High-quality Environment Research Articles

Intellectual Property Law Aspects of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development: Where Is the Line Between Public and Private Interests?

Protection of the environment is regulated by numerous laws and bylaws, within legal areas. As regards regulations of an imperative nature, there is no doubt that these provisions represent the public interest and responsibility of the state to preserve and improve the environment. The paper examines the potential of private law rights to contribute to environmental protection and improvement, because the action of entities depends on the choice of whether to act or not in certain circumstances. To illustrate a possible contribution of private law in environmental protection matters, patent and indications of geographical origin have attracted attention. While trying to determine a particular connection between rights and environmental matters, it has become clear that significant improvement of environmental protection can be provided in a circular flow through different areas of law. Protecting and supporting private law rights is not detached from guarding the public interest. An examination of patent law potential should demonstrate that cooperation between scientific research institutions and industry is of primary concern in modern society. In practice, a number of issues obstruct successful cooperation; however, this is an opportunity for the state to encourage collaboration. A similar approach should be suggested in relation to indications of geographical origin. State and local governments should encourage recognition of indicators of geographical origin, attracted to localities of high environmental quality.

Export Potential of Fruit Products in Agricultural Business

Introduction. The present-day market of fruit products in Ukraine and in the European Union has been growing now and has a great potential. In this context, the problem of planting and preserving fresh fruit products in Ukraine is relevant, as the demand for them increases every year both in our country and abroad.Problem Statement. Fast freezing, controlled atmosphere and special containers as well as pre-treatment of fruits with chemicals are the priority technologies for the storage of fruit products. These methods extend the shelf life, however they require high financial costs, are harmful to human health and do not address the problem of biological decay.Purpose. The purpose of this research is to assess the agro-industrial potential of Ukraine and to determine the social and economic effect of production of high-quality plums and apricots with extended shelf life due to processing them with film-forming compositions of medicinal plant materials.Material and Methods. The methods of critical and economic analysis have been used to achieve the purpose of this research. The economic effect from the application of the developed method of fruit processing has been analyzed by the efficiency estimate algorithm.Results. The current state of fruit exports has been analyzed. The world trade has benn determined to steadily grow over the last decade. Processing of medicinal and plant raw materials of plum and apricot fruits with filmforming compositions is safe and complies with the rules of European Environmental Safety Directives. The results of calculations have confirmed the improvement of fruit quality and extension of their shelf life.Conclusions. The economic effect is: an increase in the sales by 3,432 thousand tons leads to augmented consumption of these fruit products by 0.20 kg per person annually. The social effect is the availability of highquality environment friendly products at estimated prices and the increase in their consumption.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve inside a city region: What is the role of suburbanization in decoupling air pollution from growing income?

Air pollution is purported to drive migration from cities to the suburbs, fueling urban sprawl. We aim to explore the relationship between pollution and economic development in the spatial framework of a suburbanizing city region using the example of Warsaw, Poland. To account for spatial dependence in data, we apply the Spatial Lag model to estimate the effect of local GDP on PM2.5 concentration levels in 314 municipalities. We find evidence for the decoupling of local GDP and air pollution, lending support to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Next, we verify the role of air pollution in explaining the subsequent change in average personal income. The indirect effect of pollution turns out to be especially important, suggesting that the high environmental quality of municipalities located close to polluted urban centres facilitate such migrations. The decoupling observed at the city region level is partially driven by the in-migration of relatively wealthy urbanites to these suburban municipalities. In order to prevent the worsening of environmental quality at the regional level, policymakers should take into account the spatial dependence of air pollution and the spatial heterogeneity of its relation with development in order to effectively reduce incentives for suburbanization.

Separate your waste: A comprehensive conceptual framework investigating residents' intention to adopt household waste separation

Households generate the largest amount of solid waste worldwide. Thus, solid waste management is essential to achieve a sustainable and high-quality environment. Separating household waste increases waste diversion and provides raw materials for recycling. Therefore, this research incorporated the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with place identity, information publicity, and place dependence to investigate residents' intentions to adopt household waste separation (HWS) in Ghana. The research also analyzed the moderating effect of information publicity on the relationship between TPB constructs and residents' household waste separation adoption intention. Using data from 385 sampled residents in Ghana, analysis was performed with the help of partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings of this study support the suitability of an integrated model. Subjective norms, information publicity, perceived behavioral control, and attitude directly and positively forecast motivating residents' intentions to adopt household waste separation. Information publicity moderates the association between subjective norms, past behavior, and residents' intention to adopt household waste separation. Place identity and place dependence indirectly influence residents' intention to adopt household waste separation through TPB constructs and past behavior. Excitingly, accurate and reliable information publicity can boost the influence of attitude on motivating residents' intentions to adopt household waste separation. Based on the findings, relevant advice for waste management organizations to boost the adoption of residents' household waste separation and promote household waste separation intention is recommended.

Design Methodology for Sustainable Social Housing with High Environmental Quality in Cameroon

Design Methodology for Sustainable Social Housing with High Environmental Quality in Cameroon

What buffered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression? A longitudinal study of caregivers of school aged children in Ireland

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought acute harm to global mental health, especially among vulnerable populations. We explore what factors in people’s lives buffered the impact of the pandemic on depression; in particular, the role of social resources, economic resources, religiosity, and quality of their local environment. Drawing on three waves of longitudinal cohort data (two pre-pandemic waves and one pandemic-period wave) from primary caregivers of school-aged children in Ireland, we demonstrate that symptoms of depression increased sharply during the pandemic. However, depression symptomology increased less steeply among caregivers who, pre-pandemic, had greater economic resources and lived in higher quality environments, but especially among those with greater social resources and those who exhibited greater religiosity. Path analysis suggests that different sources of buffering might mitigate harm via different pathways. While most buffering factors appear to cushion mental well-being by reducing stresses from increased care work, improving familial relations, and helping caregivers manage the closure of/return to schools, other drivers appear to cushion mental well-being by reducing health anxieties around COVID-19, increasing opportunities for outdoor exercise, and protecting household incomes. This study highlights how crisis-preparedness should invest in social infrastructure alongside medical infrastructure to protect societies from future pandemics.

Environmental Assessment of Soils and Crops Based on Heavy Metal Risk Analysis in Southeastern China

Heavy metal pollution in soil–crop systems has attracted great attention globally, caused by rapid urbanization and intensive industrialization. The research aims to investigate the environmental quality of the agricultural production area in Taizhou City, a typical economic region that is along the Yangtze River in the Southeast of China. A total of 370 sampling sites were chosen, with 370 soil, rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) samples collected, respectively, for measuring and analyzing the status, spatial distribution and pollution level of different heavy metals. The mean values of soil Cr, Pb, Cd, As and Hg were 66.78, 32.88, 0.23, 8.16 and 0.16 mg/kg, which were lower than the risk control standard values (RCV). However, the mean values of Pb, Cd and Hg were 1.25-, 1.77- and 2-fold larger than their soil background values (SBV) due to the intensive anthropogenic activities. The average content of Cd in rice exceeded its food safety limiting values (FCV) by 0.05 mg/kg, and the average contents of Pb in rice and wheat both exceeded the relevant FSV by 0.42 and 0.186 mg/kg, respectively. In addition, the maximum As and Cr contents in rice and wheat could be 0.13, 0.46 mg/kg and 0.63, 3.5 mg/kg larger than the relative FCVs in certain areas. Most of the high-value areas of soil and crop heavy metals were mainly located in Xinghua City, Taixing City and Jiangyan District, which had a similar distribution pattern with local industries or anthropogenic activities. The heavy metal pollution in soils and crops was found to be inconsistent, as 8.94% of the arable land possessed lightly metal pollution, while 3.18% of the area of rice and 4.0% of the area of wheat suffered severe pollution, with excessive accumulation of Cr, Pb and Cd. Based on the heavy metal pollution assessment of soil–crop systems, approximately 83% of the study area possessed medium or higher environmental quality, which was preferable for agricultural production. Our results implied that the spatial distribution and pollution level of the heavy metals in soil–crop systems were significantly influenced by industrial activities, followed by agricultural sources, transportation emissions and so on. Therefore, continuous monitoring and source control of heavy metals, especially for Cr, Pb and Cd, should be conducted to ensure the regional environmental quality and food security.

Prediction of Thermal Comfort from Operating Temperature and the Predicted Mean Vote / Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PMV/PPD) Indices in a Nubian Vault

The building and construction sector has a significant impact on the environment due to its high consumption of energy resources and increasing levels of emissions, and pollution. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), the energy used by buildings and construction accounts for more than a third of the final energy consumed in the world and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. African countries such as Burkina Faso are concerned in this reality in the field of building. This is why the major issue in the tropic today is the construction of new buildings with high environmental quality and high energy performance. Today's construction choices will have an impact on future generations. The technique and materials of a building contribute to the health, safety and comfort of people. In the present work, the operating temperature and the PMV/PPD indices in a Nubian vault were determined. The operating temperature and the PMV/PPD indices are indicators of thermal comfort. Thus, the knowledge of these indicators allows to appreciate the state of comfort in the Nubian vault. It is in this perspective that the operating temperature will be determined by the adaptive method. The Fanger model is used for the determination of the PMV/PPD indexes. From the state of sensation obtained, acceptable ambient conditions can be defined for an individual in a tropical zone. As an alternative, the most suitable construction type and building materials could be recommended for each type of climate.

THE PREDICTING FACTORS OF MUSEUM VISITOR INTENTION: A STUDY OF MUSEUM WAYANG JAKARTA

<p align="center"><strong><em>Abstract</em></strong></p><p align="center"><strong> </strong></p><p><em> </em><em>This study examines the influence between the product and the management of attraction on revisit intentions. The sample were taken by accidental sampling method of 1</em><em>50</em><em> respondents. Data were collected by survey with questioner method, field orientation, and interview. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis to determine the influence between the product, the management of attraction and revisit intention. The product consist of location, accessibility, variety on site attractions, high quality environment, </em><em>f</em><em>acilities, and </em><em>p</em><em>rice. The result showed that accessibility, variety on site attraction, and facilities has a significantly positive effect on revisit intention, meanwhile environment and price was not significantly influence on revisit intention. On the contrary, location has a negative effect on revisit intention. The management of attractions include the tangible elements of product, the characteristics of service delivery, and human resources management. The tangible elements of product and human resources was not significantly influence on revisit intention, but the characteristics of service delivery has a positive influence on revisit intention. The result indicate that the product has a dominant and significantly positive influence on revisit intention and the management of attractions also has a significantly positive effect on revisit intention . The product and management of attractions simultaneously has a significantly positive effect on revisit intention. The study provided a more through understanding the factors that may effect success of museum, which may help governments better understand the visitor needs.</em></p><p> </p>

Competition–banking stability: the moderating role of government intervention quality in North African countries

PurposeThis study investigates how bank competition affects financial stability and whether government intervention contributes to shaping this relationship in North African countries.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature on the subject was conducted, combined with an empirical analysis that used a two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) and a sample of 45 banks operating in North African countries over the period 2005–2019.FindingsThe findings reveal a quadratic relationship between competition and banking stability in North African countries. Competition–stability view and competition–fragility view could be applied at the same time for North African banks. Additionally, in this context, results highlight a negative impact of government intervention on financial stability in a competitive financial sector. North African banks operating in a high government intervention quality environment tend to engage in high-risk investments. Robustness checks with alternative measures of competition and banking stability also show consistent results.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the North African context has been explored to determine the role of the quality of government intervention in the relationship between competition and banking system fragility. This paper seeks to cover the shadow field in existing literature through further new information. Thus, it contributes to the emerging market banking literature by showing that both high and low levels of competition can improve financial stability in North African countries. Moreover, it expands its contribution by displaying the moderator effect of intervention quality on the bank competition–stability relationship.

Assessment of Thermal Comfort in Hospital Rooms and Health Status of Patients

The paper carefully assessed the thermal comfort in hospital rooms and health status of patients. Thermal comfort in hospital environments is mandatory, as the nature of patients' sickness directly correlates with their thermal sensation, metabolic rate, and regulatory response. A good environment contributes a lot toward patient recovery and wellbeing. Hospital buildings are required to secure a variety of indoor environments according to the diverse requirements of patients and staff. Among these requirements, thermal comfort is an important design criterion for indoor environmental quality that affects patients' healing processes and the wellbeing of medical staff. The patients’ thermal comfort is given priority due to their medical conditions and impaired immune systems. A high indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can improve the recovery process and create a pleasant working environment for the health personnel. While a poor IEQ causes nosocomial diseases that are harmful to the patients as well as the hospital staff. The paper reviewed the concept of thermal comfort, health status of patient, hospital rooms, and the effect of thermal comfort on patient’s health. It was on this basis that the study concluded that; ventilation systems play a key role in maintaining acceptable, thermally-comfortable conditions for patients and medical staff. It was also concluded that thermal comfort can foster the healing process of patients in hospitals and that it is highly case-dependent and varies substantially based on the health condition of the patient as well as the type and level of staff activities to bail the unfortunate condition. One of the recommendations made was that in order to foster the healing process of patients in hospitals there is dire need to promote thermal comfort in the hospital building at all cost

Analysis of the renovation area to create a concept for its integrated development

Introduction. Integrated territorial development is one of the key areas in modern urban planning, which main goals are to ensure the sustainable development of cities and settlements and to create a high-quality environment and favorable conditions for people’s livelihoods. The mechanisms of integrated territorial development make it possible to approach the renewal of urban development in a comprehensive manner and provide territories with the necessary infrastructure.Materials and Methods. Investment projects of integrated territorial development need a pre-project analysis in order to identify the most optimal strategies of its redevelopment and renovation. The pre-project analysis should take into account not only the basic comprehensive assessment indicators, but also identify potential target audience and the main stakeholders of the project needs, which will further increase its investment attractiveness. The pre–project assessment should include factors for evaluation the site according to a set of criteria - urban planning, environmental and economic. The article provides a methodology for the territory assessment by a set of factors that take into account the listed criteria. The research was carried out using the methodology of a systematic approach to the scientific problem of improving the urbanized territories environment quality, methods of subject-logical and comparative analysis, and geoinformation technologies.Results. Pre-project analysis results of the integrated territorial development area located in the city of Rostov-on-Don are considered in order to identify the most optimal approaches to its further use. The main characteristics of the territory obtained with the help of regulatory and legal documentation, environmental and geological conditions analyzed using a geoinformation system, and economic evaluation criterion, including requests from the intended target audience of the project, are presented.Discussion and Conclusions. The proposed methodology makes it possible to identify the most optimal ways for the study area development through a systematic approach to the integrated territorial development problem, taking into account the directions of city urban development and the investors and territory future users interests.

Semi-Direct Multimap SLAM System for Real-Time Sparse 3-D Map Reconstruction

The lack of a sufficient number of reliable corners in low-textured environments is a big challenge for classical visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), especially for point feature-based methods. Many other features (i.e., line and plane segments) are often combined with points to restore an environmental structure. However, using such features requires much computational time. This work focuses on the reliable and high-performance real-time operation of a SLAM system in low-textured scenarios. It proposes a semi-direct multi-map monocular SLAM system (SM-SLAM) that combines direct tracking and feature-based map maintenance with point features and line segments. The proposed system tracks non-keyframes based on a sparse image alignment method for fast tracking, extracts and matches point features and line segments in keyframes for high-quality environment structure and motion optimization. We present an extensive evaluation on two widely-used public datasets and some challenging real-world scenarios. Experimental results show that SM-SLAM can well reconstruct a sparse 3D map with geometrical structure information in 30-40 Hz. Notably, SM-SLAM shows an accuracy improvement of more than 20% than the Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF feature-based SLAM (ORB-SLAM) on some low-speed, small-range camera motion datasets and performs well in low-texture scenarios.

Promoting child's growth and development in childcare centers

Introduction: Childcare centers are a type of daycare that is increasingly used by families all over the world. Indonesia is experiencing a similar trend. Childcare centers have essential roles in supporting child's growth and development in the center. This study aims to explore how childcare centers support the healthy growth and development of young children. Methods: A qualitative research approach using a case study design was used for exploring the perspectives of two childcare managers and eight teachers in two public and two private childcare centers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Semi-structured interviews of one hour each, audiotaped recorded with the participants' consent, were used to collect the data. Content analysis was used to generate findings from the data. Findings from the public and private centers were compared and contrasted to generate the study's overall findings.Results: The findings identified that childcare centers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, actively promote child growth and development by providing high-quality environments and services. The environment is safe, homelike, has high standards of cleanliness and sanitation, and provides appropriate toys and equipment. Services include nutrition, supervision, and health checks. Linking centers to the community was an essential strategy for improving the funds and resources needed to promote child growth and development. Conclusion: This study suggests that providing training for childcare workers, refining the curriculum, and developing stimulating activities for children in the center are needed.

Review and analysis of existing methods to assess the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) for office buildings

Population in developed countries spend most of their time indoors, whether in their homes, workplaces, stores or leisure areas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation worsened and now, more than ever, the importance of a high Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is highlighted. The IEQ is very important in building performance since it is directly related to its occupants’ comfort, health, wellbeing, and productivity and the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) concept.Therefore, it is essential to develop tools to support designers’ decision-making in the materialization of indoor environments with higher quality. From the state-of-art analysis, it is possible to conclude that the methods to assess the overall building performance already consider the IEQ. Still, most use an approach that does not cover all relevant indicators.In this context, this paper presents the first milestone of a research work that aims to develop a new method to rate the overall IEQ of office buildings in Portugal.The main objective of the present study is to propose a list of IEQ indicators for office buildings, adapted to the Portuguese context, based on the analysis of existing rating methods for buildings and the recommendations of national and international standards.

Dendroflora in spatial planning compositions of children’s squares in Vyshhorod town

Various groups of urban residents, including children, need to ensure a high-quality environment. One of the important features of urban plantings is their biodiversity, which is often low in the territories of children’s facilities. The purpose of the study is to identify spatial planning solutions and assess the species composition of tree plantations on the territory of six newly created children’s parks of the small historical city of Vyshhorod, Kyiv Oblast, which is located near the capital and is marked by positive demographic dynamics. The initial data were obtained as a result of the authors’ inventory survey of vegetation in these parks. The spatial planning composition of the dendroflora of these parks is also analysed using a visual method. Based on the obtained data, the level of biodiversity of tree stands in parks under study was estimated: the available number of taxa, Menhinick’s richness and diversity index, and the Berger-Parker abundance index were compared. On the territory of these parks, a total of 70 taxa of woody and shrubby plants were identified, among which introduced species predominate. More than half of the identified taxa are found only in one of the parks. The most common types represented on the territory of most children’s parks are the following: Spiraea vanhouttei, Juglans regia, Physocarpus opulifolius. Cluster analysis revealed groups of parks with a similar assortment of woody plants, and, accordingly, similar biodiversity indicators. The relationship between the assortment of plants and the general spatial solution of parks is traced. It was concluded that the selection of the species composition of woody plants for children’s parks should be more thorough, and it is also advisable not to exceed the recommended 10% share of one species in the composition of plantings. The use of “thorny” species that are not recommended for children’s territories is quite balanced and rational. The use of the findings in urban planning would help create a multifunctional eco-balanced children’s space and increase the sustainability of urban ecosystems

Transformation of ecological-resource and ecological-geochemical functions of the lithosphere within the Stary Oskol–Gubkin mining district of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly

The impact of mining production on the natural environment shows itself in many ways: through changes in the chemical and mechanical composition of the atmosphere, deformation of the earth’s surface, activation of exogenous geomorphological processes, violation of hydrological regime, surface water and groundwater alteration, degradation of soil and vegetation cover, disruption of functioning (vital activity) of living organisms—from bacteria to humans. The purpose of this work was to assess the main trends of transformation of the ecological-resource and ecological-geochemical functions of the lithosphere within the Stary Oskol–Gubkin mining area of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. This area is a key site for such research in the central part of Russia, which is due to its natural and manmade features: the initial high quality of the natural environment, the high population density—36 people / km2, and the extremely high level of induced load as a result of the mineral mining and processing activities. The research methods included field observations, as well as soil sampling at 12 key sites and at three main rivers of the district. The ecological and geochemical studies were carried out using the quantitative atomic spectral analysis. In the process of research, the tendency of significant alkalinization of soils and surface waters was revealed to exceed background values by 30–50%. Extraction and processing of iron ore has led to a significant degradation of the ecological and resource function, which is manifested in the removal of soil cover over the areas of tens of km2. The main polluting elements are indicated, including Zn, Pb, Mo, Co, Cr, B, Cu. The trend of transformation of the macro- and mesocomponent composition of surface waters was recorded. The content of calcium, sodium, chlorides exceeds the similar indicators in other rivers by 2 to 10 times, and this excess in terms of the content of sulfates is 70 times.

Simulation framework for early design guidance of urban streets to improve outdoor thermal comfort and building energy efficiency in summer

Global warming and the urban heat island effect have led to the deterioration of the outdoor thermal environment and the rise of building cooling demand, calling for urban design with high environmental quality. However, little has been changed in the practice of urban street design. This paper bridges this gap by developing a framework of parametric simulation for design guidance of urban streets with an advanced urban canopy model that can simulate the interactive indoor-outdoor environment. Case studies are conducted at the neighborhood scale for six cities to improve outdoor thermal comfort and building energy efficiency in summer. The influence of street and building design parameters has been investigated based on 31104 simulations. Results reveal the conflict between optimizing outdoor thermal comfort and optimizing building energy efficiency. In the majority of the investigated cities, window-to-wall ratio, window type, and street orientation are the most influential parameters. Strategies by adjusting these parameters can significantly improve outdoor thermal comfort, as quantified by thermal stress hours, at a cost of increasing the building cooling load. Planting bigger and denser roadside trees always moderately reduces the thermal stress hours and building cooling load. These results demonstrate the potential of this framework to identify the design trade-offs between thermal comfort and building energy efficiency. The framework can be extended to various cities to help designers and policymakers at the early design stage.

Neo-colonialism in the Polish rural world: CAP approach and the phenomenon of suitcase farmers

Notwithstanding the opportunities it provides, the implementation of some measures of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (EU CAP), including agri-environment-climate measures (AECMs), also generates threats. The study identifies an extremely disturbing process that can be referred to as “internal neo-colonialism”, which has been driven by the technocratic agrarian policy of the EU and transformations in Poland at the turn of the twenty-first century. The associated disadvantageous practices mainly affect areas under threat of marginalisation and peripheralisation, including Poland with its post-Socialist heritage, which has shaped the attitudes and behaviour of society and has consolidated linkages between politics and business. In order to retrace such activities, the study analyses EU funds granted in support of farmers implementing AECMs, with a focus on analysing the place of residence of the “farmer” and the location of the farm. As the research shows, the attractiveness of CAP support causes Polish agriculture and Poland’s countryside, including its natural and financial resources, to be drained by so-called “suitcase farmers”, i.e. people/entities not tied to the place where the agricultural activity is pursued, many of whom live in cities. One common practice is to take over land located in legally protected areas noted for their high quality of natural environment. Not only does the practice of land grabbing strengthen the social exclusion of rural communities and the peripheralisation and pauperisation of these areas, but it also hinders discussion about environmental justice and the ecological integrity of rural areas.

Value of recreation utility of the Polish Baltic coast – willingness to pay or willingness to declare?

The idea of improving the quality of the Baltic Sea enjoys common understanding and acceptance. An implementation of this idea requires a cost benefit analysis in order to define the correct scope of intervention. Monetary valuation of the benefits arising from the quality improvement was conducted for the Baltic Sea with the use of contingent valuation method, choice experiments, and travel cost method. Crucial sources for such valuation were the stated preferences of the respondents. Availability of ex-post data describing the occupancy rate of the swimming sites on the Polish stretch of the Baltic coast, collected for four consecutive years, makes it possible to compare two concepts i.e. the ex-ante declarations concerning willingness to use high quality environment and the actual consumers’ choices. The results reveal serious discrepancies between the ex-ante and ex-post methods.