training certification framework to improve teachers’ professional development and bridge the gap between traditional training methods and the needs of modern-day educators. The study also highlights the potential of mobile-based training to improve student outcomes by developing the knowledge and skills of teachers. Full article

In this article, we critique and extend Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital to develop the new concept of total diaspora cultural capital. We build on the limitations of cultural capital, which in the Bourdieu theory centre on materiality and class perpetuation. The article builds on an extensive review of the literature, using the PRISMA framework. We also use the findings of previous research to illustrate this argument. We differentiate between four types of organisations or groups that articulate various levels of cultural capital to build a body of evidence that establishes total diaspora cultural capital (type D groups) as a bounded collective identity creation encapsulating three main dimensions: appropriation, customisation and deployment. Total diaspora cultural capital is perceived as fitting the post-colonial global context through the acknowledgement that diasporas and hosts make the modern world, being agents who create and disseminate culture and economic sustainability through reciprocal appropriation of cultural assets. The research is the first to conceptualise the notion of total diaspora cultural capital. This research significantly extends Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, which fails to capture the multiple contours of evolving sustainability perspectives. Total diaspora cultural capital creates bounded cultural capital that strengthens the agility of diaspora businesses. Full article

The work of an engineer involves the conceptualization, design, and implementation of new and improved artifacts. However, what sets engineering apart from other professions is the direct responsibility of engineers to think critically and design innovative solutions to solve complex problems in social systems. Unfortunately, the solutions often do not consider the dynamics of the environment or the cultures that will receive them, leading to obsolescence due to the lack of technical knowledge of maintenance and repair. This exacerbates the disruptive power of technology in culture and society, leading to a gap in engineering education that needs to be addressed. Critical theories attempt to reformulate the teaching and practice of engineering in social-environmental contexts of vulnerability, utilizing systemic models to anticipate solutions based on possible scenarios. However, these theories do not consider the mental models of professional engineers, relying mostly on educational studies. To address this gap, this article explores a novel approach to the problem of sustainability mindset in engineering by understanding the characteristics and structures of engineering systems of practice and conveying it through causal loop diagrams. The results identify causal loops that reinforce or affect the application of sustainable practices, which can be used as leverage points within the systems of practice structure to improve the performance and interest of engineering students in sustainable development endeavors and promote more professionals working with a sustainable mindset. Full article

Climate change, global warming, stagnant productivity of wheat and food security concerns owing to frequent spells of drought stress (DS) have necessitated finding biologically viable drought-mitigation strategies. A trial was conducted to test two promising wheat cultivars (Ujala-16 and Zincol-16) that were subjected to pre-sowing priming treatments with different doses of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs = 40, 80, 120 and 160 ppm) under 50% and 100% field capacity (FC) conditions. The ZnO NPs were prepared with a co-precipitation method and characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). For comparison purposes, untreated seeds were sown as the control treatment. The response variables included botanical traits (lengths, fresh and dry wrights of root and shoot), chlorophyll (a, b and total) contents, antioxidant and proline contents and nutrients status of wheat cultivars. The results showed that DS significantly decreased all traits of wheat cultivars, while ZnO NPs, especially the 120 ppm dose, remained superior by increasing all botanical traits at 100% FC. In addition, ZnO NPs increased the chlorophyll a (1.73 mg/g FW in Ujala-16 and 1.75 mg/g FW in Zincole-16) b (0.70 mg/g FW in Ujala-16 and 0.71 mg/g FW in Zincole-16) and total chlorophyll content (2.43 mg/g FW in Ujala-16 and 2.46 mg/g FW in Zincole-16) by improving the activity of antioxidant and proline content. Moreover, plant nutrients such as Ca, Mg, Fe, N, P, K, and Zn contents were increased by ZnO NPs, especially in the Zincol-16 cultivar. To summarize, Zincol-16 remains superior to Ujala-16, while ZnO NPs (120 ppm dose under 100% FC) increases the growth and mineral contents of both wheat varieties. Thus, this combination might be recommended to wheat growers after testing further in-depth evaluation of more doses of ZnO NPs. Full article

COVID-19, Brexit, war, and some other similar cases will leave/have left us with a lesson that has had an impact on the supply chains of almost all product types. Countries have now recognized that some products cannot be sustained in a situation of uncertainty. This research covers the gap in understanding and identifying the successful factors affecting the criticality level of supply required of intermediate and final products (IFP) at the national level. It investigates the relationship between two factors: the casual factor supply risk (independent factor); and the impacted (dependent factors) political, economic, sociocultural, and technological (PEST) factors in terms of identifying critical products using the principle of Resource Dependency Theory (RDT). A literature review was conducted, followed by a mixed-method approach. Semi-structured interviews with 23 Saudi experts were carried out initially; then, a questionnaire was shared with 152 Saudi experts in different sectors. The qualitative study identified 30 key measurement variables for both factors, in which 19 variables were confirmed using the factor analysis (FA) technique. Full article

In this study, the hydrological system of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF-Hydro) is applied to simulate the streamflow at the Kaidu River Basin, which is vital to the ecological system in the lower reaches of the Tarim River in Northwest China. The offline WRF-Hydro model is coupled with the Noah multi-parameterization land surface model (Noah-MP) and is forced by the China Meteorological Forcing Dataset (CMFD), with the grid spacing of the hydrological routing modules being 250 m. A 3-year period (1983–1985) is used for calibration and a 17-year period (1986–2002) for the evaluation. Several key parameters of WRF-Hydro and four Noah-MP parameterization options are calibrated, and the performance of WRF-Hydro with the optimized model setting is evaluated using the daily streamflow observations. The results indicate that WRF-Hydro can reproduce the observed streamflow reasonably, with underestimation of the streamflow peaks. The simulated streamflow is sensitive to the parameters of bexp, dksat, smcmax, REFKDT, slope, OVROUGHRTAC and mann in the Kaidu River Basin. At the same time, the parameterization options of Noah-MP also have a large influence on the streamflow simulation. The WRF-Hydro model with optimized model settings can achieve correlation coefficient (CC) and Nash efficiency coefficient (NSE) statistical scores of 0.78 and 0.61, respectively, for the calibration period. Meanwhile, for the evaluation period, the scores are 0.7 and 0.50, respectively. This study indicates the importance of applying the physical-based WRF-Hydro model over Northwest China and provides a reference for the nearby regions. Full article

The ideology of healthism and low perceptions of the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases may explain the positive link between socioeconomic status (SES) and vaccine hesitancy in high-income countries. The present study aimed to examine the effect of three measures of SES (education, income and family economic status), the perceived threat of infectious diseases and two dimensions of healthism (personal responsibility for own health and distrust in healthcare institutions) on vaccine hesitancy, adjusting for sociodemographic variables. A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed in 2019. Non-probability sampling was employed by sending invitations to respondents over the age of 18 to participate in the study. The snowball technique was used, employing e-mails and digital social networks (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Data from 661 respondents were collected via 1 ka.si, an online survey tool. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that vaccine hesitancy was significantly more likely to be expressed by women (β = 0.09; p < 0.001), high-income respondents (β = 0.09; p < 0.01), those who have lower perceptions of the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases (β = 0.39; p < 0.001) and those scoring high on two healthism measures (expressing high perceived control of their own health (β = 0.18; p < 0.001) and high distrust in the Slovenian healthcare system and institutions (β = 0.37; p < 0.001)). The findings indicate that among the examined predictors, low perceived threat of vaccine-preventable diseases and low trust in the healthcare system are among the strongest predictors of vaccine hesitancy among the Slovenian public. Policymakers, physicians and other healthcare workers should be especially attentive to the public’s and patients’ perceptions of the risk of infectious diseases and distrust in medical institutions, including during doctor–patient communication and through public health campaigns and policies. Full article

Measuring Corporate Sustainability (CS) has been identified as an important enabler for integrating sustainability into corporate practices. Different methodologies and frameworks for measuring CS have been developed in the literature with limited success, as reflected by the lack of application in the real world. Among practitioners, the effort has been on developing frameworks that provide useful indicators of the different items that need to be considered for integrating sustainability. Notwithstanding the increasing attention and progress on the subject, a cohesive and applicable measure of CS across firms, industries and geographies is still missing. This paper provides an examination of the different methodologies for measuring CS, with an analysis of their merits and limitations, as well as guidance for future research focus. The findings show a failure to coherently link the mathematical measurement and data aggregation methodologies to a well-constructed concept where the linkage between the defining features and causal relations are appropriately identified. The proposed models and mathematical techniques are not able to inform on the extent to which a corporation acts sustainably because sustainability is not being measured in its highest extension, making the results narrow, non-referential and non-comparable. Furthermore, there is confusion between developing the indicators of CS, providing their measurement and enabling their integration. Full article

Drought stress restricts the growth of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) by disrupting its biochemical and physiological functions. The current study was conducted to evaluate the role of selenium (0, 1, 2, and 3 mg Se L⁻¹ as a foliar application) in improving okra tolerance to drought (control (100% field capacity-FC), mild stress (70% FC), and severe stress (35% FC)) imposed 30 days after sowing (DAS). Drought (severe) markedly decreased chlorophyll (32.21%) and carotenoid (39.6%) contents but increased anthocyanin (40%), proline (46.8%), peroxidase (POD by 12.5%), ascorbate peroxidase (APX by 11.9%), and catalase (CAT by 14%) activities. Overall, Se application significantly alleviated drought stress-related biochemical disturbances in okra. Mainly, 3 mg Se L⁻¹ significantly increased chlorophyll (21%) as well as anthocyanin (15.14%), proline (18.16%), and antioxidant activities both under drought and control conditions. Selenium played a beneficial role in reducing damage caused by oxidative stress, enhancing chlorophyll and antioxidants contents, and improved plant tolerance to drought stress. Therefore, crops including okra especially, must be supplemented with 3 mg L⁻¹ foliar Se for obtaining optimum yield in arid and semiarid drought-affected areas. Full article

One of the best methods for turning different types of biomass into clean energy is anaerobic digestion (AD). Organic and inorganic additives may be employed in the AD process to increase biogas output. It has been demonstrated that inorganic additives, such as micronutrients, can improve the efficiency of biogas producing reactors. These trace items can be introduced to the AD process as powders. The use of metal oxides in engineering and environmental research has become more popular. This study focuses on the role of TiO₂ and ZnO/Ag powders on anaerobic digestion. Food waste studies on biochemical methane potential were performed with and without TiO₂ and ZnO/Ag powders to examine their impact on AD. All powders are grown through the hydrothermal procedure, which has proved to be environmentally friendly and low in cost, presenting the capability to simply control the materials’ characteristics at mild temperatures. The addition of ZnO/Ag and TiO₂ improved the biogas cumulative yield by 12 and 44%, respectively, compared to the control reactor. In addition, volatile solids (VS) removal efficiency increased by 5.7% in the food wastes (FW) and TiO₂ reactor, while total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency increased by 22% after the addition of ZnO/Ag. Full article

According to the SDG on climate change, Indonesia is expected to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 or sooner, as outlined in the long-term low-carbon and climate resilience strategies implemented by the country’s president. Therefore, this research aims to apply the system dynamic model to simulate sustainable targets for CO₂ emission reductions until 2050. The simulation was limited to factors influencing the cement industry’s CO₂, as described in the IEA’s recommendations, and the scenarios were based on the AHP (analytical hierarchy process) results from the stakeholders. The simulation results showed that the realistic target for sustainable CO₂ emission reduction in Indonesia by 2050 was the scenario from the combined stakeholders with 450 kgCO₂eq/ton cement, corresponding to a 27% decrease in emissions from the 2020 baseline. This serves as input for interested parties to showcase the efforts of reducing CO₂ emissions, and provides recommendations for the achievements by (1) determining carbon taxes and revising cement product standards to further increase the clinker substitution rate; (2) developing an RDF (refused derived fuel) waste-processing plant independently to increase alternative fuel use; (3) ensuring the efficiency of electrical energy by increasing renewable energy sources; (4) integrating carbon capture and storage technology in cement plants. Full article

The training of good motor coordination optimizes the motor skills, and these, over time, lead to the improvement of the motor skills specific to the practiced movement. The purpose of this study was to assess the capacity and speed of learning coordinated movements in the context of working in an online system. At the same time, we set out to evaluate the level of motor coordination achieved through training using the eLearning platform Hudl and the Teaching Games for Understanding approach. Thus, three groups of students were analyzed whose motor histories were different. The analysis of the three tested groups was performed in the first year of study and in the third year of study. The training programs have been adjusted/modified according to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, which has determined their application in the online system as well. The results of this study confirm that by assisting learning through computer programs, in the online system, these workouts can be effective. At the same time, the study shows us that, in addition to the natural evolution from childhood and adolescence, an advanced form of motor coordination appears, which is installed through the action of learning. Full article

Nowadays, large-scale solar penetration into the grid and the intermittent nature of PV systems are affecting the operation of distribution networks. This paper aims to investigate the effect of PV penetration on a typical medium-voltage distribution network in Malaysia. The main objectives of this study are to investigate voltage stability, power loss, and short circuit under two conditions: peak load and no load. The network is evaluated using two methods: static and dynamic analysis, utilizing the Digsilent Power Factory software. The network comprises two 33/11 kV parallel transformers connected to the 11 kV busbar and consists of 13 feeders and 38 loads. PV penetration of 500 kW per node is added, and the maximum potential PV penetration that is acceptable to connect to the grid is evaluated. The findings indicate that during peak load conditions, some nodes experience violations, but by increasing the PV penetration, the lower violations move up to the acceptable range. The highest power loss is 191 kW, occurring during peak load conditions at 0% PV penetration level. On the other hand, dynamic simulations were carried out with specific load time characteristics, and the results were compared under different PV penetration levels. The dynamic simulation results show that during contingency conditions, there are violations in peak load, and the maximum PV penetration for this study was determined to be 2MW. It is observed that the nodes 27, 28, and 29 violate lower voltage limits even at 100% PV penetrations. Full article

In promoting high-quality economic development, environmental protection has become an essential responsibility for the sustainable development of listed companies. This research constructs and measures the level of rural ecological environment in China based on panel data on the rural ecological environment in Chinese inland provinces. Further, the impact of the size of green M&A listed companies on the rural ecological environment and its moderating effect is analyzed. This study uses the entropy method to measure the Rural Ecosystem Index (REI) and STATA software to conduct OLS, 2SLS, IV-GMM regressions, and regressions on moderating variables. This research aims to analyze the impact of listed companies on the environment and explore the role of the digitalization level’s moderating effect. The results show that the size of green M&A listed companies has a negative effect on the development of the rural ecological environment, and the digitalization level positively moderates the relationship between them. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The average value of the rural ecological index for the 22 provinces in China ranged from 17.32 to 65.17. The index value is higher in the southeastern coastal region, with the highest values in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces. (2) From 2010–2020, green M&A listed companies were divided into 14 sectors. The industries with the most extensive green M&A are the raw chemical, non-metallic, rubber, and plastic industries. (3) During 2010–2016, the quantity of green M&A listed companies in China showed an upward trend with prominent regional non-equilibrium characteristics, then gradually declined in 2017–2020. It shows that the number is higher in the eastern coastal areas and lower in the inland regions. (4) The size of green M&A listed companies has a negative impact on the rural ecological environment. This negative impact has prominent heterogeneous characteristics, and the higher the index of the rural ecological environment is, the more significant its negative impact is. (5) The digitalization level positively moderates the size of green M&A listed companies and the rural ecological environment. The positive influence of the size of green M&A listed companies on the development level of the rural ecological environment is more significant in the regions with a higher degree of rural digitalization. In other words, the increase in the level of rural digitalization can improve the negative effect of the size of green M&A listed companies on the ecological environment. Based on the above findings, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions. Full article

Hydrological ecosystem services (HESS) describe the benefits of water for multiple purposes with an emphasis on environmental values. The value of HESS is often not realized because primary benefits (e.g., food production, water withdrawals) get the most attention. Secondary benefits such as water storage, purification or midday temperature cooling are often overlooked. This results in an incorrect evaluation of beneficial water usage in urban and rural resettlements and misunderstandings when land use changes are introduced. The objective of this paper is to propose a standard list of 17 HESS indicators that are in line with the policy and philosophy of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and that are measurable with earth observation technologies in conjunction with GIS and hydrological models. The HESS17 framework considered indicators that can be directly related to water flows, water fluxes and water stocks; they have a natural characteristic with minimal anthropogenic influence and must be quantifiable by means of earth observation models in combination with GIS and hydrological models. The introduction of a HESS framework is less meaningful without proper quantification procedures in place. Because of the widely diverging management options, the role of water should be categorized as (i) consumptive use (i.e., evapotranspiration and dry matter production) and (ii) non-consumptive use (stream flow, recharge, water storage). Governments and responsible agencies for integrated water management should recognize the need to include HESS17 in water allocation policies, water foot-printing, water accounting, transboundary water management, food security purposes and spatial land-use planning processes. The proposed HESS17 framework and associated methods can be used to evaluate land, soil and water conservation programs. This paper presents a framework that is non-exhaustive but can be realistically computed and applicable across spatial scales. Full article