Reality Environment Research Articles

Expanding the horizons of thermoeconomics: Insights from the School of Zaragoza

The article discusses the future developments of thermoeconomics, focusing on the current works of the School of Zaragoza, which integrates the Second Law of Thermodynamics with economics to assess the physical origin of costs, focusing on process irreversibility. Traditionally used in energy systems, the authors argue that thermoeconomics should expand to chemical, geological, and economic sectors. Key concepts from the Zaragoza School include Thanatia, a hypothetical state representing Earth’s mineral depletion, used to measure resource depletion costs; Thermodynamic Rarity, highlighting the loss of Earth’s mineral capital; Pristinia, for evaluating deviations from an ideal fertile crust; and Circular Thermoeconomics, based on the idea of waste as external irreversibility, promoting a circular economy to minimize waste. They also introduce Relative Free Energy, a new thermodynamic function that improves thermal system diagnostics. The authors suggest that thermoeconomics could align economic activities with environmental realities by using physical metrics like exergy to evaluate resource consumption, leading to a sustainable economic model incorporating environmental costs. The paper advocates for broader application and further research in thermoeconomics to manage the true cost of human activities.

The challenging reality of the clinical learning environment at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine in Syria: A qualitative study

Introduction In Syria, specialist dentists undergo five years of undergraduate education and four years of postgraduate education. In the latter, students engage in treating complex cases as part of their professional training. This study aimed to obtain in-depth qualitative understanding of the clinical learning environment at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine, Syria. Methods Semi-structured interviews were held with eight postgraduate dental students at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine. The faculty has eight clinical departments; therefore, a single participant was purposively sampled from each department. The male-female ratio of the eight interviewed participants was 1:1. All interviews were conducted between 26th April 2020 and 8th January 2021. Data were analyzed inductively using reflective thematic analysis. Pragmatic saturation was discussed during the analysis and the authors made an interpretative judgement to stop data collection at the eighth interview. Results Major themes which emerged covered different aspects of the clinical learning environment such as clinical training, social interaction and assessment procedures. Faculty’s negligence of their teaching duties was one of the most recurrent themes. In clinical training and due to faculty inaccessibility, students had to rely on themselves or their senior peers in training. The social climate was perceived negatively and assessment was described as unfair and biased. Discussion This study employed Gruppen’s conceptual framework to conduct a theory informed analysis of the clinical learning environment in a dental school with limited resources. The findings highlight important areas of improvement that needs addressing, including the unavailability of teaching staff, neglect of student needs, a competitive social atmosphere, and inconsistent assessment practices. Future research ought to focus on understanding the perspectives of teaching faculty and decision makers regarding the obstacles to implementing substantial reforms aimed at enhancing the clinical learning experience.

A blockchain-assisted privacy-preserving signature scheme using quantum teleportation for metaverse environment in Web 3.0

At the forefront of next-generation internet technology, the concept of the metaverse is gaining traction. It unifies the virtual and physical worlds into a single virtual realm and has the potential to revolutionize social networks, gaming, healthcare and education. Quantum teleportation, renowned for its ability to ensure secure and reliable communications, is set to transform interactions within this immersive digital realm. Nevertheless, the conventional cryptosystems that typically rely on mathematical complexity will no longer be dependable and secure with the advancement of quantum computing. Applied to blockchain architecture, existing post-quantum cryptography technologies, which raise the time complexity of the algorithm, will result in relatively low efficiency and substantial resource overhead. In contrast, quantum cryptography has the ability to improve blockchain’s security and efficiency. Moreover, the reliance on centralized authorities in current metaverse platforms highlights the need for decentralization to improve interoperability and security. Web 3.0 technologies offer a solution by enabling a decentralized metaverse ecosystem. Therefore, the proposed approach leverages quantum teleportation to achieve secure communication and the integration of quantum cryptography and Web 3.0 enhances the efficiency, security and realism of metaverse environments. Through rigorous safety and efficiency analysis, we demonstrate the protocol’s robustness and performance, ensuring adherence to fundamental security properties such as unforgeability, undeniability, verifiability, and traceability.

Searching for Latent River Cultures in English-Language Literature Using Word Embeddings

Abstract Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States and the United Kingdom, rivers and streams were piped, dammed, reversed, straightened, and dried-up, all in service of a growing demand for clean, reliable water in every household. This paper uses an interpretive distant reading methodology for asking how this dramatic change was reflected in English-language literature. As an imaginative space of reflection on culture and material life, how does literature accommodate and make sense of changes in environmental realities? Looking at the diachronic word embeddings surrounding the word “river” in the Novel TM corpus housed within HathiTrust Digital Library, this study identifies a number of trends over time in the shifting semantic fields surrounding “river.” It argues that these results indicate a possibly less intimate conceptualization of rivers over time, one more defined by rivers’ geographic attributes than by their ecologies and specific natures. (DM)

Water tariffs and social equity: Towards water service connections and pricing instruments for the poor

AbstractAside from operational sustainability and efficiency goals, water tariffs also need to address the requirements of affordability and equity, in most instances, by providing subsidies to poor households. Yet, poor households are unable to enjoy the benefits of such cross‐subsidization and linked conveniences as they are unable to get water service connections. Even with a well‐designed water tariff, the inability of poor households to get piped connections results in the payment of premiums for water that is difficult to access and, at times, of questionable quality. In this paper, we assess the pro‐poor projects of three Philippine municipal water systems and suggest that providing water service connections to poor households allows these households to avoid paying the water poverty premium, as well as experience the related public health and quality of life benefits accruing from such connections. We argue that designing the best tariff for existing socio‐economic, political, and environmental realities must go hand in hand with programs that provide water service connections to poor households as this will ensure not only operational viability but also equitable water provision.

The challenging reality of the clinical learning environment at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine in Syria: A qualitative study

Introduction In Syria, specialist dentists undergo five years of undergraduate education and four years of postgraduate education. In the latter, students engage in treating complex cases as part of their professional training. This study aimed to obtain in-depth qualitative understanding of the clinical learning environment at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine, Syria. Methods Semi-structured interviews were held with eight postgraduate dental students at Damascus University Faculty of Dental Medicine. The faculty has eight clinical departments; therefore, a single participant was purposively sampled from each department. The male-female ratio of the eight interviewed participants was 1:1. All interviews were conducted between 26th April 2020 and 8th January 2021. Data were analyzed inductively using reflective thematic analysis. Pragmatic saturation was discussed during the analysis and the authors made an interpretative judgement to stop data collection at the eighth interview. Results Major themes which emerged covered different aspects of the clinical learning environment such as clinical training, social interaction and assessment procedures. Faculty’s negligence of their teaching duties was one of the most recurrent themes. In clinical training and due to faculty inaccessibility, students had to rely on themselves or their senior peers in training. The social climate was perceived negatively and assessment was described as unfair and biased. Discussion The findings of this study were framed within Gruppen et al. (2019) theory of the learning environment wherein four dimensions emerge: the personal, the social, the organizational and the material. The findings of this study showcased the continuing deterioration of the clinical learning environment at Damascus University. It is hoped that these findings will encourage decision makers to introduce a comprehensive reform that addresses the curriculum, teaching practices and assessment procedures in clinical professional training.

Sustainable Digital Transformation In Africa: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems With Modern Technology

Today, the continent of Africa is at an epoch in its digital transformation journey. As the continent embraces modern technologies, it often encounters a disconnect between them and its indigenous cultural practices and environmental contexts. This paper proposes a radical shift from the Western-centric technological paradigms to a model that integrates Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) with digital transformation efforts. This study offers a unique view on sustainable and culturally congruent technological development by examining the limitations of current digital frameworks and presenting successful case studies where IKS have been harmoniously integrated with technology. We explore the potential of IKS to complement and redefine the global technological landscape. Our analysis predicts that by 2040, Africa could emerge as a trailblazer in global technology by embracing and amplifying its indigenous wisdom within its digital advancements. This paper challenges conventional wisdom and advocates for a transformative approach to digital development deeply rooted in Africa's cultural and environmental realities.

Guardians of the Green: Exploring the Forest Management Wisdom of Dayak Benawan Women in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

This research delves into the ramifications of oil palm expansion on the forest stewardship methods of the Dayak Benawan community in Cowet Village, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It particularly sheds light on the adaptive strategies of indigenous women in response to diminishing forestlands. By intersecting traditional wisdom with evolving environmental realities and economic challenges, this study offers a comprehensive perspective. Employing ethnographic methodology, the research involved conducting interviews with Dayak Benawan women, providing rich, qualitative insights.Our findings unveil a profound shift in both livelihoods and cultural practices as a direct consequence of oil palm plantation encroachment. Notably, the study quantifies the impact, revealing an 18% loss of forest area in the Sanggau Regency attributable to oil palm plantation expansion. This expansion exerts a discernible negative influence, compelling the Dayak Benawan community to undergo significant livelihood transformations. This study not only highlights the environmental and socio-cultural costs of agricultural industrialization but also stresses the resilience and adaptability of indigenous communities in the face of ecological disruption.

Adapting to evidence users: accessibility and incentives

Adapting infrastructure for evidence creation and dissemination involves taking new technological, social, and environmental realities into account. Adaptations should also respond to what hasn’t changed: structural disincentives to evidence use among intended users. This presentation addresses the understudied problem of how administrative data systems go beyond enabling access to information – how data linkages or other infrastructure impacts policymakers or other intended information users. It addresses data sharing and data use, as well as public engagement and involvement. A recent practitioner convening examined how new administrative data infrastructure can catalyze evidence-building, and, specifically explored the incentives and disincentives for stakeholders' use of evidence from evaluations. Participants discussed the multiple functions of evaluations for nonprofits, funders, policymakers, and communities, and shared lessons in capacity building from the recent history of nonprofit & human services evaluation. Preliminary results from this convening will be discussed in terms of their broader implications for the use of information resulting from future large-scale data linkages. Broadly, the convening validated the hypothesis that efforts to increase the availability of evidence often proceed without sufficient consideration of the history of non-uptake of evidence, and that there has been limited acknowledgement of this problem by practitioners of evidence generation. Much work is needed within the evaluation & evidence, and nonprofit sector to address this challenge. Key themes for this work that emerged during the convening will illustrate what might work and what won’t work to address the non-uptake of evidence more broadly.

Discerning interrelationships among management accounting systems, organizational variables, and managerial performance

In today’s global market, information plays a determinant role in the competitiveness of business organizations. Information systems have become essential resources in daily management, strategy development, and implementation. In this context, management accounting systems (MAS) have undergone substantial changes to adapt to new technological and environmental realities and have become an increasingly valuable instrument to support managers’ decision-making processes. Nevertheless, managers may not effectively leverage the information provided by MAS to enhance the quality of their decisions and, consequently, their overall performance. Discrepancies in research outcomes suggest a potential oversight in analyzing other organizational variables through which MAS might impact managerial performance. Based on an extensive literature review, we identified a scarcity of recent research focusing on three variables that could potentially mediate the relationship between MAS and managerial performance. These variables are intricately linked to people-oriented aspects and include the accountants’ involvement in strategy formulation, implementation, and monitoring, user satisfaction with the information supplied by MAS, and the decentralization of decision-making processes. To address this gap, we used the finite mixture - partial least squares (FIMIX-PLS) to discern the interrelationships among the variables in the research model. The results highlight how the interaction between firm characteristics can enhance the use of MAS in managers’ decision support and consequently improve their performance. This research provides relevant theoretical contributions to the debate about different organizational environments and their influence on MAS effectiveness. It also offers managerial implications for business organizations that need to design, implement, and use management accounting systems.

Ecological sustainability program in the development of environmental awareness of high school students

This study examined the attitudinal behavior of high school students who participated in an educational program to promote environmental awareness. The program was implemented with an intervention group, while a control group followed traditional teaching methods for comparison. The intervention group engaged in practical activities and community projects, enabling them to interact directly with social and environmental realities. The results indicated that although the control group demonstrated some level of environmental awareness, their commitment was not as strong as that of students who actively engaged with nature. The results suggest that the developed program has proven to be effective in improving both the didactic approach and the environmental commitment of the students.

Rethinking the exercise of sovereignty in the Anthropocene: From extraction to environmental protection in Arctic Svalbard

This paper explores the implications of the Anthropocene and its associated planetary awareness on the concept and exercise of sovereignty, particularly through the lens of the Svalbard Treaty. The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is not only a space undergoing rapid environmental change today, but its treaty-based governance arrangements are based on an early-twentieth century spatial imaginary of fishery, coal, and resource extraction. By examining Norway's governance shift from resource extraction to environmental stewardship on Svalbard, this paper reflects on transformations of the practice of sovereignty in response to global environmental challenges. Through interviews with local stakeholders, the research highlights the contentious nature of these shifts, revealing how increased environmental regulations, while necessary, may paradoxically entrench existing power structures and complicate the presence of non-Norwegian entities. This case study of the Svalbard Treaty serves as a normative microcosm for broader issues of sovereignty, treaty obligations, and international governance as they may evolve due to planetary change, pointing to the urgent need to rethink these evolving dynamics. The paper underscores the pressing and complex challenges facing the international system in the Anthropocene, suggesting that while Svalbard's geopolitical stability may be maintained and Norwegian sovereignty remains uncontested, the instability of global environmental realities is already leading to changes to the ways in which sovereignty is exercised in the present.

Fruit Preservation at the Dembé Market, N’Djamena, Chad: Steps towards Good Hygiene Practices

Good hygiene practices of fresh fruit are usually evaluated using a checklist of established concepts of food safety. In Chad, no checklist is available to monitor good hygiene practices and face health risk factors. The development of a checklist is a context-specific process complicated by the lack of specific information and the social, economic, and environmental reality in the hot and tropical climate of Chad.

STEM department chairs’ perspectives on navigating teaching culture to influence instructional change: a four-frames model analysis

Academic departments have been highlighted as key targets to sustainably transform the learning environments of postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in the United States. Despite STEM department chairs playing a critical role in shaping their unit, few studies have characterized how chairs view the teaching culture within their department and how cultural features influence instructional change. This study addressed this gap by applying the four-frames model for organizational change to analyze interviews conducted with 14 STEM department chairs at one research-intensive institution in the United States. The department chairs identified several challenges to supporting and advancing teaching culture. These challenges were mostly related to the structures and symbols frames and included an institutional emphasis on research over teaching, inadequate methods to evaluate effective teaching, and weak teaching feedback mechanisms available to faculty. The chairs also described how they leverage their power to affect people and thereby influence the teaching culture. For example, they strategically position teaching as an important aspect of the departmental culture during hiring processes and elevate certain groups of faculty who have demonstrated interest and efficacy in teaching. This study contributes to the literature by providing a rich description of the teaching culture in STEM departments at a research-intensive institution from the perspective of department chairs. This unique focus on department chairs helps identify opportunities for instructional reforms that are grounded in the reality of the departmental environment and provides a framework for considering how change might occur in STEM departments at research-intensive institutions. The opportunities identified emphasize the importance for department chairs to consider and leverage all four frames to enact instructional change.

Conflicted epistemologies in secondary school environmental education: implications for sustainable climate action in Uganda

ABSTRACT Transformative secondary school environmental education is likely to impact climate action by producing environmentally responsive citizens. We present a case study of environmental education in northern Uganda, and how learners’ intended actions are moderated by their exposure to both formal and non-formal indigenous environmental knowledges. Guided by the Critical Place Inquiry theory, we undertook a pragmatism paradigm where a mixed methods approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 1,282 secondary school learners and 12 teachers in 30 rural and urban schools. Individual interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews, questionnaires, and arts-based scenarios were used to collect data. Findings revealed that learners’ school-acquired environmental knowledge is not transforming them into environmentally responsive citizens because formal and non-formal knowledges are conflicted across pedagogy, curricular, and textbooks. We propose a harmonisation of the two epistemologies so that learners can relate school knowledge with their every-day environmental realities for climate-smart citizenry.

An Improved Fast Collision Detection Algorithm for Human Models Based on Hybrid Bounding Boxes

This article analyzes the commonly used collision detection methods in game engines and designs a hybrid bounding box structure that is more suitable for human models based on their motion characteristics. In addition, this article also optimized the collision response algorithm after the system detects collisions, making the collision response process faster. Through experimental analysis, this approach has a good effect in addressing the problem of model penetration caused by continuously changing the model posture in shooting games; it also avoids the game fairness problem caused by model penetration and improves the realism of the game's virtual environment.

Material Attribute Estimation as Part of Telecommunication Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality System: Systematic Review

The integration of material attribute estimation (MAE) within augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality telecommunication systems stands as a pivotal domain, evolving rapidly with the advent of the Tactile Internet. This unifying implementation process has the potential for improvements in the realism and interactivity of immersive environments. The interaction between MAE and the haptic Internet could lead to significant advances in haptic feedback systems, enabling more accurate and responsive user experiences. This systematic review is focused on the intersection of MAE and the Tactile Internet, aiming to find an implementation path between these technologies. Motivated by the potential of the haptic Internet to advance telecommunications, we explore its potential to advance the analysis of material attributes within AR, VR, and MR applications. Through an extensive analysis of current research approaches, including machine learning methods, we explore the possibilities of integrating the TI into MAE. By exploiting haptic and visual properties stored in the materials of 3D objects and using them directly during rendering in remote access scenarios, we propose a conceptual framework that combines data capture, visual representation, processing, and communication in virtual environments.

Decolonizing Narratives in Communication: A Case Study of "The Tipping Point to Decolonise Sustainability"

Narratives hold immense power in shaping reality and mobilising resources. Acknowledging the intimate connection between the climate crisis and racial injustices is vital. In this regard, decolonial perspectives are increasingly indispensable to tackling the challenges in this emergent crisis, where human-led corporations, practices, and politics drive ecological shifts. While techno-managerial solutions abound in our daily conversations and policy praxis, storytelling offers profound potential to reimagine our world. This article shows how collaborative practices are crucial in weaving together stories and experiences by echoing the emotional resonance of the climate crisis narrative to communicate our environmental reality and cultivate informed public awareness. Using the case study of The Tipping Point to Decolonise Sustainability, an initiative centred on climate storytelling, highlights how collaboration can spur discussions on decolonising sustainability. The article shows how we can craft an equitable future by acknowledging the power of storytelling and working together to communicate environmental reality.

Combined stress of an insecticide and heatwaves or elevated temperature induce community and food web effects in a Mediterranean freshwater ecosystem

Ongoing global climate change will shift nature towards Anthropocene's unprecedented conditions by increasing average temperatures and the frequency and severity of extreme events, such as heatwaves. While such climatic changes pose an increased threat for freshwater ecosystems, other stressors like pesticides may interact with warming and lead to unpredictable effects. Studies that examine the underpinned mechanisms of multiple stressor effects are scarce and often lack environmental realism. Here, we conducted a multiple stressors experiment using outdoor freshwater mesocosms with natural assemblages of macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton, macrophytes, and microbes. The effects of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid (1 µg/L) were investigated in combination with three temperature scenarios representing ambient, elevated temperatures (+4 °C), and heatwaves (+0 to 8 °C), the latter two having similar energy input. We found similar imidacloprid dissipation patterns for all temperature treatments with lowest average dissipation half-lives under both warming scenarios (DT50: 3 days) and highest under ambient temperatures (DT50: 4 days) throughout the experiment. Amongst all communities, only the zooplankton community was significantly affected by the combined treatments. This community demonstrated low chemical sensitivity with lagged and significant negative imidacloprid effects only for cyclopoids. Heatwaves caused early and long-lasting significant effects on the zooplankton community as compared to elevated temperatures, with Polyarthra, Daphnia longispina, Lecanidae, and cyclopoids being the most negatively affected taxa, whereas Ceriodaphnia and nauplii showed positive responses to temperature. Community recovery from imidacloprid stress was slower under heatwaves, suggesting temperature-enhanced toxicity. Finally, microbial and macrofauna litter degradation were significantly enhanced by temperature, whereas the latter was also negatively affected by imidacloprid. A structural equation model depicted cascading food web effects of both stressors with stronger relationships and significant negative stressor effects at higher than at lower trophic levels. Our study highlights the threat of a series of heatwaves compared to elevated temperatures for imidacloprid-stressed freshwaters.

A wirelessly programmable, skin-integrated thermo-haptic stimulator system for virtual reality

Sensations of heat and touch produced by receptors in the skin are of essential importance for perceptions of the physical environment, with a particularly powerful role in interpersonal interactions. Advances in technologies for replicating these sensations in a programmable manner have the potential not only to enhance virtual/augmented reality environments but they also hold promise in medical applications for individuals with amputations or impaired sensory function. Engineering challenges are in achieving interfaces with precise spatial resolution, power-efficient operation, wide dynamic range, and fast temporal responses in both thermal and in physical modulation, with forms that can extend over large regions of the body. This paper introduces a wireless, skin-compatible interface for thermo-haptic modulation designed to address some of these challenges, with the ability to deliver programmable patterns of enhanced vibrational displacement and high-speed thermal stimulation. Experimental and computational investigations quantify the thermal and mechanical efficiency of a vertically stacked design layout in the thermo-haptic stimulators that also supports real-time, closed-loop control mechanisms. The platform is effective in conveying thermal and physical information through the skin, as demonstrated in the control of robotic prosthetics and in interactions with pressure/temperature-sensitive touch displays.