Sustainability

Carbon cycling in the mangrove ecosystem is one of the important processes determining the potential of coastal vegetation (mangroves), sediment, and adjoining waters to carbon absorption. This paper investigates the carbon storage capacity of five dominant mangrove species (Avicenia marina, Avicenia officinalis, Excoecaria agallocha, Rhizophora mucronata, and Xylocarpous granatum) on the east coast of the Indian mangrove along with the role they play in the carbon cycling phenomenon. Soil and water parameters were analyzed simultaneously with Above Ground Biomass (AGB) and Above Ground Carbon (AGC) values for 10 selected stations along. The total carbon (TC) calculated from the study area varied from 51.35 ± 6.77 to 322.47 ± 110.79 tons per hectare with a mean total carbon of 117.89 ± 28.90 and 432.64 ± 106.05 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e). The alarm of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for reducing carbon emissions has been addressed by calculating the amount of carbon stored in biotic (mangroves) and abiotic (soil and water) compartments. This paper focuses on the technical investigations on the factors that control the carbon cycling process in mangroves. This blue carbon will help policymakers to develop a sustainable relationship between marine resource management and coastal inhabitants so that carbon trading markets can be developed, and the ecosystem is balanced. Full article

In this work, alumina (Al₂O₃) ceramics were prepared using an environmentally friendly slip casting method. To this end, highly concentrated (70 wt.%) aqueous suspensions of alumina (Al₂O₃) were prepared with different amounts of the ammonium salt of a polycarboxylic acid, Dolapix CE 64, as an electrosteric dispersant. The stability of highly concentrated Al₂O₃ aqueous suspensions was monitored by viscosity measurements. Green bodies (ceramics before sintering) were obtained by pouring the stable Al₂O₃ aqueous suspensions into dry porous plaster molds. The obtained Al₂O₃ ceramic green bodies were sintered in the electric furnace. Analysis of the effect of three sintering parameters (sintering temperature, heating rate and holding time) on the density of alumina ceramics was performed using the response surface methodology (RSM), based on experimental data obtained according to Box–Behnken experimental design, using the software Design-Expert. From the statistical analysis, linear and nonlinear models with added first-order interaction were developed for prediction and optimization of density-dependent variables: sintering temperature, heating rate and holding time. Full article

In response to the impact of climate change and to the uncertainties associated with the various dimensions of hydrologic variability, water systems’ adaptation has risen to the top of global agendas. In accordance, identifying the additional science needed to improve our understanding of climate change and its impacts, including the scientific advances needed to improve the effectiveness of actions taken to adapt water systems, is of the utmost importance. To this aim, this research draws on a systematic bibliometric study of data, generated from the Web of Science research engine between 1990 and 2019, combined with a statistical analysis, to explore academic publication trends, and identify the strategic gaps and opportunities in global scientific research. The analysis shows the consistent level of national and international collaboration among authors, institutions, and countries, and highlights the substantial contribution of the USA and the UK to this research field. The statistical examination shows that the adaptation-informed literature on water systems remains fragmented, and predominantly centred on the framing of water resource planning and management, in addition to water engineering and infrastructure. The analysis also revealed a relatively skewed understanding of various important dimensions, such as governance, integrated water resources management, and stakeholder engagement, which are crucial for planning and implementing an efficient adaptation process. Observations reflect on the need to build water-related adaptive approaches based on a thorough understanding of potential climate uncertainties, rather than to generically address all the uncertainties in one scenario analysis. These approaches are required to combine short and longterm actions rather than considering only current and short-term measures, and to similarly associate policy and engineering, and equally consider the robustness, flexibility, reliability, and vulnerability during the planning phase. Full article

Many countries, including South Korea, decided to suspend the inclusion of harvested wood products in their Nationally Determined Contributions, as part of the carbon inventory, in 2016. The inclusion of harvested wood products in the national greenhouse gases inventory must ensure the accuracy of carbon accounting and its conformity with the policy direction. The method used for harvested wood product carbon accounting can influence the accuracy of carbon account value, as well as policy direction based on greenhouse gas accounting. This research evaluated the utilization of domestic wood resources in South Korea in terms of carbon storage impacts from the perspective of the cascading use of wood products. The study also compared the two accounting methods (Tier 2 and Tier 3) of carbon storage for the period from 1970 to 2080, assuming the current pattern of wood resource utilization for the next sixty years. The results show that the current utilization of domestic wood resources is inefficient in terms of climate change mitigation. The analysis shows that there is a significant difference between the Tier 2 and Tier 3 methods in carbon storage effects, and the amount of harvested wood products carbon stock calculated by the Tier 2 method was found to be approximately double that of Tier 3. This result implies that there is a possibility of overestimating the carbon storage of harvested wood products when using the Tier 2 method in the case of net timber-importing countries, such as South Korea. The study can provide guidance for designing timber resource management from the perspective of the cascading use of wood products in order to contribute to sustainable development goals, including climate change mitigation. Full article

The paper deals with the topic of the cooperation management in the Slovak business environment. We closely investigated the cooperation relations among the companies from 2012 to 2015. The major findings related to problems which impede effective cooperation, creation of synergies, and competitive advantages. As specific problems, we identified inefficient and insufficient cooperation among educational institutions and companies; low quality of supplier-customer relationships; potential risks and issues that may occur later on in cooperation; unsuitable approach to setting goals, tools, and methods for effective cooperation; etc. We also identified main criteria considering the importance for an effective and beneficial cooperation: mutual trust, adherence to contractual requirements, and benefit from the cooperation, which were defined as the best possible result with respect to the expectations about the cooperation. We focus exactly on these criteria in the discussion (among others), where we use them as a basis for the recommendations which will prevent the identified problems. Full article

This study explores the relationship between digital marketing practices, customer satisfaction, customer involvement, and purchase intention. The focus is on the life insurance digital marketing strategies during a pandemic and the resultant lockdown and shutdown. This work sought to analyze the digital transformation of marketing practices and the customers’ resultant purchase intentions. COVID-19 was taken as the prevailing pandemic and its impact on the digital transformation of marketing strategies. Five dimensions of digital marketing strategies with eighteen items and three items each of customer satisfaction and purchase intention were considered for practical purposes. It used structural equation modeling to study 535 responses of life insurance customers. Findings indicate that SEM/SEO, display, and E-CRM practices significantly impacted customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Further, a mediation-cum-moderation approach was undertaken. Customer satisfaction significantly affected purchase intention and played a good mediator between digital marketing practices and purchase intention. Additionally, customer involvement moderated the relationship between content marketing and communication with purchase intention. This research work helps life insurance marketers in general. The digital channel managers expressly understand their key areas of strengths regarding the five dimensions of digital marketing strategies. Accordingly, they frame their plans for decision-making to improve customer satisfaction and resultant purchase intentions. It provides a direction for future adoption of specific marketing strategies during a pandemic and consequent shutdown and lockdowns. Full article

This study examines the structural relationship among key factors influencing student satisfaction and achievement in online learning. A structural model was developed by considering course structure, student–student interaction, instructor presence, student engagement, student satisfaction and achievement as key factors. In order to verify the effectiveness of the developed structural model, we utilized the survey data collected from a total of 250 students enrolled in two asynchronous online courses offered at Kyung Hee University in Korea in the fall semester of 2020. Then, the collected survey data were analyzed using the structural equation model. The verification of the statistical analysis results indicates that the course structure has a more significant effect on the student satisfaction and achievement than the other key factors such as the student–student interaction, instructor presence and student engagement. It also reveals that the student engagement affects only the student satisfaction and has a mediated effect between student–student interaction and student satisfaction. Full article

This article describes the process of design, validation, and implementation (N = 609) of a questionnaire drawn up ad hoc to assess the digital competence of compulsory education students (ages 11 to 13) in the area of communication. The test measures students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the six competences that make up the area of communication, as established in the Framework for the Development and Knowledge of Digital Competence in Europe (DigComp): interacting through new technologies, sharing of information and content, online citizen participation, collaboration through digital technologies, netiquette, and digital identity management. The purposes of the study are to design and validate an instrument to assess compulsory education students’ digital competences in the area of communication based on their knowledge, skills, and attitudes and to analyse such instrument’s psychometric characteristics with special emphasis on its reliability and validity. The method used consisted of the implementation of various psychometric validation techniques and the analysis of the results based on statistical descriptions. Items show adequate discrimination and difficulty indices. Validity was guaranteed through expert judgement and factorial analysis of the test. The conclusion stresses the pressing need for education centres to provide students with adequate educational-communicative training. Full article

The natural capital components in cities (“blue-green infrastructure” BGI) are designed to address long-term sustainability and create multi-benefits for society, culture, business, and ecology. We investigated the added value of BGI through the research question “Can the implementation of blue-green infrastructure lead to an improvement of habitat connectivity and biodiversity in urban environments?” To answer this, the Biological and Environmental Evaluation Tools for Landscape Ecology (BEETLE) within the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) framework was adopted and applied in Christchurch, New Zealand, for the first time. Three ecologically representative species were selected. The parameterisation was based on ecological theory and expert judgment. By implementation of BGI, the percentages of habitats of interest for kereru and paradise shelduck increased by 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. This leads to improved habitat connectivity. We suggest several opportunities for regenerating more native patches around the catchment to achieve the recommended minimum 10% target of indigenous cover. However, BGI alone cannot return a full suite of threatened wildlife to the city without predator-fenced breeding sanctuaries and wider pest control across the matrix. The socio-eco-spatial connectivity analysed in this study was formalised in terms of four interacting dimensions. Full article

Social network sites (SNSs) provide new avenues for self-expression and connectivity, and they have considerable potential to strengthen social capital and psychological well-being. SNSs have consequently become deeply rooted in people’s daily lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-learning has become a dominant learning modality to maintain social distancing. Because of the excellent connectivity provided by Internet platforms, SNSs can be leveraged as collaborative learning tools to enhance learning performance. However, conflicts may emerge when extending the socializing function to learning; thus, this topic merits in-depth investigation. One potential reason for the conflicts is the various types of overload caused by the system features, information, communication, and social aspects that users experience, leading to negative emotional responses, such as social network fatigue. Although SNS overloads have been extensively studied, most of these studies were conducted from the perspective of SNSs as platforms for socializing, and the overloads were treated as linear and independent. We apply multi-criteria decision-making tools to bridge the research gaps. Specifically, we recruited 15 active Facebook learning community members as an expert panel under the saturation principle. After extensive pairwise comparisons between the primary constructs and further matrix calculations, our significant research findings include antecedents to social network fatigue and their causal effects, representing a valuable complement to conventional structural equation modeling–approaches. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the study. Full article

This study investigates current research trends in co-production studies and discusses conceptual approaches. The conceptual paper contains studies on co-production in the field of public administration. This study identifies significant gaps in the field of study by systematically examining 32 co-production research works. The study’s contributions include (1) defining two common characteristics of co-production, (2) classifying three forms of co-production by end-users, and (3) discovering that the aims and performance of co-production are more effective for service providers when the strategy is citizen-centric. Future research should (1) concentrate on the reasons for co-production failures or successes, (2) identify additional barriers to co-production in service production, (3) investigate influences on service providers as well as structural impacts on the co-production process, and (4) provide practical assessments of co-production research. Full article

We analyzed whether a firm’s engagement in socially responsible activities, as measured by environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) scores, influences their tendency to avoid tax in the Korean financial market. We found a negative relationship between Korean firms’ ESG scores and tax avoidance in terms of book-tax income difference during the sample period between 2011 and 2017. This result implies that firms with good CSR performance would tend not to manipulate taxable profits, which is in line with corporate culture theory. More interestingly, this trend has become more apparent for chaebol-affiliated firms, a special type of Korean conglomerate, than non-chaebol firms. Full article

Industrial agriculture (IA) has been recognized among the main drivers of biodiversity loss, climate change, and native pollinator decline. Here we summarize the known negative effects of IA on pollinator biodiversity and illustrate these problems by considering the case of Chile, a “world biodiversity hotspot” (WBH) where food exports account for a considerable share of the economy in this country. Most of Chile’s WBH area is currently being replaced by IA at a fast pace, threatening local biodiversity. We present an agroecological strategy for sustainable food production and pollinator conservation in food-producing WBHs. In this we recognize native pollinators as internal inputs that cannot be replaced by IA technological packages and support the development of agroecological and biodiversity restorative practices to protect biodiversity. We suggest four fundamental pillars for food production change based on: (1) sharing the land, restoring and protecting; (2) ecological intensification; (3) localized knowledge, research, and technological development; and (4) territorial planning and implementation of socio-agroecological policies. This approach does not need modification of native pollination services that sustain the world with food and basic subsistence goods, but a paradigm changes where the interdependency of nature and human wellbeing must be recognized for ensuring the world’s food security and sovereignty. Full article

The world is going through a climate crisis that is severely impacting the environment and the well-being of the population. The increased consumption of plastics, especially in developing countries, is generating an exponential rise in plastic waste. This article introduces a qualitative investigation in the form of a case study, with data derived from an educational project focused on plastics as a vehicle for environmental education. This project was implemented with a group of 50 children from a Ghanaian school. Our results reveal that the students acquired a high level of knowledge of plastic and its properties, made possible by an active, globalizing, experimental methodology. This knowledge was later reinforced through the fabrication of materials for learning and play made of recycled plastic waste. Through this project, the participating students practiced critical and democratic global citizenship aimed at creating a sustainable world through an ecological perspective. Full article

Implementation of construction works on weak (e.g., compressible, collapsible, expansive) soils such as peatlands often is limited by logistics of equipment and shortage of available and applicable materials. If preloading or floating roads on geogrid reinforcement or piled embankments cannot be implemented, then soil stabilization is needed. Sustainable soil stabilization in an environmentally friendly way is recommended instead of applying known conventional methods such as pure cementing or excavation and a single replacement of soils. Substitution of conventional material (cement) and primary raw material (lime) with secondary raw material (waste and byproducts from industries) corresponds to the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, preserves resources, saves energy, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Besides traditional material usage, soil stabilization is achievable through various secondary raw materials (listed according to their groups and subgroups): 1. thermally treated waste products: 1.1. ashes from agriculture production; 1.2. ashes from energy production; 1.3. ashes from various manufacturing; 1.4. ashes from waste processing; 1.5. high carbon content pyrolysis products; 2. untreated waste and new products made from secondary raw materials: 2.1. waste from municipal waste biological treatment and landfills; 2.2. waste from industries; 3. new products made from secondary raw materials: 3.1. composite materials. Efficient solutions in environmental engineering may eliminate excessive amounts of waste and support innovation in the circular economy for sustainable future. Full article

When attempts are made to incorporate shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) into urban mobility services, public transportation (PT) systems are affected by the changes in mode share. In light of that, a simulation-based method is presented herein for analyzing the manner in which mode choices of local travelers change between PT and SAVs. The data used in this study were the modal split ratios measured based on trip generation in the major cities of South Korea. Subsequently, using the simulated results, a city-wide impact analysis method is proposed that can reflect the differences between the two mode types with different travel behaviors. As the supply–demand ratio of SAVs increased in type 1 cities, which rely heavily on PT, use of SAVs gradually increased, whereas use of PT and private vehicles decreased. Private vehicle numbers significantly reduced only when SAVs and PT systems were complementary. In type 2 cities, which rely relatively less on PT, use of SAVs gradually increased, and use of private vehicles decreased; however, no significant impact on PT was observed. Private vehicle numbers were observed to reduce when SAVs were operated, and the reduction was a minimum of thrice that in type 1 cities when SAVs and PT systems interacted. Our results can therefore aid in the development of strategies for future SAV–PT operations. Full article

This study examines the role of student co-creation behavior in contributing to student satisfaction, perceived university image, and student positive word of mouth (WOM). Using a sample of 513 students from a Taiwanese university and conducting partial least squares structural equation modeling, the findings indicate that co-creating value is critical to student satisfaction, university image, and positive WOM. The results also show the effect of student satisfaction and university image on student positive WOM. This study confirms the pivotal role of student participation in co-creating value in enhancing satisfaction with the university experience, creating and sustaining a positive image, and building the credibility of the university. This research is particularly important to higher education institutions because it has practical implications for decision-makers, brand managers, and HE marketers who wish to improve understanding of the relationship between the university and students in the process of co-creating value and its outcomes. Full article

The modern industry discourse on sustainability is the idea of ‘green growth’, which is described as the paradox of the continuation of increased economic growth, at the same time as increasing sustainability. Policy makers face the challenge of how to encourage and sustain appropriate levels of individual behavioural change to manage consumption in a changing environment. In addressing this challenge, this study seeks to move beyond discrete elements of human consumption behaviour and develop a better understand of the wider inputs including culture, societal norms, institutions and governance. The research methodology adopted uses a systematic literature review approach coupled with thematic analysis. The study presents a new understanding of the interrelatedness of consumption policy, social structures, and the boundary arrangements of governance. What emerges is a focus on the role of governance and societal context in influencing outcomes. A fundamental output of the study is the designation of 27 evidence-based principles of change. These principles represent a new framework: the Governance and Sustainable Policy Development (GSPD) framework or ‘Road Map’, designed to guide decision making and aid the understanding of what motivates individuals and institutions within a wider neo-liberal societal system to manage their consumption from a more sustainable policy and governance perspective. Full article

In today’s society, consumers’ food needs can be satisfied by catering e-commerce platforms. However, the plastic pollution of tableware and packaging caused by a large number of catering orders every day has always been an unsolved environmental problem. (1) Background: At present, China’s three largest catering platforms, Meituan, Eleme and Baidu, receive 20 million takeout orders daily and consume about 60 million plastic products. Plastic pollution will have a sustained impact on the environment. (2) Methods: In this study, we use literature research and case analysis. We use Meituan’s takeout food as an example. We studied the takeout business growth, status of online takeout in the treatment of plastic packaging, harm to environment, humans and animals, as well as specific solutions. (3) Results: There are four main reasons which contribute to the plastic packaging pollution (i.e., high recycling cost, difficulty to deal with mixed plastic packaging, low effectiveness of collecting plastic packing, and immature technology and treatment to incinerate and landfill catering plastic waste). (4) Conclusion: Our findings suggest that regulators, takeout platforms and consumers, which have corresponding responsibilities in the environmental protection consumption of online food, are supposed to work together to get rid of the online takeout pollution for achieving sustainable consumption. Not only is government legislation needed to improve the waste management system and encourage the exploration of new intelligent waste classification tools, but platforms, businesses and users should enhance the environmental awareness of online takeout packaging pollution as well. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also discussed. Full article