Search Results (716)

This study examines whether economic diplomacy—proxied by KOF-based indicators of political globalisation and economic policy openness—is associated with multidimensional sustainable development (SD) across 208 countries over the period 2000–2023. Using two-way fixed-effects panel models with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, complemented by instrumental-variable and dynamic panel checks, we find a positive but modest within-country association between diplomatic embeddedness and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance. The association is driven primarily by political globalisation—reflecting diplomatic networks, international organisation membership, and treaty engagement—rather than trade policy openness. De facto integration exhibits stronger links to SDG outcomes than de jure policy indicators. The relationship is concave, with diminishing marginal returns beyond a diplomacy proxy value of approximately 60. A latent-class framework identifies two institutional archetypes: the association is more pronounced and robust under stronger governance (71 countries), while it attenuates under weaker governance (85 countries). Goal-level estimates reveal systematic trade-offs—gains in inequality reduction (SDG 10) and innovation (SDG 9) alongside adverse associations with climate outcomes (SDG 13)—and a structural breakpoint around 2017 consistent with the onset of slowbalisation. The results suggest that diplomacy can support SD, but its payoff depends on governance capacity and the management of cross-goal externalities. Full article

Against the backdrop of globalization and rapid urbanization, the weakening of regional cultural identity has emerged as a significant challenge in contemporary architectural practice, particularly within the context of large-scale campus development. University architecture must navigate the complex task of balancing functional demands with long-term cultural and social sustainability. However, the prevalence of homogenized architectural forms in many newly constructed campuses often undermines local distinctiveness, leading to diminished place identity and reduced social sustainability. In response, this study takes the Yan’an University new campus in China as a representative case to explore how regional culture can be sustainably integrated into campus architecture through spatial organization, typological strategies, and symbolic translation. The study employs qualitative analysis and a life-cycle perspective, integrating architectural semiotics and typological methods to construct a multidimensional analytical framework of “space–material–culture”. This framework is systematically applied to examine how the loess culture, revolutionary heritage, and folk art of Yan’an are translated and expressed in a contemporary context. The findings reveal that achieving cultural sustainability does not rely on direct imitation of historical forms but rather on an adaptive spatial framework, modular architectural typologies, and a performance-integrated material system, which together shape a resilient and organically evolving campus entity. Specifically, the design employs strategies such as “symbolic translation from archetype to type”, “dialogue between traditional materials and contemporary craftsmanship”, and “spatial translation from enclosed courtyards to open landscapes”. These approaches facilitate the organic embedding of regional cultural genes, promote the continuity of collective memory, strengthen local identity, and enable phased development throughout the campus’s life cycle. By extending the concept of sustainability from environmental performance to cultural continuity, social cohesion, and spatial adaptability, this study provides actionable design pathways and theoretical references for campus development in regions with profound historical backgrounds. Full article

Caves are fragile subterranean ecosystems whose conservation depends on accurate microclimatic zonation. Traditional fixed-distance sampling often overlooks non-linear thermodynamic transitions at geomorphological thresholds, hindering sustainable management of subterranean biodiversity. This study introduces the Adaptive Morpho-Statistical Protocol (AMSP), a novel, resource-efficient framework for functional cave profiling. The methodology integrates high-precision atmospheric monitoring with adaptive spatial positioning to identify three distinct sectors (S1–S3) based on thermodynamic homeostasis rather than linear distance. Validated across five diverse cave archetypes in the Vratsa Karst Region (Bulgaria), the AMSP demonstrated exceptional predictive power using second-order polynomial regressions (R² > 0.92). A key finding is the definition of a standardized reference threshold for deep-reach stability (Sector 3), consistently characterized by a Dew Point Standard Deviation (SD_DP < 0.40) and stabilized thermal coupling (∆T → 0). Furthermore, the adaptive strategy successfully captured extreme hygrometric jumps at morphological bottlenecks—critical inflection points for protecting sensitive biota. By providing a cost-effective and replicable standard, the AMSP bridges the gap between spatial resolution and logistical feasibility in challenging environments. These results confirm that morphological isolation is the primary driver of microclimatic inertia, offering a robust tool for sustainable subterranean heritage management and high-precision ecological monitoring in protected karst landscapes. Full article

Grounded in a typological framework, this study utilizes design-based research to systematically examine urban furniture in Macau, specifically interrogating the mechanisms of morphological continuity and spatial evolution. Through extensive field surveys and iterative design practices, the research identifies pronounced deficiencies in existing urban furniture, particularly concerning cultural resonance, functional versatility, and environmental synergy. To resolve these issues, the study proposes a typological design methodology predicated on cultural identification, archetypal restoration, and morphological innovation. This framework is articulated through three strategic pillars: (1) reconfiguring the structural logic of vernacular architecture via analogical synthesis; (2) recontextualizing architectural symbols to facilitate the contemporary translation of cultural heritage; and (3) calibrating ergonomic performance with aesthetic cohesion through rigorous proportional reasoning. Empirical validation confirms that this approach substantially augments both the cultural legibility and spatial fluidity of urban furniture. Ultimately, this research establishes a refined theoretical and methodological template for urban design in culturally heterogeneous contexts. Full article

Decarbonising the building sector is an energy policy priority due to its major contribution to global energy consumption and related emissions. Accurate energy modelling is crucial, with significant scientific advancements being made in the last decade. As data gathering is a primary bottleneck, the potential of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing for streamlining data acquisition and integrating data sources has gained specific interest. This study aims to identify prevailing trends in scales, inputs, and outputs of energy modelling, focusing on Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems applications. A structured literature review was conducted, encompassing screening, textual analysis, and findings synthesis to identify key research trends. The results highlight a predominance of the neighbourhood scale (54%) and the reliance on building geometries as principal input (91% of studies). Remote Sensing, used in 36% of cases, is employed for defining geometric (41%) and non-geometric (45%) attributes, while 17% of studies leverage it to determine climatic variables. EnergyPlus remains the most widespread simulation engine (37%), frequently coupled with construction archetypes (50% of cases) to address data gaps. The increasing integration of these technologies in energy modelling is expected to diversify the number of inputs, ultimately enhancing output accuracy, scalability, and generalisability. Full article

Climate change is expected to impact rainfall amount, seasonality, and dry/wet patterns, with direct implications for rainwater harvesting systems. This study aims to quantify how future rainfall may affect rainwater harvesting systems across Brazil by combining multi-model climate projections with a daily water balance model. A single-family social housing archetype (60 m² roof area; four occupants; 150 L/day/person; non-potable demand equal to 30% of total demand) was simulated for 652 Brazilian cities, using bias-corrected daily rainfall from the CLIMBra dataset and nineteen climate models. Historical conditions were compared with near-future and far-future projections under the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Historically, the greater potential for potable water savings has occurred in wetter, less seasonal climates, such as those in the North. In contrast, more seasonal and drought-prone areas, such as the Northeast, showed lower reliability. In future climates, most models indicate relative reductions in the potential for potable water savings in the North, Northeast, and Centre–West, with larger reductions under SSP5-8.5 and in the far-future scenarios. The South shows the most significant divergence between models and may increase the potential for potable water savings in some projections. On the other hand, in the South, the volume of rainwater harvesting system overflow increases under future scenarios. This work contributes to the literature by delivering a national-scale, multi-model, uncertainty-aware evaluation of rainwater harvesting performance under non-stationary rainfall regimes. Full article

Despite pressure to scale green building (GB) adoption in Indonesia, many government building projects underperform against their initial intended design, creating a compliance gap between the design and construction phases and reducing the GB rating and its potential benefits. This study investigated the barriers and drivers affecting the Indonesian government’s GB projects’ compliance using a systems thinking (ST) approach. A causal loop diagram (CLD) was constructed from stakeholder interviews and literature scoping, followed by semi-qualitative analysis, combining systems archetype identification, eigenvector centrality (EC), and influence mapping to propose potential leverage points as a basis for policy analysis of the current regulatory scenario. Key findings show that knowledge development, sustained stakeholder integration, project documentation readiness, and government support reinforce GB compliance, but are undermined by financial constraints. CLD analysis identified that the more sustainable factors, including regulation alignment, capacity building, and enhancing collaboration, should become a focus of interventions in the system, instead of focusing solely on the provision of funding. This study presents a novel exploration of the GB adoption problem in an Indonesian governmental context through a comprehensive and systems approach. Further research might require narrowing the system boundaries, broadening the literature and stakeholder validation, and performing quantitative modelling to test intervention scenarios to support rigorous decision-making processes. Full article

The agglomeration of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry is a key driver of the low-altitude economy. To understand how UAV industrial agglomeration emerges across cities with different socioeconomic foundations, this study investigates its dynamic configurational pathways. It develops an analytical framework that integrates the institutional environment, market conditions, and knowledge-based capabilities. Using panel data for 280 Chinese cities from 2017 to 2023, we apply panel data qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to identify configurational pathways toward UAV industrial agglomeration. Seven socioeconomic conditions are considered: science and technology expenditure, policy support, infrastructure, social consumption level, financial development, urban innovation capacity, and human capital. The results show that UAV industrial agglomeration arises from the joint effects of multiple conditions, not from any single factor. We identify six pathways that are grouped into three archetypes: institution–knowledge-driven, institution–market-driven, and multidimensional synergistic configurations. The dominant pathways shift over time and differ across city sizes. These findings provide macro-level evidence on the mechanisms underpinning UAV industrial agglomeration. They also offer implications for strengthening the UAV industrial ecosystem. Full article

Recent studies highlight blockchain’s potential to enhance residential energy efficiency by enabling traceable, verifiable, and incentivized household actions. This research focuses on optimal organizational models, technology choices, and measurement systems needed to support carbon reduction at the residential level through blockchain. To do so, a multiple-case study was conducted, analyzing six companies that leverage blockchain in the context of carbon markets. Data have been collected through direct, semi-structured interviews with informants from each company. Results from the six cases have been analyzed through a cross-case comparison and clustered to identify three different archetypes of business ecosystem. The results suggests that blockchain supports residential energy efficiency and carbon markets through behavioural incentives, infrastructural integration and hybrid measurement, and reporting and verification systems. They also indicate that blockchain effectiveness depends less on specific protocols than on aligning technological design, governance, and ecosystem context across civic, financial, and institutional models. Full article

JC Polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a non-enveloped virus with circular double stranded DNA responsible for the rare but fatal demyelinating disease known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In its host, this virus exists in two different forms: one found in the periphery, named archetype, and another found in the central nervous system, named prototype. This form usually harbors recombinations in the non-coding control region (NCCR), a key region that contains sequences regulating viral replication and containing binding sites for cellular transcription factors. This form also contains mutations in the capsid protein, especially VP1. Due to the diversity of the JCPyV, a natural polymorphism also exists between the different genotypes. In this review, we aimed to summarize the main features of the archetype and prototype strains in order to facilitate the interpretation of sequence data that are increasingly generated by new sequencing technologies. This will also help to distinguish mutations associated with the natural polymorphism from those specific to the prototype form. Full article

Beam-to-column connections govern both seismic performance and post-earthquake repairability of steel moment-resisting frames. Yet direct, apples-to-apples comparisons among welded, bolted, and repair-oriented replaceable-fuse moment connections are still scarce, which hinders rational selection for resilient construction. This study conducts a unified finite-element comparison of three representative joint archetypes—W-RBS, Bolted, and Prefab-web-fuse—under monotonic and cyclic loading. Consistent moment-rotation definitions are adopted, and normalized indices are introduced to compare hysteresis shape, degradation, and energy dissipation across joint concepts with different strength scales. Component-wise plastic dissipation is also extracted to quantify damage localization and assess main-frame protection and replaceability. Results reveal clear trade-offs: W-RBS provides the highest strength and dissipation but degrades most in stiffness; the bolted joint shows pinching due to interface compliance; and the web-fuse concept concentrates inelastic demand in a replaceable segment, supporting repairability-oriented design. The proposed framework offers mechanism-based guidance for selecting steel moment connections toward resilient and repairable frames. Full article

Catastrophic disturbances pose significant challenges to remote sensing because landscapes can change rapidly, while access for field validation is limited, making it difficult to consistently track the spatiotemporal dynamics of discrete land-surface types. Building on the metaphor of the “ecosystem as an organism” and the individualistic perspective on ecosystems, each surface type is treated as a spectrally coherent entity whose identity must remain comparable over time despite changing conditions. To achieve this comparability, a Procrustes-based framework is introduced to align multi-index feature spaces from different dates to a common archetype, enabling cross-date classification within a commensurable coordinate system. Since Procrustes alignment requires a stable reference, the concept of core pixels (centroid-typical samples in feature space) is extended to spatially grounded anchor pixels that are invariant in both spectral and geographic space, thereby representing the persistent “organismal” structure of the landscape. Regression-based evaluation indicates that the Procrustes–anchor workflow improves classification fidelity and produces a clearer, more interpretable transition matrix of type changes, facilitating the separation of systematic transient dynamics from noisy reassignments. The resulting discrete habitat maps are independently validated using field geobotanical vegetation types, providing an ecological basis for the classified surface-type dynamics under catastrophic conditions. Full article

The engawa, a threshold space in traditional Japanese architecture, has been widely cited as the archetypal manifestation of Kurokawa’s grey space theory. However, prevailing interpretations treat it as a static prototype, overlooking the transformation of its spatial mechanisms across history. The present study addresses this lacuna through a comparative case analysis of three representative teahouses. The following three styles are examined in this study: the sixteenth-century sōan style, the early seventeenth-century samurai style, and the early seventeenth-century shoin-zukuri style. The evolution of the engawa’s mediating function is traced through these three styles. An analytical framework comprising five dimensions—boundary permeability, sequential flow, material tactility, integration of natural elements, and visual transparency—is applied consistently across all cases. The analysis demonstrates a discernible evolutionary trajectory, commencing with an inwardly contracting spiritual threshold in Myōki-an, progressing to an outwardly differentiating social interface in ma, and culminating in a meticulously crafted aesthetic artefact in Mittan. The present findings demonstrate that the engawa is not a fixed spatial prototype but rather a dynamic mediator whose form adapts to shifting social, cultural, and spiritual demands. The study posits that the essence of intermediary space does not lie in any specific configuration, but rather in its capacity to mediate between opposing realms, including self and nature, individual and society, and function and beauty. This reinterpretation provides a theoretical foundation for contemporary architectural practice, proposing that designers should prioritize diagnosing the relational challenges that intermediary spaces are designed to address, as opposed to merely imitating historical forms. Full article

The Montado, a traditional Mediterranean agro-silvopastoral system, has historically sustained ecological and economic functions through the integration of trees, livestock, and crops. Today, its multifunctionality is increasingly threatened by climate variability, market volatility, and evolving policy frameworks. While previous research has examined Montado dynamics at landscape or plot scales, less attention has been paid to sustainability trajectories at the farm level, where management decisions are made. This study bridges that gap by assessing the sustainability dynamics of farms through a participatory, typology based, scenario approach grounded in a regional typology. We characterized three representative farm archetypes (forestry-focused, mixed agro-silvopastoral, and livestock-focused) and evaluated their trajectories under plausible future scenarios driven by climate, market, and policy pressures. Scenario outcomes were assessed using expert-based scoring (five-point scale), revealing score differences of up to two points across sustainability dimensions between farm archetypes and scenarios. Findings reveal marked trade-offs: Tree-focused farms maintain high environmental value but remain vulnerable to market and labor constraints, while livestock-specialized farms achieve higher economic output at the expense of ecological integrity. Mixed systems demonstrate greater resilience through diversification but face significant labor intensity challenges. We conclude that current “one-size-fits-all” policies generate contradictory incentives. Therefore, adaptive governance frameworks (e.g., results-based payment schemes) are essential to realign farm economics with ecological stewardship. Beyond the Montado, the approach provides insights relevant to other Mediterranean agroforestry systems facing similar sustainability challenges. Full article

Background: Poor lifestyle choices contribute significantly to non-communicable chronic diseases. Given the family’s influence on health behaviours, this study aimed to identify distinct family archetypes based on family health climates for physical activity and nutrition to inform targeted family-based health promotion strategies. Methods: Two hundred family dyads (≥15 years old, cohabiting) in Singapore completed a survey assessing family health climates (physical activity and nutrition), together with individual behaviours, and family lifestyle behaviours. Based on family health climate scores, K-means clustering identified family archetypes. Random Forest analysis determined key contributing constructs to the clusters. Chi-square and ANOVA tests compared socio-demographics, family and individual behaviours, and sleep quality across archetypes. Results: Four family health climate archetypes were identified: Survivors (16%) had poor health climate scores for both physical activity and nutrition, lower socioeconomic status, infrequent family meals, and poorer diet and sleep quality. Nourished Sedentary (16%) had a poor climate for physical activity but a positive climate for nutrition, higher socioeconomic status, frequent family meals, and limited physical activity. Satisficers (41%) had moderate health climates for both, with average socioeconomic status and engagement in healthy behaviours. Flourishers (27%) had positive health climates for both higher socioeconomic status, frequent family meals, healthy food choices, and greater physical activity engagement. Conclusions: The identification of four distinct family health climate archetypes demonstrates that health-related behaviours cluster at the family level rather than solely at the individual level. These findings underscore the importance of targeting family systems in health promotion and support the development of tailored, family-specific strategies. Full article