Consumer Resource Research Articles

Green Building Technology and Sustainable Construction: The Case of Pakistan

ABSTRACT The construction industry (CI) has been at the center of the discussion on sustainable development as the largest consumer of resources and energy. The sustainable development goals offer the construction sector a general direction for pursuing sustainable development from social, environmental and economic perspectives. A sustainable and low-carbon future requires the promotion of sustainable building. In Pakistan, sustainable buildings are potentially difficult to adopt on a large scale, which requires further consideration. This research therefore aims to identify green building technologies (GBTs) and analyze the main drivers of the adoption of GBTs for future sustainable construction from the stakeholders’ perspective in Pakistan. The data were collected using a survey in the form of a questionnaire of 349 CI stakeholders, and the partial least squares structural equation modelling (SEM) method was applied. The results showed that environmental drivers have the highest significant influence on the adoption of GBTs, and that it is also significantly influenced by energy and industry-related drivers. However, company-related and economic drivers have an insignificant influence. Based on the study's findings, it is recommended that government authorities and concerned stakeholders should be competent, proactive, and active in the successful promotion of GBTs in Pakistan.

Can adaptive prey refuge facilitate species coexistence in Bazykin’s prey–predator model?

Bazykin’s prey–predator system with constant and adaptive prey refuge is investigated in this paper. We examine Bazykin’s resource consumer system with exponential growth rate and by employing constant prey refuge we demonstrate that refuge does promote species coexistence. The incorporation of constant prey refuge expands the stability zone for the interior equilibrium. Furthermore, the bifurcation diagram with reference to prey refuge (ur) shows how ur influences the system’s behavior from unstable to periodic stability and then to equilibrium stability. Next, we provide a Bazykin’s model with adaptive prey refuge and develop a fitness function for the prey population using refuge as a strategy and in order to obtain the prey’s optimal response to the environment we determine evolutionary stable strategies (ESS). Our model consists of more than one ESS, thus we employ the best response dynamics for the prey strategy. Our analysis showcases that adaptive refuge used by the prey population promotes the coexistence of prey–predator dynamics. Our theoretical analysis is supported by extensive numerical simulations. Bifurcation diagrams with reference to the two most crucial parameters, namely, δ2 (intra-species competition rate among predators) and τ (the rate at which populations adapt to their environment), are included in the numerical analysis. Species cohabitation along a limit cycle or at an equilibrium is discovered to be dependent on the pace of strategy dynamics and the competition amongst predator species.

Nutritional thermal ecology: investigating the combined influence of temperature and nutrient availability on plant‐ectotherm trophic interactions

Many primary consumers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems are ectotherms (e.g. zooplankton and insects), whose metabolisms, and therefore nutritional demands, are modulated by temperature. Further, nutrient availability largely influences the quality of resources consumed by these organisms, and hence affects whether nutritional demands of consumers are fulfilled. From these considerations, a crucial question arises: how do temperature and nutrient availability together modulate trophodynamics at the basis of food webs? Addressing this question for zooplankton and insects is essential since these consumers are the most abundant metazoans on Earth, and they link primary production to higher trophic levels. Here, we synthesize the existing literature and offer avenues to guide future scientific endeavours. We highlight that the vast majority of studies on the combined influence of temperature and nutrient availability published to date focus on at least one of the following research topics: 1) metabolic requirements of ectotherms; 2) feeding behaviour; 3) eco‐evolutionary processes; and 4) trophodynamics. We pose that further advances in this field of research may provide a robust understanding of how modulations of consumer metabolic requirements and resource quality define consumer–producer interactions across marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. This research effort would enable to combine the fields of Ecological stoichiometry and of Metabolic theory of ecology, and create an integrated approach, which we propose to call Nutritional thermal ecology.

Perceiving less but wasting more: The relationship between perceived resource scarcity and consumer food waste

Consumers' food-related behaviors often culminate in significant food waste. Surprisingly however, limited attention has been given to psychological reasons why this occurs. Across four studies, this research suggests that, because perceived resource scarcity activates a resource acquisition goal, under conditions where product scarcity is not present it leads consumers to engage in inaccurate over-acquisition of resources (i.e., food), resulting in greater waste. Studies 1a (quasi-experimental field study) and 1b (lab experiment) test the role of perceived resource scarcity in predicting food acquisition and waste. Studies 2a and 2b are correlational and measure household food waste to demonstrate that resource acquisition accuracy mediates the relationship between perceived resource scarcity and food waste.

Ensuring a fit-for-purpose resource for consumers, clinicians and health services: The updated Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standard.

Ensuring a fit-for-purpose resource for consumers, clinicians and health services: The updated Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standard.

A Review on Experimental Study of Design of Rigid Pavement by using Recycled Coarse Aggregate with M30 Mix Design

Concrete, a fundamental construction material, boasts attributes like durability, versatility, and cost- effectiveness. However, the depletion of natural resources and the escalating concrete waste production necessitate innovative solutions. In this rapidly industrializing world, recycling construction materials plays a pivotal role in preserving our finite resources. Concrete pavements, widely practiced in developed countries, are relatively new in India. Selecting the right pavement type is crucial, but equally important is determining the optimal pavement thickness based on traffic levels, subgrade conditions, and environmental factors. Unfortunately, many existing methodologies overlook critical factors (such as vehicle loads, support loss, thermal gradients, and environmental stress), leading to inaccurate thickness calculations. In this context, rigid pavement construction using recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) emerges as an eco-friendly and cost- effective solution. In a recent research endeavour, Recycled Coarse Aggregates (RCAs) sourced from demolished material took center stage. These demolished materials are meticulously crushed to a suitable size and repurposed as recycled coarse aggregate. Meanwhile, natural sand continues to serve as the fine aggregate. Notably, the concrete industry consumes a staggering 12.6 billion tons of raw materials annually, making it the world’s largest natural resource consumer. The environmental impact of concrete production—especially the extraction of raw ingredients such as cement, coarse aggregates, and fine aggregates—is considerable. To address this, the study employed a trial-and-error approach for mix design, adhering to relevant standards (such as IS code and IRC: 44-2008). For M30 grade cement concrete, varying percentages (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of recycled coarse aggregates replaced conventional coarse aggregates. Casting used cube and beam models to obtain laboratory test results for rigid pavement to determine how much optimal percentage of RCA can be substituted in place of NCA. By integrating RCAs, we not only mitigate environmental impact but also contribute to sustainable rigid pavement structures. Key Words: Rigid Pavement Design, Recycled Coarse Aggregate, RCA Concrete, Natural Coarse Aggregate, NCA Concrete, Mix Proportion, Pavement Thickness, Life Cycle Cost, And Environmental Benefits etc.

Dynamic optimisation of carbon allowance considering inter-provincial energy resources trade for emissions reduction: Case of China southern power grid

As the main carrier of natural resources into energy, the power industry is the world's largest carbon emitter, and its sustainable development will have far-reaching impacts on the utilization of natural resources and economic growth. Carbon trading market is a widely used tool to promote proactive emissions reductions in the electricity industry in different regions. On this basis, inter-provincial trading in the power industry creates a hidden carbon transfer between producers and consumers of energy resources. Therefore, it is necessary to construct systematic multi-period emission reduction measures to deal with the conflict and coordination of the operation of the two systems. In this study, to promote orderly emission reductions in the power industry in areas with different natural resource endowments, a two-tier decision-making model for carbon allowances allocation based on interactive model predictive control technique is constructed. The model readjustss the overall allowances by tracking the implied carbon transfer flows between regions and implementing a production-oriented allowance compensation mechanism, forming an optimisation strategy for carbon compliance cost and emission intensity in the power sector. The experimental results show that adjusting the regional allowance distribution in inter-provincial transmission can alleviate the impact of high emission reduction pressure on the overall carbon compliance cost, while the rolling horizon optimisation of the carbon baseline value can approach the expected emission reduction target in stages. Taking the Southern Power Grid as an example, this study ultimately provides policy recommendations for sustainable emission reductions under multi-period inter-provincial trade in energy resources.

Enhancing sustainability in irrigation networks: A multicriteria method for optimizing flow distribution and reducing environmental impact

Irrigation systems significantly enhance agricultural productivity but are also substantial consumers of water, energy, and natural resources. The need to optimize their design encouraged agronomic engineering to develop various methods for improving the design and management of these irrigation networks. This development focuses on creating a tool to define the optimal flow distribution according to the system's irrigation or consumption needs, thereby determining the design flows. The aim is to optimize the design of pipe diameters to improve sustainability (i.e., reducing CO2 emissions, minimizing service pressure, and maximizing recoverable energy within the system). These principles ensure a better evaluation of sustainable development goals within agricultural production. The proposed procedure develops a strategy to define the best-fitting distribution using a multicriteria solution. As novel, the research develops a tool, which characterizes flow distributions deviating from the classic Clement's formulation used in irrigation systems. The proposed method was applied in a Mediterranean irrigation system in Spain, achieving a correlation coefficient above 0.9 in the model. This methodology addresses design criteria in terms of sustainability and reduces energy consumption in networks. It achieved material savings of 6.01 % compared to the observed network, reducing CO2 emissions between 5.61 and 5.72 TnCO2/ha over its lifecycle.

Evolution of sustainable retailing and how it influences consumer behavior: a bibliometric review

ABSTRACT Over the years, sustainability has garnered much attention owing to evidence of climate change, United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals, pandemics, and the changing behavior of millennials. Retailers are one of the largest consumers of global natural and human resources. They have joined the sustainability bandwagon by pledging resources and communicating the same to their target customers for better business positioning. This study aims to analyze the conceptual structure of sustainability in the context of retail enterprises and its role in shaping consumer behavior. Therefore, it leverages bibliometric techniques to elaborate on the productivity and impact of the existing body of knowledge in this area through performance analysis and discover the knowledge clusters through science mapping. The data used for this study were sourced by querying the Scopus database for the intersection of terms related to ‘sustainability,’ ‘retail,’ and ‘consumer behavior.’ Subsequently, they were processed and illustrated using RStudio and the bibliometrix package for R to drive insights in bibliometric summaries, including tables, maps, and networks. In addition to highlighting temporal and spatial trends and dominant themes, the study suggests future research avenues in sustainable retailing.

Quantifying massively parallel microbial growth with spatially mediated interactions.

Quantitative understanding of microbial growth is an essential prerequisite for successful control of pathogens as well as various biotechnology applications. Even though the growth of cell populations has been extensively studied, microbial growth remains poorly characterised at the spatial level. Indeed, even isogenic populations growing at different locations on solid growth medium typically show significant location-dependent variability in growth. Here we show that this variability can be attributed to the initial physiological states of the populations, the interplay between populations interacting with their local environment and the diffusion of nutrients and energy sources coupling the environments. We further show how the causes of this variability change throughout the growth of a population. We use a dual approach, first applying machine learning regression models to discover that location dominates growth variability at specific times, and, in parallel, developing explicit population growth models to describe this spatial effect. In particular, treating nutrient and energy source concentration as a latent variable allows us to develop a mechanistic resource consumer model that captures growth variability across the shared environment. As a consequence, we are able to determine intrinsic growth parameters for each local population, removing confounders common to location-dependent variability in growth. Importantly, our explicit low-parametric model for the environment paves the way for massively parallel experimentation with configurable spatial niches for testing specific eco-evolutionary hypotheses.

INDIA AND THE CENTRAL ASIAN FACTOR OF EURASIA’S ENERGY AND TRANSPORT SECTOR RESTRUCTURING

The article analyzes the prerequisites and main directions of India’s possible actions to expand its influence in the Central Asian region. The author assesses the importance of transport and energy projects in Central Eurasia for India, as one of the key consumers of energy resources from Russia and Central Asian states. Another spotlight of this research is the strategy for expansion of Indian-Uzbek cooperation as the most promising support base for the implementation of India’s geopolitical and geo-economic interests in the region.The ongoing and deepening global geoeconomic and geopolitical transformations are creating a wide field of opportunities for restructuring of the continental energy and transport systems. In these conditions, the Indian leadership is required to take active steps in implementing its foreign policy so as not to remain on the sidelines of large-scale projects for the development of key areas of the continent, including the resource and transit potential of Russia and Central Asia.

Technology modification, development, and demonstrations for future spaceflight medical systems at NASA

Throughout the history of human spaceflight, spacefarers have experienced and reported the occurrence of medical conditions, including various illnesses and injuries. Therefore, future spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars will require the capabilities necessary for maintaining the health of these new space travelers. Mass, power, and volume available in the space vehicles used for these missions will be severely constrained. The ability to resupply or evacuate to Earth will be limited or non-existent, and ground-based support will no longer be immediate due to communication latencies and blackouts. These vehicle and mission constraints will necessitate healthcare be provided from an efficiently planned medical system. To provide the necessary care, these medical systems will need to include at a minimum, several different types of medical devices, consumable resources, centralized data management, procedural guidance, and decision support technologies. Medical devices needed for diagnosing and treating medical conditions that are expected to occur during future spaceflight missions may include real-time health monitoring, medical imaging capabilities, as well as blood and urine analysis. Novel methods for interacting with onboard patient medical records will be necessary, as will resource tracking. Terrestrial medicine shares many of these same needs, therefore a multitude of these required medical capabilities can likely be satisfied by currently available, Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices and methodologies; however, in some cases the unique space environment and increased mission durations will drive the need for modifications or customization of standard technologies and treatment procedures. This article will provide a review of medical devices and technologies that have been considered for inclusion within future spaceflight medical systems. It will also include a discussion about the modifications and customized development that have been performed, as well as descriptions of the technology demonstrations that have been conducted in analog and spaceflight environments.

Ensuring a fit-for-purpose resource for consumers, clinicians and health services: the updated Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standard.

Ensuring a fit-for-purpose resource for consumers, clinicians and health services: the updated Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standard.

Extending Structure Life via Intelligent Digitization: the Nibelungen Bridge as a Pilot Project

The construction industry is a significant consumer of natural resources and a major contributor to CO2 emissions in Germany, accounting for an annual waste volume of 54%. Therefore, preserving existing structures can play a crucial role in environmental protection and resource conservation. To achieve this goal, effective monitoring and maintenance concepts are essential to extend the service life of structures while ensuring their stability and functionality. In 2022, the German Research Foundation launched a priority program called 'SPP 100+' with the objective of fundamentally redefining the current maintenance strategy for infrastructure structures through intelligent digitization. This paper focuses on the Nibelungen Bridge in Worms, which serves as a validation case in this program. The paper begins by presenting the Nibelungen Bridge and its maintenance history. It then outlines key aspects, including geometric modeling, structural health monitoring (SHM), digital twinning, level 4 recalculation considering complex nonlinearities, and the assessment of detected structural damages. In the end, conclusions and outlooks are given.

Water resources of the Podilia region and their use

Purpose. To analyze the state of water resources of the Podilsk region and the territorial features of water use in order to optimize their use. Methods. Methods of system-structural analysis, statistical, cartographic, modeling. Rresults. The current state and peculiarities of the use of water resources in the territory of the administrative districts of the Podilsk region were analyzed according to the indicators of total water intake from natural water bodies, the use of fresh water in general and the sectoral structure of water use. The main consumers of water resources in the region are industrial enterprises and housing and communal services. The largest share of underground water intake is in Ternopil Oblast, and the smallest in Vinnytsia, which is related to natural reserves of underground water. The largest volumes of water intake from natural water bodies and the use of fresh water are observed in the Khmelnytskyi region, and the smallest - in the Ternopil region. The analysis of the dynamics of water use indicators over the period 2020-2022 determined a decrease in the volume of water intake, especially in 2022, in all regions of the region. The largest share of water is used in the regions of the region for production needs. Conclusions. The dynamics of water consumption in all regions of the region has a tendency to decrease the volume of water intake. There are certain differences in the amount of surface and underground water intake. For many administrative districts and territorial communities, the problem of rational use of water resources is relevant.

Magnesite Mine Waste as a Sustainable Binder for Low-Fines Self-Compacting Concrete: Engineering Property and Ecological Impact

<p>Mine waste management has become a global concern due to its environmental and health impacts, as well as the high cost of disposal. Recent advancements focus on recycling mine waste into resources using effective conservation methods and waste management systems. The building sector, a major consumer of natural resources, has seen studies on using waste materials in concrete. This study examined the feasibility of replacing cement with mine waste in two phases - binary blend (cement + mine waste) and ternary blend (cement + fly ash + mine waste) at 10%, 20%, and 30% doses. The study evaluated fresh properties like slump flow, T50 slump, V-funnel, J-ring, and L-box, and hardened properties like compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strengths. It also investigated microstructural characteristics, cost, energy impact, and CO2 emissions. The results showed good performance in fresh characteristics for almost all mixtures but failure in hardened properties. The achieved strength was backed by microstructural analysis. Binary blended SCC reduced costs by 5%, energy by 25%, and CO2 emissions by 28%, while ternary blended SCC cut costs by 8%, energy by 32%, and CO2 emissions by 36%.</p>

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Tools for Assisting Low-Carbon Architectural Design: Merging the Use of Machine Learning, Large Language Models, and Building Information Modeling for Life Cycle Assessment Tool Development

The construction sector is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions and a major consumer of non-renewable resources. Architectural design decisions play a critical role in a building’s carbon footprint, making it essential to incorporate environmental analyses at various design stages. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling (BIM) can support designers in achieving low-carbon architectural design. The proposed solution involves the development of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool. This study presents a novel approach to optimizing the environmental impact of architectural projects. It combines machine learning (ML), large language models (LLMs), and building information modeling (BIM) technologies. The first case studies present specific examples of tools developed for this purpose. The first case study details a machine learning-assisted tool used for estimating carbon footprints during the design phase and shows numerical carbon footprint optimization results. The second case study explores the use of LLMs, specifically ChatGPT, as virtual assistants to suggest optimizations in architectural design and shows tests on the suggestions made by the LLM. The third case study discusses integrating BIM in the form of an IFC file, carbon footprint analysis, and AI into a comprehensive 3D application, emphasizing the importance of AI in enhancing decision-making processes in architectural design.

Transformation or more of the same? The EU’s deforestation-free products regulation through a radical transformation lens

The European Union (EU) is a major consumer of forest-risks commodities and therefore a key contributor to imported deforestation. In 2023, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) entered into force, which aims to counter the imported deforestation resulting from EU consumption of cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, wood and derived products. With this regulation, the EU is seemingly recognising its position as one of the world's largest consumers of natural resources and land-consuming agricultural products and adjusting its economy in the face of the global biodiversity, climate and planetary justice crises. In this article, we develop a radical transformation framework to put the EUDR to the test, asking to what extent the EUDR provides a truly transformative response to today’s planetary socio-ecological and justice crises. We develop a four-pronged radical transformation framework bridging insights from transformation, degrowth, Indigenous and decolonial environmental justice, restorative justice and science and technology studies. Concretely, we distil four tenets of radical transformation: onto-epistemic transformation, political transformation, economic transformation and judicial transformation. We apply our framework tentatively to the EUDR to illustrate its practical use, raise questions and highlight possible points of tension. Our preliminary findings point to the simultaneous existence in the EUDR’s design of elements potentially paving the way for counter-hegemonic (re)interpretations and uses on the ground and elements reflecting and reinscribing existing hegemonies.

Pengaruh Sumber Daya Manusia Dalam Pengembangan Digital Marketing Terhadap Minat Beli

This research aims to investigate the influence of human resources in digital marketing development on consumer purchasing interest, at business source stores. The research method used is quantitative using a questionnaire as a data collection tool. The sample for this research is consumers of business source stores who have made online transactions. Data analysis was carried out using multiple linear regression to test the relationship between digital marketing human resource variables and consumer buying interest. The research results show that human resources who are skilled and experienced in digital marketing have a positive and significant influence on consumer buying interest. The managerial implication of this research is the importance of investing in developing quality human resources in the digital marketing field to increase consumer buying interest and strengthen the competitive advantage of business resource stores in the market.

Estimating Agricultural Irrigation Water Usage in Delaware, USA

Irrigation is an important agricultural management practice and the second largest consumer of freshwater resources in Delaware. As more farmland is converted to irrigated agriculture, it is crucial that water resource managers be able to determine reasonable estimates of irrigation water usage in order to protect the resource. This study used a soil water balance approach to simulate irrigation for corn and soybeans in Delaware (USA). The simulations were divided into four scenarios to determine which irrigation management method best represents agricultural irrigation water usage in Delaware. Two scenarios utilized an evapotranspiration-based (ET-based) approach using meteorological data from the Delaware Environmental Observing System (DEOS) with a soil water availability threshold to determine when and how much to irrigate. A second set of scenarios used a calendar-based approach and a rain gauge trigger to simulate irrigation. Analyses were performed to examine the seasonal and spatial variability of irrigation in Delaware and to compare simulated irrigation data to reported water use data provided by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Water Allocation Permit program. Seasonal irrigation varied due to environmental as well as irrigation decision making factors. Spatially, irrigation varied primarily as a result of the soil water holding properties. The ET-based scenario with a fixed amount of irrigation had the best agreement with the reported irrigated water use data. This study demonstrated the utility of high-resolution, environmental data with a soil water balance approach to improve estimates of irrigated water usage at the state and regional scale.