Who guards the green? A review of corruptible in the age of global environmental disruption

During the global pandemic, organisations across the world struggled as many of them were not able to respond effectively to the disruptive conditions. This period of economic and social standstill showed that our ingrained approach to innovation management was flawed. A mindset to innovate using a structured linear approach is premised on stable operating conditions within firms. This approach to innovation by firms fell short when subjected to extreme volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous operating conditions. To learn from this experience we explore approaches that helped organisations innovate during the global pandemic. Using the latest literature on innovation under volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions, we explore the capabilities that have allowed organisations to continue and accelerate innovation during turbulent times. This research explores how organisations can use innovation management as a dynamic capability to help them create sustained value during times of disruption. To understand what capabilities helped leaders navigate the global pandemic we look at learnings from examples from both industry and government. These cases include snippets from supply chain logistics, workplaces and public services that demonstrated their ability to acquire unique management capabilities and qualities spanning leadership, structure and communications. Through observation of five specific case studies we propose a framework to succeed in managing innovation in the face of environmental, digital and global disruption. We learn from this research that organisations must embrace new capabilities and embed structural readiness within their organisations for combating VUCA conditions. While we hopefully have seen the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, this research presents a way forward to enable and embed improved innovation management as a dynamic capability for individuals, businesses and nations to navigate turbulent times.

In this chapter, we analyze how sustainability practices can improve the resilience of the supply chain against different types of disruptions. Firstly, we delimit the concept of resilience and its different dimensions in social sciences (pre-adversity capabilities, in-crisis organizing and adjusting, and post-crisis resilience responding and recovery). Secondly, we describe and classify the disruptions firms face related to their supply chain by distinguishing between internal, social, environmental, and global disruptions. Thirdly, we propose resilient practices through which sustainability commitment can foster relationships with suppliers and customers, by creating mechanisms to deal with these four types of disruptions in the supply chain, and by increasing in the three different dimensions of resilience. Finally, we conclude the chapter by analyzing some managerial and academic implications and proposing some topics and ideas for future research.

This investigation examines the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced strategies to enhance the resilience of supply chains and logistics in South Africa’s challenging environment. The global disruptions, particularly those emphasised by the COVID-19 pandemic, have rendered the establishment of resilient and sustainable logistics systems an urgent priority. This study examines the impact of AI on improving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience in the logistics sector of South Africa’s supply chain practices. This study uses a systematic review approach that is based on the PRISMA framework. A thorough literature review was performed, concentrating on the convergence of artificial intelligence, sustainable logistics, and South Africa’s environmental issues. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas-ti software to identify and organize key themes related to AI applications in logistics and supply chain management. Studies were selected based on predefined criteria. The results highlight the critical role of AI technologies, including machine learning, predictive analytics, and big data analytics, in the advancement of sustainable logistics. AI applications improve transportation efficiency, optimize inventory management, diminish carbon emissions, and augment supply chain transparency. The emergence of AI-driven solutions and GSCM frameworks, which are in alignment with sustainable practices and improve operational resilience, is a noteworthy trend. The synthesis indicates an increasing dependence on AI and big data analytics to improve supply chain capabilities and augment adaptability to environmental disruptions. The study concludes that AI-improved strategies provide significant advantages in the promotion of sustainable logistics and the improvement of resilience in supply chain operations. The implementation of AI solutions improves operational efficiency and aligns logistics practices with environmental sustainability objectives. The findings of this investigation offer valuable advice to academics, policymakers, and industry professionals who are striving to leverage AI for sustainable supply chain management in South Africa.

A Diagnostic Approach to Fungal Pneumonia: An Infectious Diseases Perspective

It is believed that the global warming, which may cause abnormal weather patterns and global environmental disruption, has been affected by green house effect gas emission from human activities. The global warming has been studied in various fields of science. It has been carried out that the monitoring systems and the simulation models for climate change in natural science. In social science, quantitative analysis of human activity influence and estimation of feasibility of environmental policies have been conducted.Especially, in environmental economics, some researches have analyzed environmental tax policies with the aim of constructing socio-economic systems which do not cause environmental disruption. Though these researches analyzed Japan's socio-economic system similarly, they used different data and supposed different conditions of economy and policies. Therefore we can not compare and examine possible tax policies. In this study, we survey these previous researches to grasp each characteristic of policy, and run simulations under same condition of economy using latest data. From results of simulations, we can discuss the feasibility of environmental tax policies.

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) facilitate massive transfers of CO2 and other volatiles from the mantle to atmosphere, contributing to past global warming and environmental disruption. However, the scale and evolution of magmatic CO2 fluxes during these events remain uncertain due to the tendency of CO2 to degas deep in magmatic systems. Here we estimate LIP CO2 using an approach based on an observed correlation between gas CO2/S ratios and trace elements in volcanic rocks. We apply this method to a compilation of published geochemical data for tholeiitic LIP lavas and to a new major and trace element dataset for alkaline rocks from the Siberian Traps. Our results indicate that CO2/S and therefore CO2 in tholeiitic and alkaline magma suites from LIPs span 1–2 orders of magnitude, emphasizing that changing CO2 concentrations can combine with magma flux to drive strong variations in CO2 release through the evolution of LIP magmatism.

Amber is fossilised plant resin. It can be used to provide insights into the terrestrial conditions at the time the original resin was exuded. Amber research thus can inform many aspects of palaeontology, from the recovery and description of enclosed fossil organisms (biological inclusions) to attempts at reconstruction of past climates and environments. Here we focus on the resin itself, the conditions under which it may have been exuded, and its potential path to fossilisation, rather than on enclosed fossils. It is noteworthy that not all plants produce resin, and that not all resins can (nor do) become amber. Given the recent upsurge in the number of amber deposits described, it is time to re-examine ambers from a botanical perspective. Here we summarise the state of knowledge about resin production in modern ecosystems, and review the biological and ecological aspects of resin production in plants. We also present new observations on conifer-derived resin exudation, with a particular focus on araucarian conifer trees. We suggest that besides disease, insect attacks and traumatic wounding from fires and storms, other factors such as tree architecture and local soil conditions are significant in creating and preserving resin outpourings. We also examine the transformation of resin into amber (maturation), focusing on geological aspects of amber deposit formation and preservation. We present new evidence that expands previous understanding of amber deposit formation. Specific geological conditions such as anoxic burial are essential in the creation of amber from resin deposits. We show that in the past, the production of large amounts of resin could have been linked to global climate changes and environmental disruption. We then highlight where the gaps in our knowledge still remain and potential future research directions.

Federal executive authorities, the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) pay special attention to the state of the Arctic environment. However, the situation in this region is far from normal. The results of the prosecutor's inspections indicate the presence of numerous violations of environmental legislation in the field of subsoil use, marine and river transport, construction, land use and reclamation, and the elimination of accumulated damage as a result of past years. There are cases of industrial safety violations. A serious problem for the Arctic regions is the lack of an effective waste management system in the Arctic zone. Global warming and disruption of the Arctic environment leads to climate change and can lead to even more tangible and severe environmental consequences. The Environmental Prosecutor's Office has a significant impact on correcting the situation in the Arctic, which conducts inspections of enterprises, organizations and citizens for compliance with environmental legislation, prevents and suppresses environmental offenses, and ensures compliance with environmental protection and environmental management requirements.

Enabling sustainable and resilient supply chain expansion through technological advancements: Corporate policy insights from the Gulf petrochemical industry.

The ancient idea of the balance of nature continues to influence modern perspectives on global environmental change. Assumptions of stable biogeochemical steady states and linear responses to perturbation are widely employed in the interpretation of geochemical records. Here, we review the dynamics of the marine carbon cycle and its interactions with climate and life over geologic time, focusing on what the record of past changes can teach us about stability and instability in the Earth system. Emerging themes include the role of amplifying feedbacks in producing past carbon cycle disruptions, the importance of critical rates of change in the context of mass extinctions and potential Earth system tipping points, and the application of these ideas to the modern unbalanced carbon cycle. A comprehensive dynamical understanding of the marine record of global environmental disruption will be of great value in understanding the long-term consequences of anthropogenic change.

The global environmental disruption caused by human activity is firmly entrenched as a scientific fact. The present paper looks at the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system and inquires whether this is the most suitable transnational venue for resolving investment disputes that have an environmental component. This culminates essentially in whether arbitration is a legitimate forum and whether privately appointed arbitrators appropriately can resolve environmental-related disputes. These disputes are bound to increase in frequency because host-States are also partaking in global efforts to respond to environmental challenges. This paper makes several points. First, ISDS is the best equipped venue for addressing investment disputes that have an environmental or natural resources component. Second, the “regulatory chill” and the alleged “investor bias” arguments are unsubstantiated whereas, a balance must be struck between backlash, legitimacy, and workability. Third, ISDS will eventually and inevitably facilitate green-investors, while holding States accountable for green-undertakings, and therefore continue to effectively enforce the rule of law globally. Fourth, arbitrators must adapt to their role of handling disputes at the intersection of international investment law and environmental law; this means that a thorough thick rule of law must effectively be implemented. Fifth, International Investment Agreements (IIA s) should be reconsidered or interpreted in order to accommodate for investors’ obligations, as well as widening the scope of States’ regulatory powers. Finally, ISDS will only remain the best alternative if it sticks to its fundamental elements, in particular by utilizing the regime’s flexibility to allow counterclaims from host States. Only such reform-proposals that preserve and enhance the fundamental elements of international arbitration should be seriously considered.

The rapid spread of arboviral infections in recent years has continually established arthropod-borne encephalitis to be a pressing global health concern. Causing a wide range of clinical presentations ranging from...

Global environmental issues related to energy supply: The environmental case for increased efficiency of energy use

Aim To integrate ecological fitting, the oscillation hypothesis and the taxon pulse hypothesis into a coherent null model for the evolution of complex host–parasite associations.Location Global.Methods This paper reviews and synthesizes literature that focuses on phylogenetic analyses and reciprocal mapping of a model system of hosts and their parasites to determine patterns of host–parasite associations and geographical distributions through time.Results Host‐switching and geographical dispersal of parasites are common phenomena, occurring on many temporal and spatial scales. Diversification involving both co‐evolution and colonization explains complex host–parasite associations. Across the expanse of Earth history, the major radiations in host–parasite assemblages have been preceded by ecological disruption, ecological breakdown and host‐switching in a context that can be defined by the concept of ecological fitting. This cyclical process sets the stage for co‐diversification during periods of relative stability, punctuated by host‐switching during episodes of regional to global environmental disruption and climatological change.Main conclusions Most observed host–parasite associations can be explained by an historical interaction between ecological fitting, oscillation (episodes of increasing host range alternating with isolation on particular hosts) and taxon pulses (cyclical episodes of expansion and isolation in geographical range). Major episodes of environmental change appear to be the main drivers for both the persistence and diversification of host–parasite systems, creating opportunities for host‐switching during periods of geographical expansion and allowing for co‐evolution and co‐speciation during periods of geographical isolation.

The Ecofactory concept aims to establish next generation manufacturing engineering, contributing to the resolution of global environmental disruption problems without impairing the manufacturing economy or activities for technological progress. The importance of minimizing the environmental burden of a product during its whole life cycle (material-production-use-recycling), has been pointed out. Several essential technologies to be developed, such as global concurrent design engineering, automatic dismantling technology, high quality material recycling technology and assessment methodology for environmental burden, are investigated and discussed. >