Sustainability

In the paper, a theoretical framework that combines the multidimensional conceptualization of dynamic capabilities (sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring) with two leadership styles (transactional and transformational) and two types of eco-innovation (incremental and radical) was developed and empirically tested. The purpose of this study is to answer the key question: how different leadership styles influence the potential of dynamic capabilities to generate ecological changes. The research examining the theoretical framework was quantitative and was based on a deliberately selection of the sample, which included 54 of the most evo-innovative Polish companies. The results indicate that transformational leadership moderates the positive relationship between seizing capability and both incremental and radical technological eco-innovation, whereas transactional leadership moderates the positive relationship between reconfiguring capability and both types of analyzed changes. This paper contributes to the development of the literature by integrating three theoretical concepts, showing the importance of a given leadership style as a factor enhancing the potential of dynamic capabilities for the development of technological eco-innovation. Moreover, the study may be a contribution to a broader discussion on the specifics of eco-innovative activity and its behavioral conditions. Full article

The outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, which is increasing the number of victims every day, has created many changes in today’s world. The use of various masks is the most important social tool against this virus. Given the importance of rapid and quality supply of masks in the current situation, it is necessary to study supply chain in particular. In this research, the design of a closed chain supply chain network for different types of masks is assessed. The studied supply chain includes suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in the forward flow and collection centers, separate centers, recycling centers, and disposal centers in the backward flow. In this regard, a multi-objective mathematical model with the objectives of increasing the total profit and reducing the total environmental impact, and maximizing social responsibility is presented. The optimization of this mathematical model has been done using a fuzzy optimization approach in GAMS software. The results of this study show that maximizing the total profit and minimizing the environmental effects and maximizing social responsibility are in contrast to each other. In addition, the sensitivity analysis indicated that the customers’ demand can affect all aspects of the sustainable supply chain simultaneously. Full article

Recently, nations are struggling to mitigate the impact of the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak on their economy. Many countries have imposed traveling restrictions to reduce people’s movement in order to avoid infection transmission. Traveling restrictions have jeopardized the tourism industry around the globe. If the situation persists, it will become challenging for the nations to open tourism. For this reason, the digitalization of tourism is a viable solution for this situation. However, it is essential to map whether digital technologies can provide alternative solutions to the situation and whether digital tourism can replace conventional tourism? With that backdrop, this study has two objectives: (a) to find the future of digital tourism development beyond the COVID-19 pandemic situation, and (b) to find collaborative research work among nations to develop digital tourism after the current pandemic crisis. To achieve these objectives, we conducted a systematic literature review of past research on the development of digital tourism from 2016–2020. The study applies the PRISMA-2015 statement to select and synthesize 60 articles from Scopus and ‘Web of Science’ databases. Content analysis was performed to analyze the underlying clusters of research on digital tourism and, later, bibliometric analysis was conducted to examine collaborative research between different countries. The findings highlighted three major research clusters namely; virtual reality tourism, virtual tourism, and augmented reality. In addition, the research finding shows that virtual tourism is a practical and valuable option for mass tourism during the COVID-19 outbreak and can replace mass tourism after the pandemic. Although virtual tourism does not feel like a visit to a natural destination, it is still getting attention from tourists. Virtual spaces must develop more features and value additions to achieve tourist satisfaction in the future. Full article

The aim of the current study is twofold. First, a preliminary analysis was conducted to discover the important factors in terms of preparing for life after retirement across different South Korean age groups (i.e., the 30s, 40s, and 50s). In this process, the level of importance and the statistical significance of the group difference were confirmed based on the ANOVA results. Second, a stepwise regression technique was utilized, as the main analysis, to explore the association between the preparation for life after retirement factors and perceived quality of life. One-way ANOVA analysis results indicated that there were significant differences between age groups in terms of leisure activities, psychological health, physical health, and emotional health factors (p < 0.001). No difference in factors pertaining to family relationships, finances, and social relationships was observed. Furthermore, the stepwise regression analysis results entail that financial stability and psychological health proved to be the most dominant factors associated with quality of life regardless of age. While the family relationship was an important factor for the 40s group, the 50s group perceived emotional health as an important factor that relates to their quality of life. In essence, it is important to provide educational programs and materials that are readily accessible to individuals preparing for retirement to promote successful preparation toward retirement and improving quality of life. Full article

The purpose of energy-saving retrofit of rural dwellings is to obtain a more comfortable indoor thermal environment with reasonable investment. The utilization rate of heating and air conditioning equipment for dwellings in poor rural areas is very low, and the buildings operate in natural ventilation mode all year round. Since the existing research on energy-saving retrofit is aimed at air-conditioned buildings, the research methods and results are not applicable to rural dwellings. This paper proposes a set of energy-saving retrofit evaluation methods suitable for natural ventilation buildings and applies it to the research on energy-saving retrofit of rural dwellings in cold climate regions of China. The specific process is as follows: First, this paper analyzed the current situation using field research and established a typical building model. Second, the DesignBuilder software was used to simulate all 725 schemes. Subsequently, the three main retrofit measures (replacing the external insulation windows, setting the external wall insulation layer and setting the roof insulation layer) were analyzed separately, and the optimal parameters of each retrofit measure were obtained. Finally, the entropy weight method was used to perform a multi-objective optimization analysis on all retrofit plans. The results show that 6+12A+6-mm insulating glass windows + 50-mm external wall insulation + 90-mm roof insulation is the optimal energy-saving reconstruction scheme. Compared with the benchmark building, the energy-saving rate of the optimal scheme is increased by 23.81%, and the annual adaptive thermal discomfort degree-hours are decreased by 13.17%. Full article

To meet the rising demand for home care, many families in Italy hire live-in migrant care workers (MCWs). However, the reliance on MCWs to provide long-term care (LTC) and a lack of alternative formal care services raises concerns around equality in access to care. This study aimed to determine the socio-economic predictors of hiring live-in MCWs among older adults with LTC needs in Italy, the objective care burden placed on MCWs, and the financial barriers that people in need of care and informal caregivers face when hiring MCWs, analysing data from a cross-sectional questionnaire with 366 older adults with LTC needs and their primary family caregivers living in the Marche region. Binary logistic regression was used to calculate the predictors of hiring a live-in MCW. Having a primary caregiver that had a high school education or above significantly increased the odds of hiring a live-in MCW (Odds Ratio (OR) = 3.880), as did receiving a social pension (OR = 2.258). Over half (57.5 percent) of the people in need of care had difficulties in affording the costs of hiring an MCW in the past year. To increase the sustainability of the Italian MCW market and reduce socio-economic barriers to accessing care, the Italian Government should increase funding for LTC benefits and add means testing and restrictions on the use of cash-for-care allowances. Full article

Comfort in public spaces is essential to their attractiveness and continued role in improving human quality of life. Acceptable thermal conditions are determinant to ensuring users’ comfort. This study undertakes an assessment of three urban sites in Arouca, in the north of Portugal, using ENVI-met software. Simulations test the influence of pavement and façade covering material, vegetation, and site morphology. The climate of the region is classified as Mediterranean Csb, with rainy winters and dry and mildly warm summers. A typical summer day is considered. The results reveal that a combination of factors might lead to thermal discomfort even in this mild climate on an average day, mainly due to heat exchange by radiation. In addition, the impact of alterations to surface properties depends on the morphological characteristics of the site, e.g., high albedo of the pavement may lead to a decrease or an increase in mean radiant temperature, depending on the space. This variability is present in the effects observed at the studied sites. A high façade albedo always contributes, in these cases, to thermal discomfort. The conclusions of the present study highlight the importance of performing a specific study for each urban site whenever an intervention is to be planned. Full article

The purpose of this study was to explore the adaptation process of female Ph.D. holders working in universities who shifted from being irregular employees to regular employees. The study adopted a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews to investigate participants’ experiences and discover any inconsistencies, as well as how they are alleviated. The basic findings of the study indicate that the adaptation process is more feasible when the gap between the personal aspect of job adaptation and the organizational environment and satisfaction with it decreases. The participants in the study joined the labour union to convert to regular jobs. However, after transitioning to full-time positions, the participants did not realize the structural aspect of the contracts they had signed. Although they expected to make their unfair situation more fair through the transition of their job positions, they still faced structural discrimination. As the participants were women with doctoral degrees, their professionalism was considered a cardinal value, and their job satisfaction varied according to the degree of matching between their work and their expertise. Moreover, during the evaluation period, they began to establish themselves as legitimate members of their teams through the employee evaluation procedure of full-time employees, which is conducted mutually rather than unilaterally. Through its in-depth interviews with transitioning university staff, this study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how female faculty adjust to changes in their life and position in the organization following a change in their status. These findings prove that higher education institutions need focus on career development for female students as well as their faculty and staff members. Such a focus also requires more active actions by university and college members. Full article

The containment of contaminant plumes to protect groundwater from pollution is recognized as a frequent need in brownfield redevelopment. Plume containment can be physical, with slurry walls, jet grouting etc., or hydraulic, with wells capturing the subsurface flow that crosses the contaminated front (Pump & Treat), or a combination of both types. The choice of the most suitable technique is a difficult task, since various aspects must be taken into consideration. In this paper, we present a framework for evaluating barriers in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, along with a simplified approach for the evaluation of capital and operational costs. The contaminant mass discharge escaping from the containment system is a robust indicator of its effectiveness, and can be derived from modelling results. The abstracted water flowrate is a key indicator of the efficiency and sustainability of each option, especially in the long term. The methodology is tested in a simplified case study and in a real one, highlighting the relevance of modelling results in guiding the choice and design of contaminant source containment systems. Full article

There is currently no consensus regarding whether or not renewable energies are capable of supplying all of our energy needs in the near future. To shed new light on this controversy, this paper develops a methodology articulating a macroeconomic model with two sectors (energy and non-energy) and an energy model that is able to calculate the maximum potentials of solar and wind energy. Full article

It has been more than a year since the coronavirus (COVID-19) engulfed the whole world, disturbing the daily routine, bringing down the economies, and killing two million people across the globe at the time of writing. The pandemic brought the world together to a joint effort to find a cure and work toward developing a vaccine. Much to the anticipation, the first batch of vaccines started rolling out by the end of 2020, and many countries began the vaccination drive early on while others still waiting in anticipation for a successful trial. Social media, meanwhile, was bombarded with all sorts of both positive and negative stories of the development and the evolving coronavirus situation. Many people were looking forward to the vaccines, while others were cautious about the side-effects and the conspiracy theories resulting in mixed emotions. This study explores users’ tweets concerning the COVID-19 vaccine and the sentiments expressed on Twitter. It tries to evaluate the polarity trend and a shift since the start of the coronavirus to the vaccination drive across six countries. The findings suggest that people of neighboring countries have shown quite a similar attitude regarding the vaccination in contrast to their different reactions to the coronavirus outbreak. Full article

The Vistula Lagoon is a cross-border area with high natural values and a developing market of tourist services. Passenger shipping is an important part of local tourism, but ship owners are insufficiently involved in planning processes and their views on creating shipping development are underrepresented. The article aims to compare the vision of the development of passenger shipping in the Polish part of the Vistula Lagoon between local governments creating the spatial policy and ship owners offering transport services. We have made an attempt to verify the development prospects. The collation of these visions was based primarily on the qualitative analysis of the content of planning and strategic documents (desk research method) and a survey conducted among all six ship owners. Thanks to the comparative analysis, it was possible to show similarities and differences and to indicate recommendations. The paper presents review of the available literature on the subject, thanks to which the research area was identified as unique in Europe. On the one hand, it is a valuable natural area, which is an important tourist destination, on the other hand, there are organizational and infrastructural limitations in meeting the needs of tourists. Then, field research was conducted, unpublished materials were collected, and surveys were conducted with the operators of passenger ships operating in the Vistula Lagoon. The performed analyses allowed for the formulation of conclusions and recommendations. Similarities in the directions of promoting tourism in the region, improving the quality of infrastructure, eliminating obstacles in international traffic and discrepancies in the co-financing of ship owners’ activities by local governments, shaping the future transport offer or the construction of the Vistula Spit canal are identified. Economic calculation, particularly vital for the private sector (ship owners), is an important criterion for verifying the assumed goals. Full article

Academic research specifically focused on employee-related disclosure practices is needed to enhance understanding on CSR reporting. This paper aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in research on employee-related disclosure, analyzing the characteristics of the scientific production on this topic. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on the papers specifically focused on employee-related disclosure published from 2000 to 2019 in journals indexed on the Web of Science database. The findings show that relatively few studies specifically focused on employee-related disclosure have been published over the last two decades (63 papers). Most articles were published during the last 8 years (93.6%), although the highest interest in the study of employee-related disclosure among scholars concentrates on a short period around 2017. Six journals concentrate 31.75% of the publications on the subject. Most papers are empirical studies, using the content analysis technique to analyze corporate reports. Papers are spread over three research subtopics: (1) extent, quality and drivers of human resource disclosures, (2) occupational health and safety disclosures, human rights disclosures and employee-related disclosures as a legitimization tool, and (3) diversity reporting. In all research subtopics, most of the papers have been published during the last four years, confirming that employee-related disclosure is a topic of current interest to researchers. The studies found that the overall level of employee-related disclosure is low, with an increasing or irregular tendency over time. Furthermore, not all items/categories got the same attention by firms. It can be concluded that this research subject is still far from reaching the level of research on environmental reporting and important issues remain to be resolved, both theoretically and empirically. Full article

Tourism has often been blamed for its unsustainable ways for a number of years now. Consequently, there have been efforts to ensure that tourism contributes to the host communities to address some of the sustainability challenges through responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives in the recent past. With less than nine years to go before the lapse of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a need to take stock of how tourism enterprises such as national parks are contributing to the SDGs. This study examines how Kruger National Parks (KNP) is assisting the host communities in meeting the SDG goals and targets. The study made use of 30 in-depth key informant interviews, field observations and critical document analysis. The study found that regardless of the challenges it faces as an organization in partnering with host communities for developmental purposes, Kruger National Park has assisted communities to meet at least 15 out of the 17 SDGs. These span from social to economic, environmental and cultural SDGs. Since KNP’s projects address host community needs, several challenges need to be dealt with to ensure the sustainability of these projects post COVID-19 pandemic, which has undermined many nature tourism establishments worldwide. Besides the pandemic, there is a need to manage community expectations with regard to how far it can address some of the challenges faced by communities. Full article

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that can help to quantify the impacts of different processes to facilitate comparison and decision making. There are many potential methods for managing plastic waste, but it can be difficult to determine which methods are preferable in terms of environmental impact. Suitable existing LCA studies are identified through a screening process and the methodologies used and their outputs are compared. When undertaking an LCA, the researchers must define their scope and select their parameters, according to their aims and context, which leads to a wide variation in the approach taken. In this study, six parameters have been considered to analyze research progress in these fields regarding LCA, i.e., goals and scope, functional units, impact assessment categories, system boundaries, geographical context, and uncertainty analysis. These studies include the similar type of different studies considering plastic waste recycling, each taking a different approach to defining the system boundaries, revealing how the decision to include or exclude factors such as transport can have a significant impact on the outcomes. Additionally, compared to these similar studies on mixed-plastic waste management, different available options are used to quantitatively compare the impact outcomes, revealing how the context and parameter selection can affect the results. This review aims to highlight the prospect of LCA during the development of a waste management framework as an efficient waste recycling tool and recommend a research gap for the development of an improved management framework in the future. Full article

With the rapid development of urbanization, coastal cities of China have made significant achievements in economic development. However, the eco-environment of these cities has been under tremendous pressure due to the interference of human activities. Therefore, it is of great significance to find the interrelationship between urbanization and regional development. As an environmental-friendly and social-inclusive way of economic growth, the level of green development (GD) represents the comprehensive status of regional economic, social, and ecological development. As few researchers have studied the relationship between urbanization and GD, especially in the coastal areas, this paper detailed an empirical investigation into the spatio-temporal variations of the coupling and coordination relationship between urbanization and GD in the coastal cities of China. The results showed that: (1) the coupling and coordination relationship is constantly improving, especially in big cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, all of which have entered into coordination development stage; (2) small prefecture-level cities, mostly agglomerated in the northeast and southwest of China, most of which lagged in urbanization, are still in the maladjusted coordination stage; (3) the contribution to the coordination relationship between urbanization and GD mainly comes from the industrial structure optimization and urbanization. However, at present the eco-environmental protection is not enough to support the coordination development between the two systems. Based on the findings of this paper, a series of policy implications for improving the coordination development between urbanization and GD is proposed. Full article

There is an immense demand for vermicomposting employing psychrophilic vermiculture (Aporrectodea caliginosa) for management of wastes under the Himalayan ecosystem. Dalweed (weeds from the world-famous urban Dal Lake) and cow manure (CM) are cheaply and abundantly available bio resources in Kashmir valley. Dalweed (DW), disposed of in the heart of the city, ascribes unpleasant effects on tourism and the natural ecosystem. Initial substrate mixtures of DW and CM with different ratios (CM₁₀₀, DW₁₀₀, CM₈₀:DW₂₀, CM₆₀:DW₄₀, CM₄₀:DW₆₀ and CM₂₀:DW₈₀) and castings harvested were analyzed for the following parameters: pH, TOC, TN, NO₃^- P, K, Fe, Zn, C:N, C:P, and C:S ratio. The results of a 56day study revealed in consistency and disparity towards the bio-optimization of coprolites depending upon the type of waste residue and mixture ratio used. Treatments with medium to low dalweed residues (CM₆₀:DW₄₀ followed by CM₈₀:DW₂₀) were found to be optimum and significantly primed chemical properties of castings using A. caligenosa. C:N, C:P, and C:S ratios showed a non-linear response with maximum decrease in C:N ratio by 35%, C:P ratio by 38% in CM₁₀₀, and C:S ratio by 67% in DW₁₀₀. Humification ratio, humification index, and percent humic acids were changed across all the treatments with the highest respective values of 21.33 ± 1.05, 11.33 ± 0.76, and 47.83 ± 0.76 for CM₆₀:DW₄₀. Results also showed that the earthworm population and biomass significantly increased with the highest respective increments of 57.53% and 74.88% in CM₆₀:DW₄₀ over initial values. Moreover, the highest number of cocoons (95.67 ± 1.17) were recorded within CM₆₀:DW₄₀ and the lowest in the control (43.33 ± 1.53). Dehydrogenase and fluorescein diacetate activities were inconsistent with the highest in CM₄₀:DW₆₀ (64.64%) and CM₂₀:DW₈₀ (63.54%) respectively over the initial substrates, while highest urease activity (74.40%) was observed from CM₁₀₀. The results highlight the role of A. caliginosa in sustainable transformation of CM and DW with insightful, beneficial, and priming impacts on castings for its agronomic value. Full article

The Süleyman’s Türbe in Szigetvár (Hungary) is a historical monument with exceptional features; the aim of the study is to present the planned cultural-tourism centre investment goals, risks and externalities. Cultural and tourism specificities significantly influence the implementation of such unique, three nations concerning projects. One of the crucial conditions of the implementation is the integration into the existing cultural heritage plans and the proper management of the related uncertainties. The authors decided to handle the Türbe as an investment project; therefore, a tourism exploratory analysis, a risk analysis, and externalities identification are discussed in this paper. The project development was carried by nominal groups between June and December of 2019 using professional experts workshops, group decision and information gathering approaches. The paper is using a case-study-based investigation. The most significant risks and their mitigation strategies are the emergences of Turkish influence: Turkish–Hungarian consultation, intensive consultation with Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TCCA); problems related to expropriation: preventive communication, cultivating good relations; delay in project implementation: professional lobby, preparation of scenarios. This study aims to present the design model of this multifaceted, international-scale project. It is suggested that similar projects should be handled and considered as a whole to reach the maximum of their potential. Full article

Methodological guidelines for virtual teaching during the lockdown, tailored to Flipped Classroom, are suggested by the Spanish University Education System. This educational methodology is recommended as an effective method for distance learning due to COVID-19 by several articles, studies, research, universities and institutions in different countries around the world. However, what is the impact of these extreme circumstances on the implementation of Flipped Classroom in Higher Education? The study design is a descriptive and correlational research that compares the frequency of the implementation of Flipped Classroom before and during social distancing. This information is provided by the participants, university professors from the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Malaga, through an ad hoc questionnaire. The results reveal a significant increase in the frequency of Flipped Classroom sessions (z = −4.80; p <.001) during the lockdown. The data also show a significant increase in the quantity and variety of didactic resources (t = −2.390; p = 0.021), mainly those related to Flipped Classroom, with video (z = −2.860, p = 0.004) and audio (z = −2.049, p = 0.040) files. University professors consider virtual teaching during the lockdown an opportunity for Flipped Classroom and digital skills that could improve the quality of university educational methodology. Full article