Environment-related Aspects Research Articles

Introducing new green machining technology to enhance process performance and reduce environmental pollution in the metal processing industry.

The pursuit of enhanced cooling and lubrication methods for machining processes that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective is receiving significant attention from both academia and industry. The reduction of CO2 emissions is closely tied to electrical and embodied energy consumption. This study introduces a novel LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) cooling/lubrication (lubricooling) approach for the machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Machinability aspects, energy-related aspects, environmental-related aspects, and economic aspects are measured and compared. More specifically, surface quality, electrical energy, cutting forces, and tool wear were measured in machinability aspects. Similarly, specific total energy and specific cumulative Energy Demand (S_CED), specific carbon emission, and production costs were measured to investigate the energy and environmental and economic aspects, respectively. The LNOoW provided the best machinability results compared with other approaches. Result found that LNOoW produced 37.5% better surface quality, removed 159.17% more material, and reduced 50.56% specific cutting energy and 53.63% specific costs as compared to traditional dry cutting conditions. The 39% increment in specific carbon emissions observed in the LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) approach in comparison to the dry-cutting method can be mitigated through the implementation of sustainable practices in the production of liquid nitrogen (LN2). The information provided in this study serves as a valuable resource for the development of environmentally friendly machining processes. The study also helps get the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Influence of hybrid nanofluid on tool wear and surface roughness in MQL-assisted face milling of AISI 52100

ABSTRACT With escalating demand for machinability, economical production, health, and environment-related aspects are pushing the present industrial units to drop the usage of harmful-cutting fluid in machining. However, the adaption of this approach for machining difficult-to-cut materials does not ensure favourable outcomes of the tool performance, surface qualities, etc., as friction and heat seriously disturb machining efficiency. This study is focused on near-dry machining employing recently developed hybrid nanofluids-based lubrication in the machining of AISI 52,100 steel. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles are added to the lubrication oil to enhance the performance of the Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) system. Taguchi’s method-based Grey relational analysis (GRA) is used for the concurrent optimisation of the tool flank wear and surface roughness. The best parametric setting for the multi-response is achieved as: a lubricant flow rate of 150 ml/h, depth of cut of 0.2 mm, and nanofluid with 0.8 wt % of hBN and 0.2 wt % of SiC nanoparticles. The confirmation experimentation concluded that the multi-response factor is enhanced by 2.48% at the optimum setting with the mean values of TFW and SR as 84 and 0.36 µm, respectively.

Working toward a transdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning planetary health-A collective reflection.

In order to educate the next generation of leaders to work at reverting the damaging effects of the Anthropocene, there is an increasing need to incorporate more environmental-related aspects in all teaching programmes, including the health-related. Planetary health is a complex field which can benefit from a transdisciplinary pedagogical approach. The aim of this research was to evaluate an approach working toward transdisciplinarity applied to a course of Planetary Health taught at the Bachelor degree Global Responsibility & Leadership of the University of Groningen through substantive feedback and reflections from the students. By the end of the course, a focus group was conducted with the students inviting them to reflect on the different aspects of the pedagogical approach, evaluating their effectiveness. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed focus group. The students appreciated the added value of working toward a transdisciplinary approach and peer-to-peer learning and teaching adopted in the Planetary Health course, as a way of enhancing their learning experience. They pointed out the need of incorporating a transcultural approach into the transdisciplinary one, as a way not only to improve their learning experience, but also to enrich the transdisciplinarity itself. Incorporating a process toward transdisciplinary and transcultural teaching of planetary health into undergraduate programmes was found to be of added value. The peer-to-peer horizontal learning opportunities were seen as a way for taking advantage of the collaborative, informal teaching and community building serving the overall scope of the course.

Injection of discontinuities in concrete dams with cement-based grouts

ABSTRACT Injecting discontinuities is a recurrent procedure for the rehabilitation of concrete hydraulic structures, namely repairing cracked dam bodies and deteriorated lift and contraction joints. Within this scope, a relatively detailed description of the most important cement injection grouts features is presented, including the main advantages and drawbacks compared to alternatives. The cement-based grouts are among the most utilised materials in these contexts. Economic and environmental related aspects are among the main advantages of cement-based grouts, although some technical features of these grouting materials are also favourable. The equipment utilised for the preparation and for the application of cementitious grouts is also mentioned. This document also addresses aspects related to the assessment of concrete dams’ stability, the preparatory works, the common methodologies and the standard precautions to have into account when planning a rehabilitation operation involving cement grouting for filling cracks or repairing lift or contraction joints in these massive structures. A list of successful rehabilitation case histories is provided, including a short description of the anomalies and their causes, as well as a summary of the main repair measures adopted for each situation.

Perception, knowledge and attitudes towards environmental issues and management among coastal users of the most important beach destination in Argentina

This study was designed to address coastal users' perception in the largest seaside summer resort in Argentina regarding beach physical features and quality assessments, including issues related to the impacts of marine pollution, particularly litter on local beaches. We also explore the dependence of answers in certain traits of coastal users' profile (i.e. users’ age, gender and residence status). There was a strong relationship of predictor variables pertaining to the respondents' profile on the users' perception about environmental related aspects as well as beach quality assessment related topics. Virtually all respondents stated acknowledging that pollution by beach litter harms marine aquatic life, with plastics being the most commonly identified litter item. Interestingly, though, the users' perception about topics related to beach litter was not affected by residence status, gender or age. Addressing the issues linked to responsible and sustainable use of the environment in coastal localities in northern Argentina like Mar del Plata should include the participation of beachgoers, as these can help to improve beach management plans and assist managers and stakeholders identifying key issues in environmental policy to be implemented by coastal jurisdictions.

Bank Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: Evidence from Egypt

This study examined bank employee perceptions regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Egypt as a developing country. In particular, it explored bank employee perceptions towards the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. It also investigated whether factors such as bank type (i.e., public or private), employee age, experience, job position, and number of CSR training programs undertaken can affect this perception. Data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed to both public and private bank employees. The final sample consisted of 127 employees. SPSS was used to analyse the data. We found that bank employees placed different importance on the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. In particular, they prioritized employment and workplace-related aspects such as operational efficiency, financial literacy, equal employment opportunities, and workplace safety. In contrast, they placed less emphasis on environment-related aspects such as greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption. We also found that bank type, age, employee experience, job position, and number of CSR training programs undertaken could affect the perceptions of bank employees regarding the CSR aspects on which banks should focus. While there is a growing stream of research on CSR, prior research lacks CSR practices in developing markets, especially in the banking sector. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to look at the importance and priorities of CSR aspects in Egypt—one of the fastest-growing economies in the developing world. Based on the findings of this study, policymakers and regulators in Egypt such as the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian Banking Institute are advised to request banks to pay more attention to environmental-related aspects of CSR to keep pace with Egypt 2030 vision and develop an action plan that helps increase bank employee awareness regarding the importance of CSR practices and engage employees further in developing their banks’ sustainability strategy.

Primary Corporate Bond Markets and Social Responsibility

We document that good ES-performance is rewarded in primary bond markets by lower credit spreads. This effect is strongest for low-rated bonds and for firms in manufacturing, agriculture, mining and construction. However, not all ES-dimensions are equally important. The above results are driven mostly by the product-related dimension and to a lesser extent by the employee-related dimension. Environment-related aspects only seem to matter for those industries with largest exposure to environmental risks. Finally, we neither find that the above results are driven by crisis periods nor pronounced dynamics reflecting the growing interest in ESG. Overall, our evidence suggests that some ES-dimensions capture information that is relevant for default risk.

The Role of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pre-elite Athlete Development

Through the lens of the theory of reasoned action and the framework of attraction, retention, transition, and nurturing of athletes, this study examined how athletes’ experiences at the Commonwealth Youth Games contributed to satisfaction with the event, while encouraging transition into higher levels of competition. A total of 244 athletes from 23 different countries who completed a survey helped identify the environment-related aspects that created positive and negative experiences. The participants noted that learning from various social and cultural experiences influenced their event satisfaction and their future intention to remain in high-performance sport. Aspects of the event service environment, including poor accommodation and nutrition, were found to negatively impact performance. This paper contributes to the role of pre-elite events as athletic development agents that aid in talent transition. The results have implications for event organizers and high-performance managers regarding the influence of athletes’ experiences on performances and intention to transition.

European energy poverty metrics: Scales, prospects and limits

Energy poverty, a condition whereby people cannot secure adequate home energy services, is gaining prominence in public discourse and on political and policy agendas. As its measurement is operationalised, metrical developments are being socially shaped. A European Union mandate for biennial reporting on energy poverty presents an opportunity to institutionalise new metrics and thus privilege certain measurements as standards. While combining indicators at multiple scales is desirable to measure multi-dimensional aspects, it entails challenges such as database availability, coverage and limited disaggregated resolution. This article converges scholarship on metrics – which problematises the act of measurement – and on energy poverty – which apprehends socio-political and techno-economic particulars. Scholarship on metrics suggests that any basket of indicators risks silencing significant but hard to measure aspects, or unwarrantedly privileging others. State-of-the-art energy poverty scholarship calls for indicators that represent contextualised energy use issues, including energy access and quality, expenditure in relation to income, built environment related aspects and thermal comfort levels, while retaining simplicity and comparability for policy traction. We frame energy poverty metrology as the socially shaped measurement of a varied, multi-dimensional phenomenon within historically bureaucratic and publicly distant energy sectors, and assess the risks and opportunities that must be negotiated. To generate actionable knowledge, we propose an analytical framework with five dimensions of energy poverty metrology, and illustrate it using multi-scalar cases from three European countries. Dimensions include historical trajectories, data flattening, contextualised identification, new representation and policy uptake. We argue that the measurement of energy poverty must be informed by the politics of data and scale in order to institutionalise emerging metrics, while safeguarding against their co-optation for purposes other than the deep and rapid alleviation of energy poverty. This ‘dimensioned’ understanding of metrology can provide leverage to push for decisive action to address the structural underpinnings of domestic energy deprivation.

GREEN CHEMISTRY TEACHING FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN PAPERS PUBLISHED BY THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

This paper discusses 286 proposals and reports of Green Chemistry (GC) teaching experiences, in papers of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCEd) until 2019. The analysis was based on previous categories: source-problem, paper focus, subjects/area of knowledge, target groups, GC contents, type of approach and purpose(s) of the proposal. A list of possible characteristics of each category served as an example to compare with the information resulting from the analyses, and thus improve the discussions. In 127 papers, GC and its teaching were associated, albeit generally, with the theme of sustainability/sustainable development, which points to its potential to face environment-related aspects of chemistry in teaching. A systemic vision in the interconnection between GC and sustainability/sustainable development appeared more explicitly in 39 papers up to 2019. So far, the analysis highlights a certain reproduction of traditional chemistry teaching, and little evidence of the particularities of GC teaching. Despite the intention of inserting GC into chemistry teaching, proposals for its incorporation are often made superficially, more as an addendum or an extra quality than a specific goal. More methodological detail of the experiments carried out is needed to help in the dissemination of GC in the training curriculum of chemists. The discussions and reports on teaching approaches based on Systems Thinking showed the opening of a promising new methodological challenge within this theoretical paradigm.

Il Decreto CLIMA: nuove opportunità per le aree forestali ad elevato valore naturalistico

Abstract: The Decree on Climate 2019 represents an innovative and concrete framework for applying the international recommendations aimed at preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change. It focuses, in addition to many environment-related aspects, on the old-growth forests, recognizing them as forest ecosystems of high environmental value, defining their main ecological traits. According to this legislation, the extent of these forests in Italy is important, since many forest ecosystems have been left unmanaged from more than 60 years. Even if these stands are not always characterized by high level of naturalness, they are currently evolving towards more complex structures, due to the absence of human-related disturbance. Old-growth forests are unique ecosystems with a high structural complexity and peculiarities that are absent in managed forests. They are also an essential point of reference for sustainable forest management and environmental monitoring, in terms of conservation of biological diversity and ecological processes. For these reasons, they represent a unique benchmark for developing silvicultural models that incorporate knowledge of structural complexity (vertical and spatial) and developmental processes, duration of development and particularly the role of disturbances in creating structural legacies that become key elements of the post-disturbance stands. These forests, as the new Decrete underlines, must be protected, preserved and monitored in a long-term perspective, in order to safeguard their biodiversity, avoiding the structural simplification, which often characterizes the managed forests.

Light-Powered Directional Nanofluidic Ion Transport in Kirigami-Made Asymmetric Photonic-Ionic Devices.

Nacre-mimetic 2D nanofluidic materials with densely packed sub-nanometer-height lamellar channels find widespread applications in water-, energy-, and environment-related aspects by virtue of their scalable fabrication methods and exceptional transport properties. Recently, light-powered nanofluidic ion transport in synthetic materials gained considerable attention for its remote, noninvasive, and active control of the membrane transport property using the energy of light. Toward practical application, a critical challenge is to overcome the dependence on inhomogeneous or site-specific light illumination. Here, asymmetric photonic-ionic devices based on kirigami-tailored graphene oxide paper are fabricated, and directional nanofluidic ion transport properties therein powered by full-area light illumination are demonstrated. The in-plane asymmetry of the graphene oxide paper is essential to the generation of photoelectric driving force under homogeneous illumination. This light-powered ion transport phenomenon is explained based on a modified carrier diffusion model. In asymmetric nanofluidic structures, enhanced recombination of photoexcited charge carriers at the membrane boundary breaks the electric potential balance in the horizontal direction, and thus drives the ion transport in that direction under symmetric illumination. The kirigami-based strategy provides a facile and scalable way to fabricate paper-like photonic-ionic devices with arbitrary shapes, working as fundamental elements for large-scale light-harvesting nanofluidic circuits.

COMFORT AND WELFARE ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SQUARES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF CRATO-CE

The urbanization process of the majority of the Brazilian cities has occurred without appropriate planning that would consider the importance of environmental components. Nevertheless, it is widely known that the quality of urban life depends on a variety of factors, such as infrastructure, socioeconomic development and environment related aspects. With regard to these last factors, public green areas are essential for the maintenance of public welfare and, among these places, the public squares function as social interactive and leisure options for citizens. Due to their beauty, the squares contribute to urban ornamentation and usually host civic or religious events. Thereby, this study aimed to characterization the social and environmental role played by the public squares in the municipality of Crato-CE. As a methodological approach, bibliographic researches, as well as, the application of 50 questionnaires have provided the necessary information. The results suggest that there is a diversification of the squares frequenters at different times of the day, in addition to a variety of reasons that influence people to stay at or pass by these places. It was perceived that being at squares stimulates positive feelings, as the feeling of happiness described by 46% of the interviewers, freedom experienced by 30% and contact with nature by 15%. Therefore, it is undoubtedly possible to emphasize the importance of public squares for the municipality and the wellbeing of its citizens.

English

The study aimed to determine farmers’ knowledge and practice regarding organic vegetable cultivation as well as to ascertain farmers’ awareness concerning health and environmental aspects. The study was conducted at two villages of Kishoregonj District. The selected villages were Shadullar Char and Borobag Char. The total number of household was 800 in two villages. Among them 400 households were randomly selected and the head of each household was considered as the sample of the study; from them data were collected using structured interview schedule. The findings of the study indicate that about two-thirds (65%) of the farmers in the study area had poor knowledge concerning organic vegetable cultivation while, about three-fourth (73%) of the respondents had found low level of practice followed in cultivating organic vegetables. Concerning soil health management aspects, the item namely use of cow dung and use of poultry excreta were the top most items practice by the farmers in their locality. The use of ash and piercing, on the other hand, were found as the highest ranked items regarding disease and pest management related aspects. However, about three-fourths of the respondents had low to medium level of awareness concerning health and environmental related aspects caused by agro-chemicals use. Key words: Organic vegetable, knowledge, practice, farmers, Bangladesh.

Characterization and optimization of bacterium isolated from soil samples for the production of siderophores

Siderophores are small molecules that can easily bind to ferric iron. As a chelating agent, they transportiron molecules inside the bacterial cell for various biochemical reactions. Due to its various applicationsin medicinal, industrial and environmental related aspects, this paper deals with characterizationand optimization of few siderophores producing bacteria from the soil samples, collected from Chikkamagalurudistrict, Karnataka. The siderophores production was assayed qualitatively and quantitativelythrough Chrome Azurol S and the results showed positive for the strains VIT VK5 and VIT VK6 that grownin succinate medium. Further characterization and optimization results revealed that both the bacteriumhas the ability to yield siderophores ( ∼60–80% units) in the optimum condition of pH 8, at 37 °C withglucose and sucrose as a carbon source and NaNO3 as a nitrogen source. Thus, the study concludes thatstrains VITVK5 and VITVK6 can be promising candidates for the siderophores production which can playmajor applications in medicinal and industrial aspects.

Characterization and optimization of bacterium isolated from soil samples for the production of siderophores

Abstract Siderophores are small molecules that can easily bind to ferric iron. As a chelating agent, they transport iron molecules inside the bacterial cell for various biochemical reactions. Due to its various applications in medicinal, industrial and environmental related aspects, this paper deals with characterization and optimization of few siderophores producing bacteria from the soil samples, collected from Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka. The siderophores production was assayed qualitatively and quantitatively through Chrome Azurol S and the results showed positive for the strains VITVK5 and VITVK6 that grown in succinate medium. Further characterization and optimization results revealed that both the bacterium has the ability to yield siderophores (∼60–80% units) in the optimum condition of pH 8, at 37 °C with glucose and sucrose as a carbon source and NaNO3 as a nitrogen source. Thus, the study concludes that strains VITVK5 and VITVK6 can be promising candidates for the siderophores production which can play major applications in medicinal and industrial aspects.

Doctoral students’ experiences leading to completion or attrition: a matter of sense, progress and distress

A central trend in qualitative studies investigating doctoral students’ dropout is to stress the importance of students’ integration and socialisation in their working environment. Yet, few of these studies actually compared the experiences of doctoral students who completed or quit their PhD. In order to overcome this limitation and identify the factors that differentiate these two groups, the present study interviewed 21 former doctoral students: 8 completers and 13 non-completers. The results show that what best differentiates these two groups of participants is the extent to which they feel that they are moving forward, without experiencing too much distress, on a research project that makes sense to them. We assume that this set of factors is central in the dropout process. Support from doctoral peers was found to play a positive role overall but did not contribute to differentiating the two groups, presumably because peers have a limited impact on dissertation progress. Supervisors’ support was central to the participants’ stories; it is thus assumed to play a role in the process, but this role is complex and needs further investigation. These results call for a stronger consideration of the doctoral task itself when investigating the process of persistence and attrition and for a more integrated framework that considers jointly both task- and environment-related aspects.

Vulnerability to Flooding of the Towns of Mabitac and Santa Maria, Laguna, Philippines

The combination of flood modelling and socio-economic analysis was used to determine the flood vulnerability of the towns of Santa Maria and Mabitac, Laguna, Philippines. Geograhic Information System (GIS)-hazard mapping and vulnerability-resilience indicator were used to assess the interaction of a flood hazard and the socio-economic conditions of the people in the area. The Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-HMS) and Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) modelling system was used to derive the synthetic hydrograph and delineated the inundated areas in the flood-prone barangays (village) of Santa Maria and Mabitac. The flood modelling predicted the flood depths in seven out of ten communities and delineated the inundated barangays of the two towns. The social vulnerability analysis indicated that Barangays (village) Jose Rizal, Masinao, Adia and Coralan in Santa Maria and Barangays San Antonio, Libis ng Nayon, Bayanihan, Pag-asa, Nanguma and Lambac in Mabitac are very vulnerable to flooding. The study revealed environment-related aspects that are helpful in reducing the impacts of flooding such as, strengthening the flood warning system and emergency response capacity through flood hazard zonation mapping and rehabilitation of the watershed in Santa Maria.

Environmental Organic Photochemistry: Advances and Perspectives

This review is a survey of recent advances in environment related aspects of organic photochemistry. Besides presenting general concepts, the manuscript is mainly focused on the photoreactivity of natural organic matter, and on the photochemistry of anthropogenic substances under natural light irradiation.

WHO WILL GO GREEN? A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF U.S. CONSUMER SEGMENTATION DEMOGRAPHICS

ABSTRACT Increased global concern over the environment has resulted in many environment-related aspects of marketing being used to address the concern. More eco-friendly products, product delivery channels, and marking communication exhorting consumers to be more eco-friendly can be seen across the globe. Given these ecological concerns, marketers are eager to identify market segments and target their marketing efforts to consumers who are more likely to respond favorably to their marketing strategies. Using a sample of 24,463 adult U.S. respondents, this study examined the demographics of gender, race, income, education, occupation, household children and age as potential segmentation variables. White or Asian, higher educated, professionals without children were found to more willing to purchase eco-friendly products and to desire to be perceived as eco-friendly consumers. These results imply that standardized segmentation techniques might not be effective globally. Keywords Environmental Market Segmentation; Eco-friendly Marketing; Demographic Segmentation