Search Results (5,911)

This study examines the potential contribution of Solar Electric Vehicles (SEVs) and Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaics (VIPV) to disaster-related energy resilience through a probabilistic modeling framework. While previous research has highlighted the technical feasibility of EV-based support for microgrids and emergency facilities, it has paid limited attention to the behavioral uncertainty surrounding voluntary energy sharing by EV owners. To address this gap, we develop a Monte Carlo simulation model that integrates technical constraints, solar-generation variability, and heterogeneous participation probabilities to evaluate whether SEVs can sustain essential loads during prolonged outages. The analysis focuses on a worst-case scenario in which external lifelines are disrupted for seven days. Results indicate that approximately 450–1000 SEVs within a 5 km radius are required to maintain a continuous power supply, with BEVs requiring roughly twice as many units due to the absence of onboard PV generation. The findings highlight the sensitivity of resilience outcomes to user behavior and spatial vehicle distribution, underscoring the need for incentive mechanisms to encourage participation. Key limitations include simplified behavioral assumptions, region-specific irradiance conditions, and the exclusion of mobility constraints. Overall, the study provides a quantitative foundation for integrating SEVs into resilience planning while emphasizing the importance of social dynamics in determining real-world feasibility. Full article

Embracing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles is essential for the automotive industry to align with the global low-carbon trend, and carbon emission intensity serves as the core metric for evaluating the sector’s emission reduction effectiveness. We construct a two-way fixed-effects model to assess the influence of ESG performance on carbon emission intensity in the automotive manufacturing sector of Chinese A-share-listed companies from 2009 to 2022 and arrive at the following conclusions: There is a significantly negative relationship between the ESG performance and carbon emission intensity of automotive manufacturing firms, and the finding remains valid according to a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. In addition, small-scale and non-state-owned enterprises appear to focus more on managing carbon emission intensity than their large-scale and state-owned firms do. We also find that ESG performance impacts the carbon emission intensity of automotive manufacturing companies through increased executive compensation incentives, while financing constraints have enhanced the influence of ESG performance on the sector’s carbon emission intensity. Full article

Neighbourhood-scale improvements in building energy efficiency face intertwined challenges of retrofit adoption, distributional equity, and resilience to energy price shocks. While existing studies often examine individual policy instruments in isolation, how governance tools jointly shape diffusion dynamics, social sustainability, and fiscal feasibility remains insufficiently understood. This paper develops an agent-based model of a heterogeneous urban neighbourhood to examine how four governance instruments—incentives, feedback, participation, and compliance—interact to influence household retrofit adoption, emissions, energy burden outcomes, and public budget exposure. Outcomes are evaluated using an ESG-informed indicator structure: E captures aggregate neighbourhood emissions; S captures household energy burden (level, overburden prevalence, and inequality); and G captures governance feasibility (adoption/compliance dynamics and cumulative net public cost, defined as administration + subsidies + enforcement minus fine revenues). An exogenous energy price shock is introduced to assess social resilience using burden peaks, overshoots, recovery time, and post-shock volatility. The simulation results show that participation-based mechanisms generate rapid early diffusion and higher endpoint adoption, with correspondingly earlier and larger emission reductions; in the baseline runs, the incentive–participation mix (I+P) attains the highest endpoint adoption and the lowest endpoint emissions. Incentives and feedback yield more gradual diffusion and moderate improvements, while compliance reduces voluntary uptake but delivers partial emission reductions through enforcement and can generate net fiscal revenue under the accounting definition when fine revenues exceed enforcement outlays. Participation-centred mixes tend to lower the average burden trajectories and exhibit modestly smaller shock-induced peaks and overshoots, whereas inequality outcomes are more trade-off dependent: compliance-based enforcement can compress burden dispersion even with limited voluntary adoption, and adding compliance to participation primarily shifts performance toward lower inequality at higher net fiscal exposure. These findings suggest that neighbourhood-scale building energy governance depends on matching policy mixes to diffusion mechanisms, distributional objectives, and fiscal constraints. Full article

This study examined the policies governing the teaching workforce in China’s higher vocational education system. We developed a two-dimensional analytical framework (“policy content elements–policy tools”) to conduct an in-depth analysis of 124 central and provincial policy texts. The key findings are as follows: (1) Imbalance in policy tools: Authoritative and capacity-building tools dominate, while symbolic and exhortative tools are underutilized. Disparities exist between the central and provincial policies regarding the deployment of specific tools. (2) Prioritization of content elements: The strongest emphasis is placed on teacher cultivation, followed by teacher evaluation and safeguarding. Policies concerning teacher recruitment (access) have received little attention. (3) Policy misalignment: Poor coordination between policy tools and content elements undermines overall policy effectiveness. To address these issues, we propose the following: (1) Optimizing the policy tool portfolios: Reduce overreliance on authoritative tools for teacher recruitment and strengthen the use of incentive-based and capacity-building tools for evaluation and safeguards. (2) Strengthening recruitment policies: Formalize qualification standards, rigorously enforce teaching certifications, and standardize hiring procedures. (3) Enhancing policy coordination: Incorporating regional variations to improve the evidence-based integration of policy tools. These recommendations aim to refine the teaching workforce policies and advance the high-quality development in higher vocational education. Full article

In outsourcing remanufacturing, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is responsible for product design and sales, while the Third-Party Remanufacturer (TPR) undertakes remanufacturing operations. The separation of responsibilities often leads to incentive misalignment and hinders industry development. Government subsidies are critical for mitigating this conflict, and gradual subsidy phase-out has become a common policy trend. Therefore, this paper constructs a game-theoretic model between the OEM and the TPR under outsourcing remanufacturing. Innovation, production, and consumption subsidies are integrated into a unified analytical framework. Their impacts are systematically analyzed and compared. The subsidy phase-out is captured through detailed analysis across different subsidy intervals, leading to a piecewise equilibrium structure that reflects firms’ strategic adjustments as subsidy intensity declines. The results indicate that innovation subsidies primarily incentivize the OEM to enhance design for remanufacturing but have a limited impact on production and pricing decisions of both the OEM and TPR. Conversely, production and consumption subsidies significantly affect the TPR’s market entry strategies, exhibiting phasic characteristics during the phase-out process. Further comparison reveals that production and consumption subsidies are more effective in promoting the expansion of remanufacturing scale. The innovation subsidies are more advantageous for improving carbon efficiency and achieving long-term emission reduction in the mature stages of the industry. Full article

This study examines the socioeconomic and behavioral determinants, together with spatial heterogeneity, influencing the adoption of solar irrigation pumps in Bangladesh. Five study regions of Bangladesh were sampled using stratified random sampling to collect 257 respondents, who were familiar with both solar and diesel pumps, to justify the energy transition, ensuring sample equity throughout the regions. Income inequality among respondents was assessed using the Lorenz curve, revealing that the bottom 50% of respondents only earned 20% of total income, while a Gini coefficient of 0.46 indicated moderate to high income disparity. To determine whether socioeconomic factors and spatial heterogeneity significantly influence adoption decisions, a Firth’s penalized likelihood logistic regression model was employed, complemented by predictive and average marginal effects for regional categories. The results identified that training, social influence, large household size and income are the prominent drivers for solar pump adoption. Based on the significant spatial heterogeneity, we further recorded a five-point Likert scale response to design region-wise policy recommendations for the fast diffusion of solar pumps. Financial incentives emerged as the most critical policy lever, with 89.10% of respondents expressing strong agreement and a mean score of 4.83. Overall, these findings highlight the central role of socioeconomic and spatial factors in shaping adoption behavior and suggest that policy interventions should prioritize targeted financial and technical support to promote the equitable and rapid diffusion of solar irrigation technologies. Full article

E-commerce has been a rapidly growing sales channel in recent years, with a strong trend toward further expansion. However, logistics companies face significant challenges in the preparation and sorting of orders when delivering shipments purchased through e-commerce platforms. In this process, order pickers play a pivotal role, as their efficiency directly impacts both the operational performance of logistics companies and the quality of service provided to customers. During peak periods of high order volumes, it is common for order pickers to exceed the prescribed work norm, making them eligible for performance-based bonuses. This study aims to develop a model for evaluating order picker efficiency, ranking them, and determining the optimal allocation of bonuses. It addresses a critical gap in the existing literature, as only a handful of studies have explored this issue in depth. To assess the efficiency of 56 order pickers, the DEA method was applied, incorporating three input and five output variables. The analysis identified 18 order pickers as fully efficient. These individuals were then ranked using the IMF SWARA and COPRAS methods, where IMF SWARA was employed to determine the weights of nine evaluation criteria, while COPRAS was used for the final ranking process. Based on the ranking results, a structured bonus allocation model was developed, encompassing four distinct scenarios. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis and model validation were conducted to ensure the robustness and reliability of the proposed approach. Full article

Rising global municipal solid waste (MSW) generation poses severe environmental and resource challenges, necessitating sustainable management strategies beyond landfilling. This review critically synthesizes thermochemical waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies, including incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal carbonization, as viable pathways for converting heterogeneous MSW into energy (electricity, heat, syngas, bio-oil) and valuable materials (biochar, ash for construction). Drawing on recent literature, it highlights their superior greenhouse gas reductions, energy recovery efficiencies, and residue valorization potential compared to traditional disposal, while addressing persistent limitations such as feedstock variability, tar formation, high capital costs, and stringent emission controls. Advanced variants and integration with circular economy principles enhance feasibility, particularly in diverse regional contexts. Despite technical and economic barriers, thermochemical WtE offers a transformative approach to resource-efficient waste management, supporting zero-waste goals and renewable energy transitions when combined with optimized pre-treatment, policy incentives, and ongoing innovation in process efficiency and pollutant mitigation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Evidence-Based Nursing is imperative for high-quality care, but its implementation continues to face the know-do gap. While organizational barriers are often cited, the role of individual competencies, specifically Emotional Competence, in facilitating adoption remains underexplored on a large scale. This study aimed to analyze the association between perceived Emotional Competence, Evidence-Based Nursing adoption, and perceived attitudes and barriers in a nationwide sample of nurses registered with the Portuguese Order of Nurses. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted using a non-probabilistic sample of 3014 nurses registered with the Portuguese Order of Nurses. The Clinical Effectiveness and Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire, the Attitudes and Barriers Questionnaire, and the Emotional Competence Questionnaire were administered. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations and a multivariable linear regression model. Results: Nurses reported high levels of perceived Emotional Competence (M = 204.7; SD = 20.3). In the multivariable regression model, Emotional Competence remained robustly and independently associated with Evidence-Based Nursing adoption (B = 0.315; p < 0.001), even after adjusting for sociodemographic and professional covariates. The perception of organizational barriers (e.g., time, incentives) did not correlate with adoption (r_s = 0.011; p = 0.54). Conclusions: Perceived Emotional Competence is a significant and independent correlate of Evidence-Based Nursing adoption. The results suggest that developing socio-emotional skills, including emotional regulation, may be a relevant training target to support evidence implementation. Full article

Under the constraints of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets, corporate emission reduction is shifting from fragmented governance toward integrated governance that aligns pollution control with carbon reduction and long-term sustainable development. New energy transition policies have become a key instrument for restructuring urban energy, environmental, and economic systems, yet it remains unclear how these macro-level policies reshape firms’ marginal abatement cost–benefit structures and under what governance conditions they generate the synergy within corporate pollution reduction, rather than merely shifting burdens. It is valuable to identify whether, how, and under which governance conditions new energy demonstration city policies enhance the synergy between corporate pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. Guided by system synergy theory and a marginal abatement cost perspective, we use panel data on listed firms to construct a synergy index that jointly reflects multiple pollutant emissions and abatement costs, capturing both environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency. A DID model based on the staggered rollout of new energy demonstration cities is then employed to estimate the policy’s impact on the synergy between corporate pollution reduction and carbon mitigation and its contextual conditions. The results show the following: (1) Inclusion in a new energy demonstration city significantly increases the synergy within corporate pollution reduction. (2) Mechanism analysis indicates that higher municipal attention to green and environmental development and higher corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance strengthen the positive policy influence. (3) Heterogeneous effects are mainly concentrated in non-energy intensive industries, state-owned enterprises, and small firms, which indicates structural divergence in policy incentives across different types of firms. Overall, this study enriches the studies about the synergy between pollution reduction and carbon mitigation to the firm level, embeds a marginal abatement cost perspective into synergy measurement, and provides an evaluative framework that is consistent with how firms balance environmental and financial objectives. The findings contribute to the sustainability literature by informing the design and assessment of energy transition policies and by offering evidence to refine new energy demonstration city programs so that limited governance resources are directed toward more cost-effective joint gains. Full article

Achieving breakthroughs in key core technologies is an inherent requirement for attaining a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance. The construction of a unified market (market integration construction) reshapes the rules of the innovation system and drives enterprises to tackle key core technologies. Based on the theory of complex adaptive systems, this paper uses the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2023 and the statistical yearbook to study the impact of market integration construction on the key core technological innovation of enterprises and its mechanism. The empirical research results show that: (1) Market integration construction reconstructs the rules governing resource flow, competitive incentives, and collaborative networks, guiding enterprises to achieve the emergence of key core technologies through nonlinear interactions. (2) Market integration construction exerts distinct effects on key core technological innovation by enhancing industrial investment and financial investment. (3) Agile responsiveness positively moderates the relationship between market integration construction and key core technological innovation. (4) The positive impact of market integration construction on key core technological innovation is more pronounced in non-state-owned, follower, and large enterprises. This study provides a theoretical basis and practical insights for advancing market integration construction and tackling key core technologies. Full article

This paper aims to present proposals for improving public lending design in an economic crisis. It combines casual empirical observations, institutional analysis and normative theoretical modeling. We obtain casual evidence from the analysis of the emergency lending scheme offered by Germany’s national development bank (NDB) KfW during the COVID-19 crisis. We identify obstacles to efficient contracting in these two-tier lending relationships, involving the NDB, the participating commercial banks, and the ultimate firm borrowers. Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence based on this case study help to understand major incentive risks of subsidized public lending schemes. To counter these risks, we propose a smart set of public lending contracts which induces banks to refrain from applying for public support for financially strong firms and for non-viable zombie firms. For firms which need financial support, we propose a set of public contracts from which the firm chooses the contract which maximizes its subsidy, reveals its rating, and obtains public funds according to its crisis-induced needs. This partially revealing signaling equilibrium implies higher interest rates for firms with a need for more public funding, thereby mitigating information asymmetries. In order to ensure incentive alignment, banks should retain a share of borrower default risk. Full article

Public transport is a critical instrument for mitigating traffic congestion, reducing environmental pollution, and promoting social inclusion in urban areas. This study presents the results of a quantitative survey conducted among 406 residents of Łódź, Poland, aimed at identifying the determinants of public transport use and the factors influencing modal choices. The findings indicate that 89% of respondents had used public transport within the past three years, with over half reporting the use of both buses and trams. However, public transport is predominantly chosen out of necessity rather than preference, driven by limited access to private vehicles, absence of a driver’s license, or the high costs of car ownership. Environmental considerations and service quality factors play a comparatively minor role. User satisfaction with public transport services in Łódź is moderate, and current users express limited intention to increase their usage or actively recommend the system, suggesting constrained potential for demand growth. In contrast, non-users declare a willingness to shift to public transport if travel costs are reduced and service quality is improved. Measures aimed at restricting private car use demonstrate limited motivational impact, whereas enhancing the reliability, accessibility, and affordability of public transport emerges as the most effective strategy. Methodologically, the study contributes by combining bibliometric mapping with quantitative survey analysis, providing a replicable framework for assessing urban mobility determinants in other cities with similar socio-economic and transport contexts. Full article

The government’s scientific disclosure of food safety inspection information can guide consumers toward rational substitution choices, thereby improving food safety while transforming individual decision-making into collective action, thereby achieving social co-governance. This process activates the “voting with their feet” market mechanism, which exerts pressure on supply chain enterprises to improve quality control. However, the current mismatch between disclosed information and consumer demand significantly weakens this effect. Drawing on evolutionary game theory, this study constructs an evolutionary game model involving producers, sellers, and consumers to explore how information alignment shapes stakeholder behavior. The findings indicate that improving information alignment effectively nudges consumers toward informed substitution choices, reinforcing the market-driven pressure on supply chain enterprises to strengthen quality control; reducing quality control costs is a more effective short-term incentive for sellers than increasing market returns; and when information alignment is low, prioritizing inspections of sellers more efficiently enhances co-governance performance, whereas under high alignment, stronger regulation of producers becomes more effective. Aligning the content, channels, and presentation of government-disclosed inspection information with consumer needs is critical to empowering effective social co-governance. These findings provide theoretical foundations and policy insights to optimize information disclosure strategies and regulatory resource allocation. Full article

This study advances a hierarchical bilevel optimization paradigm to rigorously characterize the intertwined processes of strategic bidding and regulatory market participation in electricity systems increasingly dominated by renewable resources. At the upper tier, a central regulatory authority orchestrates participation rules, renewable integration mandates, and incentive mechanisms with the overarching aim of maximizing system-wide social welfare while driving decarbonization and reliability objectives. At the subordinate level, profit-maximizing generation firms—each managing heterogeneous renewable portfolios—pursue strategic bidding under deep uncertainty, conceptualized as a multi-agent game governed by imperfect and asymmetric information. The interaction between these tiers is formalized as a bilevel Stackelberg game that encapsulates price-responsive demand, intertemporal reserve adequacy, and policy-driven incentive structures. To ensure both computational tractability and robustness against strategic indeterminacy, the lower-level equilibrium is reformulated into a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC), enabling a hybrid solution procedure that combines penalty-based regularization with exact decomposition algorithms. The framework’s efficacy is validated through a stylized multi-zone case study featuring diverse renewable assets and strategic participants, revealing how policy signals, capacity ceilings, and market power asymmetries reshape efficiency frontiers and bidding equilibria. A set of high-resolution post-processing visualizations is further employed to illustrate the dynamic evolution of marginal prices, equilibrium trajectories, and regulatory impacts under uncertainty. Full article