Implications For Sustainable Development Research Articles

Sexual Harassment Myths and Victims’ Blame Game among the Students of Institutions of Higher Learning

The study investigated the issue of sexual harassment myths among the students of higher institutions of learning in Southeast Nigeria region, focusing on the male and female undergraduates from these institutions as the study population. While the study was guided by Structuration Theory, survey design with questionnaire instrument was applied to manage the study and data collection procedure. Appropriate classification and statistics were applied to check the relationship of the substantive variables to the study. From the findings, there is a prevalence of acceptance of sexual harassment myths (72.3%/55.6%) among the students; gender explained 4.9%/10.4% variance of sexual harassment myths1&2, sexual harassment myths1&2 explained about 0.98%/0.22% variance of ability to report sexual harassment experience among the students. The study concludes that sexual harassment myths acceptance has been embedded in the consciousness of the youths through the overarching patriarchal structures in the system with gender-based violence and sustainable development implications.

Multi‐stakeholder involvement in urban market infrastructure renewals in the Aboabo and Central markets of the Tamale Metropolitan District in Ghana: An application of the stakeholder theory

AbstractThe renewal of Ghana's urban markets is complicated by sociocultural, economic, and political factors, as in many other sub‐Saharan African nations. In Ghana, in particular, the nature of urban market infrastructure renewal (UMIR) projects have been attributed to top‐down management and delivery in most developing countries. This study adopts the stakeholder theory as a lens to understand the multi‐stakeholder involvement in the urban market's renewal process and the implications for sustainable urban market development in Ghana, using Tamale Metropolis as a case study. Interview guides were used, and data were collected from 23 market operators and representatives of relevant stakeholders responsible for urban market infrastructure renewals. According to the article, most traders claimed that the market renewal process did not accept input from identifiable groups and that, where information was requested, it was primarily led by experts. The study recommends that metropolitan/municipal/district assemblies or local governments in developing nations provide their physical planning departments with the necessary financial resources throughout the urban market infrastructure renewal process to guarantee the outputs (i.e., engagement of stakeholders). Additionally, urban market infrastructure renewal interventions and policies should positively influence the development of state institutions. This is due to the co‐evolution of society and the economy, which should not be seen in isolation. The bottom‐up policy should consider the normative codes and the setting in which people live and work. The top‐down policy should assist evolving institutions, but it should also be a continuous process.

Dynamic spillover between traditional energy markets and emerging green markets: Implications for sustainable development

This study employs the time-varying vector parameter autoregression model and Diebold-Yilmaz (2012, 2014) spillover approach to explore the static, net, dynamic and directional spillover effects between China's traditional energy and emerging green markets and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on spillover effects. Spillover networks are constructed to observe structural changes in the directional spillover of each target financial market before and after the pandemic's outbreak. Changes in hedging indicators of portfolios composed of two types of markets before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 are compared to provide directional guidance for investors to choose portfolios in the post-pandemic era. We found that the outbreak of the pandemic had a considerable impact on the volatility of various spillover effects of the studied markets. The total spillover level of the system increased rapidly by 18% in the early stages of the pandemic. Green bond was the largest net recipient of volatility spillovers in the whole system, followed by crude oil, while new energy was the largest net contributor of volatility spillovers in the whole system, followed by clean energy. After the outbreak, the hedging effectiveness of portfolios with long positions in traditional energy markets and short positions in emerging green markets improved significantly. In particular, a portfolio with long positions in the crude oil market and short positions in the green bond market is the best risk-hedging portfolio.

Unemployment and political participation in Africa: a study of Nigeria

The rate of unemployment in Africa and particularly Nigeria is increasing at a geometrical progression. This apparently spells doom for the future generation if not checked as a matter of urgency. In the case of Africa and Nigeria in particular, evidences abound to buttress the interconnectedness among unemployment, economic inequality and political participation. This scenario has overwhelming implications for sustainable political development of Nigeria. This paper undertakes to unearth the interactions between unemployment and political participation in Nigeria adopting the Marxist theory of post-colonial state which underlies the political economy approach. Data are drawn from secondary sources which, to a large extent, brings to the fore that the unemployed become victims of economic inequality, and given the high stakes in Nigeria politics, are prone to political apathy, frustration and hopelessness. The paper vehemently proposes that government should exercise the political will to engage constructively in dismantling all seemingly governance and institutional hindrances to popular participation. It is therefore, recommended that money politics be discouraged using appropriate legal measures. Various empowerment and job creation programmes should be objectively implemented to ameliorate the high incidences of economic inequality as a result of unemployment thereby encouraging greater political participation in Nigeria.

Performance of rural cooperatives’ production in Iran: Implications for sustainable development

One of the most important dimensions of cooperative systems, which have existed in Iran since 1974, is cooperative rural production enterprises. In this study, the performance of rural production cooperatives in Iran is examined in relation to the social capital components of the members. This study's statistical population consisted of 16,870 members from 41 cooperatives. 217 samples of cooperative members and 98 samples of the cooperative's management and board of directors were selected using the Cochran formula, and questionnaires were filled out for each group. The results showed that from the viewpoint of the members of rural cooperatives, the most important factor in improving the performance of cooperatives was the use of effective extension training (model-extension sites). The results also showed that members' satisfaction and training members of cooperatives can play an important role in improving the performance of cooperatives. The results of this research, while emphasizing the role of education (especially extension activities), can help rural development planners in improving the performance of rural cooperatives in their regions.

Spatial-Temporal Pattern of Agricultural Total Factor Productivity Change (Tfpch) in China and Its Implications for Agricultural Sustainable Development

With increasing tension between humans and land, and arising pressure on food security in China, the improvement of total factor productivity is important to realize agricultural modernization and promote rural revitalization strategy. In this study, we applied the DEA-Malmquist index method to measure the growth of China’s agricultural total factor productivity and its decomposition indexes at the prefecture-level city scale from 2011 to 2020. We found the average annual growth rate of agricultural total factor productivity was 4.5% during this period, with technical change being the driving factor and technical efficiency change being the suppressing factor. There is an initial decrease and then an increase in the Dagum Gini coefficient. The cold and hot spot areas of agricultural Tfpch were clearly formed. During the decade, the gravity center of agricultural Tfpch has migrated from the northeast to the southwest in general. Based on the characteristics of agricultural Tfpch, China is classified into four zones. In the future, the Chinese government should balance the government and the market mechanism, improve the agricultural science and technology innovation system and technology adoption promotion system, and implement classified policies to improve agriculture production efficiency.

Spatio-Temporal Variation and Climatic Driving Factors of Vegetation Coverage in the Yellow River Basin from 2001 to 2020 Based on kNDVI

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is a fundamental ecological barrier in China and is one of the regions where the ecological environment is relatively fragile. Studying the spatio-temporal variations in vegetation coverage in the YRB and their driving factors through a long-time-series vegetation dataset is of great significance to eco-environmental construction and sustainable development in the YRB. In this study, we sought to characterize the spatio-temporal variation in vegetation coverage and its climatic driving factors in the YRB from 2001 to 2020 by constructing a new kernel normalized difference vegetation index (kNDVI) dataset based on MOD13 A1 V6 data from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Using Theil–Sen median trend analysis, the Mann–Kendall test, and the Hurst exponent, we investigated the spatio-temporal variation characteristics and future development trends of the vegetation coverage. The climatic driving factors of vegetation coverage in the YRB were obtained via partial correlation analysis and complex correlation analysis of the associations between kNDVI and both temperature and precipitation. The results reveal the following: The spatial distribution pattern of kNDVI in the YRB showed that vegetation coverage was high in the southeast and low in the northwest. Vegetation coverage fluctuated from 2001 to 2020, with a main significant trend of increasing growth at a rate of 0.0995/5a. The response of vegetation to climatic factors was strong in the YRB, with a stronger response to precipitation than to temperature. Additionally, the main driving factors of vegetation coverage in the YRB were found to be non-climatic factors, which were mainly distributed in Henan, southern Shaanxi, Shanxi, western Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and eastern Gansu. The areas driven by climatic factors were mainly distributed in northern Shaanxi, Shandong, Qinghai, western Gansu, northeastern Inner Mongolia, and Sichuan. Our findings have implications for ecosystem restoration and sustainable development in the YRB.

A Hybrid Time Series Model for Predicting the Displacement of High Slope in the Loess Plateau Region

The physical and mechanical properties of the loess differ from other kinds of soil due to its collapsibility, which has resulted in the complex displacement development law of the loess slope. Therefore, the accurate estimation of the displacement of high slopes in a loess gully region is critical for the safety of people and in construction activities. In the present study, to improve the accuracy of traditional methods, the original cumulative displacement curve was decomposed into trend and fluctuation terms using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Wavelet Decomposition (WD). Subsequently, the results were estimated using the Support Vector Machine (SVR) and Long Short-Term Memory Network (LSTM) optimized by Biogeography-based Optimization (BBO), respectively. To select the most appropriate model, SVR, LSTM, EMD-SVR-LSTM, EMD-BBO-SVR-LSTM, and WD-BBO-SVR-LSTM were employed to predict the deformation of a loess slope in the Loess Plateau of China. According to the results, the displacement increases rapidly at the starting stage, and then gradually stabilizes, which is the same as the trend in reality. On comparing the predicted results with field data, it was found that the models with decomposition algorithms achieved higher accuracy. Particularly, the determination coefficient of the EMD-BBO-SVR-LSTM model reaches 0.928, which has better algorithm stability and prediction accuracy than other models. In this study, the decomposition algorithm was applied to the loess slope displacement innovatively, and the appropriate machine learning algorithm adopted for the displacement components. The method improves the accuracy of prediction and provides a new idea for instability warning of loess excavation slopes. The research has implications for urban construction and sustainable development in loess mountainous areas.

Systematic Literature Review Analysing Smart Tourism Destinations in Context of Sustainable Development: Current Applications and Future Directions

The growing popularity of smart tourism destinations (STDs) has increased the need to investigate their potential impact on sustainable development. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to analyse the past achievements and future directions of smart tourism destinations in the context of sustainable development. The review was conducted through a systematic literature review that examined 20 papers using a rigorous framework of the research problem, the primary delimitation of the research, and the definition of the data collection and extraction tools. The review focuses on identifying and analysing the current state of the research on SLRs in smart tourism destinations and their implications for sustainable development. This includes the research questions, methods, journals, dates of publications, and key themes. The review also examines the implications and limitations of SLRs in this field, and it identifies gaps in the literature and areas for future directions. The review found that SLRs have been used to examine the impacts of smart tourism destinations on various aspects of sustainable development, such as economic, social, and environmental aspects. Additionally, the review found that there is a growing interest in smart cities, with a focus on reducing the environmental footprint of tourism and promoting sustainable tourism development. The review also identified the emerging research areas in the literature, such as the achievement of the sustainable development goals, the adoption of green IT, smart energy, and waste management.

Monetary policy and bubbles in G7 economies using a panel VAR approach: Implications for sustainable development

We use the LPPLS Multi-Scale Confidence Indicator approach to detect both positive and negative bubbles in the short-, medium- and long-run for the stock markets of the G7 countries. We were able to detect major crashes and rallies in the seven stock markets over the monthly period of 1973:02 to 2020:09. We also observed similar timing of strong (positive and negative) LPPLS indicator values across the G7 countries, suggesting synchronized extreme movements in these stock markets. Given this, to obtain an overall picture of the G7, we used a panel VAR model to analyze the impact of monetary policy shocks on the six indicators of bubbles. We found that monetary policy not only impacts the bubble indicators but also responds to them, with the nature of the underlying responses contingent on whether bubbles are positive or negative in nature, as well as the time-scale we are analyzing. In light of these findings, our results have serious implications for monetary authorities of these advanced markets in terms of sustainable development, given the finance-growth nexus. But in general, we can conclude that central banks of the G7 can indeed “lean against the wind”, and they have also been doing so under both conventional and unconventional monetary policy periods.

Corporate environmental responsibility in polluting firms: Does digital transformation matter?

AbstractThe motivations for firms to undertake corporate environmental responsibility (CER) have been a hot topic in academia. However, with the rise of the digital economy, it is still been determined whether digital transformation will become a driving force for firms to assume CER. Based on panel data of Chinese listed firms in polluting industries, this article empirically tests whether and how digital transformation affects CER. The results show that digital transformation significantly motivates firms to assume more CER, especially for state‐owned and large‐scale firms and those located in the western region and ordinary‐level cities. The influence mechanism behind the relationship reveals that digital transformation improves financing ability and further encourages firms to assume CER. However, the effect is only short‐term and has no significant influence on the long‐term financing ability. Further research shows that regional differences in environmental governance pressure can strengthen the effect of digital transformation on CER. Our empirical findings provide policy implications for firms' digital transformation and sustainable development.

Assessment of Multiple Ecosystem Services and Ecological Security Pattern in Shanxi Province, China.

The ecological security pattern construction could effectively regulate ecological processes and ensure ecological functions, then rationally allocate natural resources and green infrastructure, and, finally, realize ecological security. In view of serious soil erosion, accelerated land desertification, soil pollution and habitat degradation in Shanxi Province, the spatial distribution of six key ecosystem services, including water conservation (WC), soil conservation (SC), sand fixation (SF), carbon storage (CS), net primary productivity (NPP) and habitat quality (HQ), was analyzed by using multiple models. The comprehensive ability of multiple ecosystem services in different regions was quantified by calculating multiple ecosystem services landscape index (MESLI). Combined with ecosystem services hotspots, the ecological security pattern of Shanxi Province was constructed by using the minimum cumulative resistance model. The results showed that the spatial differences in ecosystem services in Shanxi Province were obvious, which was low in the seven major basins and Fen River valley, and high in the mountains (especially Taihang and Lvliang Mountains) for WC, SC, CS, NPP and HQ, while high SF was only distributed in the northern Shanxi. The MESLI showed that the ability to provide multiple ecosystem services simultaneously was low in Shanxi Province, with the medium and low grade MESLI regions accounting for 58.61%, and only 18.07% for the high grade MESLI regions. The important protected areas and ecological sources of the ecological security pattern were concentrated in the Lvliang and Taihang Mountains, which were consistent with the key areas of ecosystem services. The ecological corridors illustrated network distribution with ecological sources as the center, the low-, medium- and high-level buffers accounted for 26.34%, 17.03% and 16.35%, respectively. The results will provide important implications for economic transformation, high-quality development and ecological sustainable development in resource-based regions worldwide.

Considerations for relational research methods for use in Indigenous contexts: implications for sustainable development

ABSTRACT Research has oftentimes been carried out in Indigenous communities for the sole benefit of the western researcher. As a result, feelings of distrust toward researchers and research institutions have become prevalent among Indigenous peoples. However, this distrust can be resolved through the use of research approaches and methods that reflect Indigenous perspectives, beliefs, and values and that centre the entire research process on the Indigenous community in question and their need for sustainable development. One such Indigenous research approach is rooted in relationality, whereby all living things and the natural world have a shared history and future. In this article, we explore the use of relational methods in research with Indigenous communities to decolonise the research process and capture Indigenous experiences using an inherently Indigenous approach. A systematic review of the extant literature to identify the key characteristics of relational methods used when conducting research with Indigenous peoples was conducted for the period 2012 to 2021. Five key characteristics of relational methods stood out, namely: collaboration, trusting and reciprocal relationships, flexibility, relational data, and reflexivity. These findings are discussed in the context of postcolonial theory and considerations for researching sustainable development in Indigenous communities.

Land-use mixing in Irish cities: Implications for sustainable development

Land-use configurations are explicitly related to the outcomes of numerous economic, social, and environmental policies. From a regional development perspective, efficiency in the use of natural resources, such as space, can positively contribute to sustainability efforts in these realms. This Viewpoint measures the efficiency of land and infrastructure usage within Irish metropolitan areas using relative entropy (i.e., land-use mixing). We find that land-use developments across Irish metropolitan areas are characterised by inefficient land-use configurations. We discuss these findings in the context of decades of urban sprawl in Ireland and illustrate how these developmental trends have thwarted efforts to achieve sustainability in regional development as laid out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Assessing the spillover effects of research and development and renewable energy on CO2emissions: international evidence.

The primary motivation of this paper is the lack of consensus on the impact of renewable energy (RE) and research and development (R&D) expenditure on CO2emissions in the literature. Current literature has mostly ignored the spillover effect of R&D on CO2emissions by increasing the intensity effect of technology, leading to biased results. Further, little is known about the impact of previous epidemics on CO2emissions. This study fills these gaps by evaluating the spillover effects of RE and R&D on CO2emissions in a global panel of54countries from2003to2017. Using a two-way time- and spatial-fixed-effects panel analysis, we find both income-induced and scale effects of economic growth are present in our panel, though the scale effect is the dominant one. Our findings indicate that economic growth increases CO2emissions at a decreasing rate, validating the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, and that urbanization and foreign trade worsen the environment. We also find that epidemic episodes before COVID-19had a nonsignificant impact on CO2emissions internationally. More importantly, our results confirm the presence of both the intensity and scale effects of R&D, with the intensity effect being the dominant one. We find overwhelming evidence that global R&D investment led to an overall (direct plus spillover) reduction of CO2emissions, driven by its spillover effect, through two channels: RE and economic growth. Finally, we find that RE installations assist with reducing CO2emissions internationally, though RE composition and state of R&D can lead to different findings. Our findings have significant policy implications for sustainable development. Our RE and R&D-spillover results support the policy recommendation of shifting to high-tech clean energy sources.

A fuzzy DEMATEL decision modeling framework for identifying key human resources challenges in start-up companies: Implications for sustainable development

Human resources (HR) management is vital in developing organizational performance and profit maximization. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and emerging start-ups struggle to establish a functioning HR department, while larger organizations tend to reinvent their HR functions with updated visions and strategies. The role of HR practice yields more attention in SMEs and growing start-ups because of their increased failure rate. However, hindered by various challenges, selecting suitable HR practices for start-up companies has become difficult. This study investigates key challenges when choosing appropriate HR practices for start-ups based on a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Firstly, 43 challenges were identified through a literature survey and consultation with experts. Later, considering the imprecise and subjective nature of the DEMATEL method on human judgments, the fuzzy DEMATEL approach is proposed to investigate the significance of identified challenges and the cause–effect relationships among them. From these findings, we identified that 21 challenges are causal factors that influence HR practice developments more. When selecting the best HR practices for their business, these cause factors will help management understand which challenges need to be removed and assist them in controlling their HR activities.

Green Investment, Technological Progress, and Green Industrial Development: Implications for Sustainable Development

Environmental reformation of old-fashioned sectors and the establishment of new pro-ecological businesses via green investment are the main driving forces behind the revolution in the Chinese industrial sector. Green investment aids in the growth of environmentally friendly industries. Hence, the primary objective of the analysis is to investigate the impact of green investment and technological progress on green industrial development. The results of the unit root tests encourage us to apply the ARDL model. The short and long-run estimates attached to R&D expenditures are positively significant, confirming that increasing R&D expenditures help improve the industrial structure. Similarly, the short and long-run estimates attached to green finance investment are positively significant, signifying that green investment benefits the industrial structure. Empirical findings show that technology significantly aggravates industrial structure development in only the long run. Thus, for green industrial development in China, there is a need to increase green investment and technological development up to top-level design.

Geoelectrical, Hydrogeological and Hydrochemical Investigations of the University of Calabar Campus (SE Nigeria): Implications for sustainable groundwater development

The rapid increase in population and infrastructural development has triggered unplanned groundwater development leading to severe stress on groundwater couple with several unsuccessful boreholes or failure of existing in the University of Calabar, Calabar (Nigeria). Hence, an integrated hydrogeological study was undertaken in the university using vertical electrical sounding (VES), to delineate and characterise aquifers and assess the groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation uses, in addition to evolution and human health risk assessment. The results reveal two water bearing units. The first is composed of medium-coarse-gravelly sand with thickness and resistivity in the range 3.6–118.8 m and 540–3500 Ω m, while the second underlying the first aquifer is composed of clayey, fine-medium sand with resistivity and thickness values in the range 44–2200 Ω m and 50 - α. Aquifer parameters from VES and pumping tests showed average hydraulic conductivity (K) and transmissivity (T) of 180 m/day and 25,740 m2/day for the first aquifer and 180 m/day and 21,384 m2/day for the second aquifer. Regionally, the groundwater flow in the university occurs toward the south. Hydrochemical data show that all the physical parameters, major and minor ions, trace and rare earth elements are within the maximum acceptable limits for drinking and agricultural uses. The dominant hydrochemical facies are Na+-Ca2+-Cl--SO42-, Mg2+-Ca2+-HCO3--Cl- and Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3--Cl- with silicate weathering, ion exchange and reverse ion exchange as the major processess controlling the groundwater chemistry. Health risk of water through oral (drinking) and dermal (bathing) pathways showed that values of hazard quotients (HQs) and hazard index (HI) of all the trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) were less than one. This suggests that these elements does not pose any adverse risks to the local people through drinking and bathing, but children are more sensitive than adults. This study will serve as a guide for future sustainable development and management of groundwater resource in the university and its environs.

Application of non-target screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry to identification and control of new contaminants: Implications for sustainable industrial development

Industrial production is the foundation of national infrastructure and economic development, but also brings about environmental pollution as well as other related problems. Since the detection of dioxins in flue gases and fly ash emitted by waste incineration in 1977, research on dioxin emissions, environmental impact, and control technologies and principles—in industries such as incineration and metallurgy—has been ongoing for nearly 50 years. However, research on new pollutants released by industry remains lacking. Although there are case studies on new pollutants (such as hexachlorobutadiene and polychlorinated naphthalenes) from industrial processes such as incineration, comprehensive identification and understanding remains lacking. Non-target screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry has developed rapidly in recent years. The ultra-high resolution of mass spectrometry connected to chromatography could facilitate comprehensive identification of hundreds of thousands of pollutants unintentionally formed during industrial activities, which thus further advance the recognition of industrial emissions by stack gas or solid residues, such as fly ash. The breakthrough screening technique by high resolution mass spectrometry is expected to be used in identification, toxicity and risk assessment, as well as emissions control of new industrial pollutants. Such technology is promising in terms of supporting sustainable industrial development.

New Framework for Multidimensional Environmental Well-being for Sustainable Development

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to develop a Multidimensional Environmental Well-Being Criteria (MEWC) using the censored achievement approach, specifically the Alkire-Foster counting methodology. Its overall objective is to use MEWC to measure the multiple environmental deprivations. It provides a comparison of empirical evidence of the existing monetary and multidimensional poverty index (MPI) measures and the proposed MEWC. The MEWC is composed of three indicators: crop productivity, level of perceived environmental knowledge, and agricultural and extension education. For empirical analysis, the authros randomly sample 376 households from 20 communities in the Abuakwa North and South municipalities in Ghana. The empirical analysis is divided in two parts: part one provides information on existing well-being parameters such as income/poverty metrics (upper and lower poverty lines) and multidimensional poverty index (MPI); and the second part analyzes the fieldwork element related to the three identified indicators of environmental wellbeing and its implications for sustainable development for the selected regions in Ghana, and how it could be applied to other municipalities/districts and other countries. The incidence and severity of environmental deprivation, robustness checks, and statistical inference are also analyzed. Results show that MEWC for the two municipalities in Ghana is 0.46 or 46%, which represents the proportion of deprivations that the multi-environmentally poor in the sampled communities experience, as a share of the multi-environmental deprivations that would be experienced if all persons were multi-environmentally poor and deprived in all the dimensions of multiple environmental poverty. From a policy perspective, MEWC could be used to track the sustainable development goals targeting the poor and to design policies and strategies that address the inter-twined environmental deprivations of the poor. The MEWC could also contribute to addressing the technical problems emanating from the multidimensionality of the concept of poverty.