Sustainability

Despite high competition among big EU ports, such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, or Valencia, acting as Core Ports in the Trans-European Transport Core and Comprehensive Network (TEN-T), this paper addresses the marginalized decision-making capability for environmental and digital transition immanent in the Small and Medium-Sized Ports (SMSPs) ecosystems in the EU. Irrespective of topical research, little is said about SMSPs ecosystem sustainability robustness and how SMSPs can pursue the transformative way. Here, management and strategic port decision levels are rather patchy and disconnected from the operational port performance. SMSPs are bound to limited resources and low cognitive, organizational, or institutional proximity, compared to their bigger counterparts. This situation provides a lot of room for critical demarche, since in the TEN-T Network, there are 225 Comprehensive and only 104 Core Ports, the majority qualifying, thus, as SMSPs. This research aims at reducing this research-to-practice lacuna by improving limited managerial capacity of SMSPs on environmental responsibility and digital efficiency. Using an ecosystem concept and aggregated empirical data in three EU macro-regions—the Baltic Sea Region, the Adriatic-Ionian Sea Region, and the Mediterranean Sea Region, three specific decision-making tools are suggested for managerial applications to facilitate and reinforce transition in SMSPs for environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic efficiency. Full article

In recent months, Italian citizens have alternatively experienced a forced, total or partial, loss of their opportunities to go out and meet their social network or their reduction, according to the restrictions locally needed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. The effects of these unprecedented circumstances and restrictions on their local community experience are still to be deepened. Consequently, this study investigated young citizens’ experiences of and attitudes towards their local communities of belonging after ten months of alternatively strict and partially eased restrictions. The World Café methodology was used to favor the exchange of ideas and open new viewpoints among participants. What emerged suggests that the communities of belonging may have worked as anchors to which young citizens clung as an attempt not to be overwhelmed by the disorientation brought about by the loss of their daily life (e.g., routines, life places, face-to-face sociability). On the one hand, this suggests that a renewed focus on local communities and a more involved way of living in them may stem from this tough time. On the other hand, these results point out the need for more meaningful and actively engaged people–community relationships as drivers for recovery processes under emergency circumstances. Full article

In this paper, N types of vehicles having different environmental impacts and different failure rates are considered to perform a set of missions during a predefined period. The sizing problem of the fleet of vehicles is typically based on the literature for the environmental impact of each type of vehicle. This work intends to develop a model that allows considering not only the extent of recourse to non-polluting vehicles but also the preventive maintenance (PM) policy to be adopted for each of the N types of vehicles. More specifically, the objective of this work consists in determining simultaneously the quasi-optimal number of vehicles of each type to be used, the duration of their use, and their average usage rate as well as the period according to which each type of vehicle should be submitted to preventive maintenance. A mathematical model is developed to express and optimize the expected total cost, which includes the costs related to acquisition, operating, maintenance, and environmental impact in addition to considering the resale value. Then, the situation of using the acquired vehicle fleet in a context of a health crisis with containment measures is considered. The latter make it impossible to perform preventive maintenance actions during the containment period. For such situations, given the accumulated degradation in absence of preventive maintenance, the cost model is modified to generate a new preventive maintenance plan to be applied for each vehicle after the containment exit. Numerical results related to fuel and electric vehicles of two brands (Renault and Nissan) are presented and discussed. Full article

Heritage interpretation is an educational activity that provides information on natural and cultural heritage to people visiting heritage sites and objects. The article aims to identify different ways of using heritage interpretation as a tool for managing areas of sustainable development. The study consisted of a systematic literature review (knowledge mapping) in the field of heritage interpretation and sustainable development. Using the most important databases of scientific publications in the world (Scopus, Web of Science, Ebsco, Proquest), publications on the interpretation of heritage and sustainable development were searched. A total of 106 articles and scientific monographs were identified. Then, quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed (text mining, topic extraction, content analysis). As a result, six thematic areas were identified: opportunities and threats for the area related to the implementation of heritage interpretation programs; the effectiveness of heritage interpretation in the areas of sustainable development; sustainable tourism development planning in heritage areas; the role of a guide-interpreter in the sustainable development of the area; the role of creativity in the heritage interpretation; and strategies for managing the visitor traffic in heritage areas. These thematic areas were discussed by citing examples from the literature on the subject. Full article

In the current global scenario, in which mobility has been strongly impacted, it is relevant to highlight certain mobility experiences of Indigenous Latin American peoples, in which new cultural and geographical elements justify revisiting this phenomenon. In this context, the mobility of the Aymara ethnic group offers an opportunity for such a second look. Although the subject has been approached from the perspectives of internal migration processes and physical movement, as in other Latin American cases, studies have omitted some important aspects for its analysis, such as the practices, meanings, and political implications associated with mobility. Based on the new mobility paradigm, this article seeks to strengthen the perspective on mobility by researching rural-urban mobility practices and their meaning regarding the experiences of Aymara people who migrated from the rural municipality of Putre to settle in the city of Arica from the 1950s. At the same time, it is shown that these Aymara mobility practices imply spatiotemporal dynamics that are key for the construction of place, and allow for a widening of base elements that should be considered in the new mobility paradigm. This research is based on five years of ethnography, including mobile accompaniment and semi-structured interviews. This methodological approach has allowed researchers to explore how elements related to physical and symbolic mobility have constantly constructed relational spaces within the Arica and Parinacota region over time. This shows that mobility does not only refer to physical movement, but to politics, emotions, culture, and memory as well. From these results, the article examines and discusses key elements related to physical and symbolic mobility, and their implications in political and intercultural terms. Full article

Educational life worldwide has been shaken by the closure of schools due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The ripple effects have been felt in the way both teachers and students have adapted to the constraints imposed by the new online form of education. The present study focuses exclusively on the beneficiaries of the educational process and aims to find out their perceptions of face-to-face and e-learning and their desire to return, or not, to the traditional form of education. These perceptions are represented by 604 students of the Politehnica University of Timisoara, who were asked to respond anonymously to an 8-question questionnaire between December 2020 and February 2021. The results show the respondents’ levels of desire to return to school (especially of those who have only benefited from e-learning) and their degree of involvement during online classes. The results also specify the advantages and disadvantages of the two forms of education from a double perspective, namely that of first-year students (beneficiaries of e-learning exclusively), and of upper-year students (beneficiaries of both face-to-face and e-learning). The study points out key information about e-learning from the students’ perspectives, which should be considered to understand the ongoing changes of the educational process and to solve its specific problems, thus ensuring its sustainability. Full article

Promoting energy conservation in university dormitories is challenging because student residents are typically charged a flat utility fee. One possibility to curb excessive energy use in the absence of monetary incentives is to highlight the environmental consequences of energy use. However, it is still largely unknown how these consequences should be communicated to effectively change people’s behavior. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of framing the environmental consequences of energy use in terms of losses versus gains on the air-conditioner use of student residents of a Japanese university dormitory. A total of 330 students were provided with stickers to attach to the air-conditioner remote control in their dormitory room during the winter term. The stickers conveyed that increasing the temperature will hurt the environment (loss frame), that reducing the temperature will protect the environment (gain frame), or that changing the temperature will affect the environment (neutral frame). Day-to-day variations in objective air-conditioner use data were analyzed as a function of experimental condition to examine the effect of message framing. The change in air-conditioner use from pre-intervention to intervention period did not differ between experimental groups and neither did the change from pre-intervention period to a period after the intervention. Full article

In rail transit traction, due to the remarkable energy-saving and low-cost characteristics, synchronous reluctance motors (SynRM) may be a potential substitute for traditional AC motors. However, in the parameter extraction of SynRM nonlinear magnetic model, the accuracy and robustness of the metaheuristic algorithm is restricted by the excessive dependence on fitness evaluation. In this paper, a novel probability-driven smart collaborative performance (SCP) is defined to quantify the comprehensive contribution of candidate solution in current population. With the quantitative results of SCP as feedback in-formation, an algorithm updating mechanism with improved evolutionary quality is established. The allocation of computing resources induced by SCP achieves a good balance between exploration and exploitation. Comprehensive experiment results demonstrate better effectiveness of SCP-induced algorithms to the proposed synchronous reluctance machine magnetic model. Accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithms are ranked first in the comparison result statistics with other well-known algorithms. Full article

The Landes de Gascogne forest, located in southwestern France, spans nearly 10,000 km² and consists largely of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). This forest in unique to Europe because it is almost entirely created and managed by man for specific industries. On the basis of a material flow analysis, we assessed the upstream supply chain of maritime pine from 2013 to 2019, using a cradle-to-gate approach. The assessment is based on data provided by Alliance Forêts Bois, an important stakeholder of the region and leader in the production of forest resources in France. For various reasons, the harvest totals decreased 10% in the last years. We identified a clear orientation to specific industries—in 2019, 45% was used as pulpwood. This is due to the overall design of the current territory, species of tree, and market values of the pulp and paper industry. The current design provides a limited supply of old growth trees, which produce high-quality logs for construction-based products, and are also more resistant to climate variability. A future shift or balance in raw material flows could be a crucial step in protecting the long-term economic viability of the region. This article aims to contribute to new attempts in providing comprehensive views of stocks and flows in the French forest-wood supply chain. Full article

Development of the pavement network systems, which is inevitable due to the rapid economic growth, has increasingly become a topic of significant concern because of the severe environmental impacts of road expansion. For achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the policies and actions towards the pavements’ life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) must be carefully assessed. Consequently, the purpose of this review is to present an overview of LCA and LCCA used in pavement engineering and management. Through the quality control of PRISMA, fifty-five most relevant documents were extracted for a thorough investigation. The state of the art review reveals that a limited number of the papers considered environmental impacts of the pavements. Consequently, to assess the environmental impact cost, a conceptual framework was developed to better consider the LCA and LCCA on various aspects of the pavement projects including the sustainability aspects. Besides, a case study was given to validate the literature review towards proposing a novel framework for the incorporation of environmental impact cost. Full article

The Baltic states in general and Lithuania in particular represent a controversial combination of rapidly increasing climate change impacts and moderate or low concern with the climate crisis. A value shift is essential for the societal support and acceptance of renewable energy solutions. This study investigates the role of environmental attitudes in shaping the acceptance and risk perceptions of renewable energy technologies. The article analyses how environmental attitudes are shaping public attitudes towards climate change and perceptions of renewable energy technologies in Lithuania using New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and environmental identity questions. The study analyses data from a representative public opinion survey with 1029 respondents conducted in Lithuania. The results reveal that environmental identity is a more significant factor in shaping risk perceptions of renewable technologies than is the NEP scale. The balance of nature dimension from the NEP is more closely related to perceptions of renewables than are humans’ right to rule claims. The results show that environmental attitudes have low explanatory power in explaining perceptions of energy technologies in Lithuania. Full article

It is controversially discussed if and which interventions policymakers should implement to promote healthier, more sustainable, and more ethical food choices. Often, policy measures suffer from a lack of data. This is especially true for the growing field of online grocery shopping. Yet, it not always feasible to test the impact of each possible policy intervention in the field. Here, computer-simulated shopping experiments offer a complementary approach. Recent evidence suggests that they heighten the realism of consumer experiments and collect valid data at a relatively low cost. In this paper, we introduce an open-source toolset that offers multiple avenues to develop and run experiments in the context of online grocery shopping. Hence, it supports researchers and policy makers in evaluating instore-intervention aiming to support more sustainable food choices. Full article

Due to recent changing climate conditions and glazing of building facades, a rapid increase in the requirement of cooling systems can be observed. Still the main energy source for cooling are fossil fuels. In this article we report on a fully integrated approach of running a heat pump for actively cooling a test room by electric energy, generated by facade integrated photovoltaic modules, the “COOLSKIN” system. Photovoltaic facades are emission free in the operation phase, efficiently utilize otherwise unused surfaces, and portray a favorable method in terms of construction physics and the architectural design of buildings. Compared to existing systems, COOLSKIN is an entirely autonomous system where every component is located inside the facade structure which introduces a high level of plug and play character. In this article the analysis of the electric performance of the COOLSKIN system with respect to its operation under different environmental conditions is presented. The over all system efficiency was determined with 73.9%, compared to a simulated efficiency (PV*SOL) of 68.8%, and to the theoretically expected value of 85%. The system behavior is evaluated depending on photovoltaic output and the cooling demand. The analysis shows that a considerable amount of cooling demand could be decentrally fulfilled with photovoltaic energy, but environmental conditions as well as system layout have a considerable impact on system performance. Full article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the regeneration effect of waste cooking oil (WCO) on aged asphalt with molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, comparing it with a rejuvenator. Firstly, the molecular models of virgin and aged asphalt were established by blending the four components of asphalt (saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltenes). Then, different dosages of the rejuvenator and WCO (6, 9, and 12%) were included in the aged asphalt model for its regeneration. After that, MD simulations were utilized for researching the mechanical and cohesive properties of the recycled asphalt, including its density, viscosity, cohesive energy density (CED), shear modulus (G), bulk modulus (K), and elastic modulus (E). The results show that the density values of the asphalt models were relatively lower than the existing experimental results in the literature, which is mostly attributed to the fact that the heteroatoms of the asphalt molecules were not considered in the simulation. On the other hand, the WCO addition decreased the viscosity, the shear modulus (G), the bulk modulus (K), and the elastic modulus (E) of the aged asphalt, improving its CED. Moreover, the nature of the aged asphalt was gradually restored with increasing rejuvenator or WCO contents. Compared with the rejuvenator, the viscosity of the aged asphalt was more effectively restored through adding WCO, while the effect of the CED and the mechanical properties recovery of the aged asphalt was relatively low. This implies that WCO could restore partial mechanical properties of aging asphalt, which proves the possibility of using WCO as an asphalt rejuvenator. Additionally, the MD simulation played an important role in understanding the molecular interactions among the four components of asphalt and the rejuvenator, which will serve as a guideline to better design a WCO rejuvenator and optimize its content. Full article

Public open spaces services have been shown to be profoundly affected by rapid urbanization and environmental changes, and in turn, they have influenced socio-cultural relationships and human well-being. However, the impact of these changes on public open space services (POSS) remains unexplored, particularly in the Saudi Arabian context. This study examines the socio-cultural influence of POSS on the King Abdulaziz University campus, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the impact of these services on well-being. A field survey and questionnaire were used to collect data. Non-parametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests) were used to find significant differences in the importance of POSS as perceived by stakeholders based on socio-demographic attributes. Factor analysis was performed for 14 POSS to identify those that are most important. The study showed that (i) university stakeholders are closely linked to services provided by public open spaces (POS) and dependent on POSS, (ii) there were significant differences in the perceived importance of POSS according to gender, age, and social groups, and (iii) 70 to 90% of stakeholders reported POSS as having a positive impact on well-being. Thus, the findings will help design and plan POSS to meet the needs of society and promote well-being. Full article

This study assesses the relationship between economic performance and environmental sustainability by taking into account the role of energy consumption, urbanization, and trade openness in Brazil by using data spanning from 1965 to 2019. The study is distinct from previously documented studies in literature in terms of scope for Brazil, where few entries have been recorded. The major objectives are to address the questions: (a) Is there a long-run connection between the variables under consideration? (b) Can CO₂ emissions, trade openness, and energy consumption predict economic performance of Brazil? (c) What is the connection between economic growth and the independent variables at different frequencies and time-period? Furthermore, the study utilized dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, FMOLS (Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares), Maki Cointegration, autoregressive distributed lag ARDL bounds tests to capture the long-run association between the variables of interest and use the Wavelet coherence and Gradual-shift causality tests to capture the causal linkage between economic growth and the regressors. The advantage of the wavelet coherence test is that it can capture causal linkage between series at different frequencies and periods. The outcome of both Maki cointegration and ARDL bounds testing to cointegration affirms the presence of long-run interaction among the parameters of interest. Furthermore, the outcomes of the DOLS and FMOLS revealed that energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and urbanization exert positive impacts on economic growth in Brazil while there is no significant connection between trade openness and economic growth. Moreover, Gradual shift causality test outcomes disclosed that urbanization, trade openness, CO₂ emissions and energy usage can predict the economic performance of Brazil. The outcomes of the wavelet coherence test give credence to the FMOLS, DOLS, and Gradual shift causality tests. Full article

Globalization has brought not only advantages but also risks into the supply chains. One lesser studied risk is the effect of consumer behavior in crises. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the most efficient and optimized supply chains are susceptible to consumer panic buying. There is a severe need to understand the multitude of scenarios that could manifest after a catastrophe due to the change in consumer behavior so that businesses can develop a mitigation plan. The authors have developed an agent-based model that can simulate the various outcomes of a crisis using a consumer panic buying model and a supply chain model. The model quantitatively evaluates the panic purchase intention of a consumer while assessing the impact of panic buying on the supply chain. This paper introduces the implementation of the model, focusing on output analysis of the various situational settings in disaster aftermath. Preliminary study has revealed that implementing quota policy or rationing uniformly is very effective while controlling media reports or panic buying consumers can reduce consumer demand significantly. Full article

Education systems are struggling to effectively integrate in their study programs the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which define the challenges we need to overcome as a society in the 21st century. This study revealed the special agency that architecture and built environment have in shaping our social, economic, and natural environment using system and design thinking. Despite the several studies on the metacognitive design process, several cognitive traps still exist when developing design thinking in architecture education. This study investigated design thinking and self-directed learning in undergraduate architecture students. Responses collected from a sample of 117 undergraduates were subjected to bootstrapping in structural equation modelling to find significant relationships of reversed action when design thinking is used for developing self-directed learning. The findings suggest that design thinking is strongly connected with self-directed learning, and as shown in the resulting model, all components of self-directed learning are strongly explained by design thinking variables. This can provide insights for curriculum designers and educators on how to shape effective design thinking processes in architecture education to overcome existing shortcomings while improving interpersonal skills, creativity and digital skills, make pedagogical changes, and enhance redesign of learning outcomes towards sustainable architecture. Full article

Learning and development in early childhood is highly dependent on social interaction and exploration through continuous encounters with the real world. Foraging and gardening are outdoor pedagogical practices that have relevance to education for sustainability. Previous work suggests that engagement in such activities can be characterized by the concept “community of practice” (CoP). In this paper, we explore how characteristics of the CoP can be recognized in foraging and gardening projects performed in the Arctic region of Norway, and we discuss how these activities can contribute to social and cultural aspects of sustainability. Data collection included focus group interviews with kindergarten staff (teachers and assistants) and videos taken of foraging and gardening activities with the children. Our data indicate that the hallmarks of CoP, domain, community, and practice, are strongly recognized in these projects through increased interest, social interaction, and agency for learning. This mutual engagement and participation in the CoPs for foraging and gardening connect both staff and children to local food heritage and culture for a sustainable future. Full article