Special Section Research Articles

Civic Mobilization against Democratic Backsliding in Post-Communist Europe

In this thematic cluster, we explore why and how democratic erosion in post-Communist Europe has led to widespread civic mobilization. We set out the goals and motivations of citizens who choose to protest in defense of liberal democracy. We also compare across cases what pro-democracy protestors believe they have achieved by protesting—and what kinds of changes they believe are needed to end or attenuate the democratic erosion that sent them into the streets. The different contributions to this special section highlight variation in the role of elections: while protestors in some countries expect electing a new government to bring substantial, positive change, protestors in other countries consider that long-term structural reforms are needed. Still other protestors choose to back an electoral boycott as a way to express their opposition to the regime. Even when protests do not achieve short-term goals, such as spurring policy reversals, policy reforms, or changes in government, protestors believe that they raise awareness in society about democratic processes and the role of citizens in them. We also explore how democratic backsliding has impacted the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, which has generally benefited from democratization over the last three decades in post-Communist Europe.

African ecologies: literary, cultural, and religious perspectives – introduction

This article offers an introduction to the special section about the theme of ‘African Ecologies: Literature, Culture and Religion’. It explores the current interdisciplinary field of scholarship on ecology, environment, and climate change in Africa, mapping contributions from across the Humanities and the Social and Environmental Sciences. The article positions this special section in this ever-expanding body of literature, specifically deploying the notion of ‘African ecologies’ as a heuristic lens to examine how the relationship and interaction between living organisms, including humans, and the natural environment is conceived. It argues that social, cultural, literary, and religious ecology provide vital perspectives to enrich and expand the understanding of African ecologies, thereby expanding inventories of possibilities as climate change response pathways. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)

Introduction to the special section on cancer survivors and treatment-related accelerated aging.

Introduction to the special section on cancer survivors and treatment-related accelerated aging.

In partnership, for partnership

After almost a year of planning an international conference on student partnership for humanitarian action with the UN Refugee Agency, a student-faculty partnership reflect on the learning process they undertook, and how years of working together built a strong foundation for this project. Working in partnership to communicate the importance of partnership to address complex global issues signifies the importance of engaging multi-level stakeholders in new, innovative solutions. This introduction to the special section titled after the conference provides the context for this challenging yet rewarding feat made possible with a community of partnerships.

MANAJEMEN PENGELOLAAN APLIKASI ZAKAT SiMBA PADA BADAN AMIL ZAKAT NASIONAL DI KALIMANTAN TIMUR

This research was motivated by the existence of the SiMBA zakat application at BAZNAS in East Kalimantan, however the operation of this zakat application has not been effective and efficient and is only operated by four daily implementers, so there is no special section that manages this application. This research is also qualitative field research. with data collection techniques in the form of observations at 3 (three) research loci, interviews with SiMBA zakat application managers, and documents related to the research. The results of this research are, first: management of the SiMBA zakat application at BAZNAS Balikpapan City, second: obstacles to the management of the SiMBA zakat application come from two factors, namely internal and external, the internal factor is the incomplete data entered by the SiMBA zakat application operator.

Introduction to the Special Section on Contact-free Smart Sensing in AIoT

Introduction to the Special Section on Contact-free Smart Sensing in AIoT

Legal safeguards for nature conservation and environmental preservation

The current situation with the surrounding natural environment has reached a critical point, making nature conservation questions highly relevant today. The research aims to examine the key legislative provisions regarding the protection of nature and the environment. The study utilizes methods of analysis, synthesis, scientific generalization, and formal-structural methods. The publication addresses the correlation between ecological and nature-resource law. It is stated that legal protection of nature and the environment in Ukraine operates on three levels: constitutional, legislative, and at the level of sub-legal normative legal acts. The content of the Law of Ukraine, "On the Protection of the Environment," has been analyzed. This approach allowed for the classification of the provisions of the law into two major groups: functionally competent and those intended to ensure the general mechanism of environmental protection implementation. The appropriateness of using the term "environment" rather than "natural environment" at the level of Chapter VIII of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is considered. After reviewing the content of Chapter VIII of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the authors conclude that most criminal offenses in this Chapter are characterized by the material composition of a crime. Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was chosen as an example of analysis. The article discusses the elements of the criminal offense prescribed by Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the sanctions provided by the legislator for this type of criminal offense. Recommendations were developed to allow courts to impose penalties for violations more substantively under Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The authors described the qualified composition of the criminal offense prescribed by Part 2 of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The paper investigates the place of ecocide in the system of criminal offenses against peace, the security of humanity, and international law. It examines the name of the special section of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, noting its somewhat unconventional nature.

Introduction

It is my pleasure to introduce Volume 25, No. 2 of Enterprise and Society. In this issue, we are pleased to present a special section on “Corporate Responses to Racial Unrest,” guest-edited by Michael Thate and Tyesha Maddox. The section commences with a scene-setting introduction from the guest editors, followed by three papers. The first is from Keith Hollingsworth on the aftermath of the Atlanta race riot of 1906, followed by Mattie Webb on an exercise in the art of the possible, waging the battle against Apartheid in South African workplaces. This section is rounded off by Sethulego Matebesi’s exploration of responses to civil society mobilization among South African mining companies. Taken together, these four essays break important new ground and indicate promising lines of future research.

Contribution of advanced windows and façades to buildings decarbonization: A comprehensive review

On a global level the building sector consumes about 45.00% of energy consumption, contributes about 40.00% to emission, uses 30.00% of water and impacts the environment by generating 30.00% of waste. Although windows are important components of a building that provide natural lighting and ventilation and establish necessary contact with the external environment necessary for healthy indoor ambient, they permit entry of undesirable solar heat in summer and allow escaping heat from the indoor ambient in cold seasons, which aggravate the building needs for energy and increase its contribution to atmospheric emissions. The present investigation provides a review on research, development, and applications of advanced windows in the building sector. The introduction highlights the importance and contribution of advanced glazing technology to improving energy, comfort, and thermal performance of buildings. The review includes natural illumination and ventilation, thermal comfort and discusses the effects of window to wall ratio on natural illumination and ventilation of windows and façades. The review also covers recent developments in glazed windows and façades including performance enhancements by using reflective solar films, vacuum glazing, windows with filling materials, windows with water flow, window with phase change material, window with stagnant inert gas filling, ventilated windows and façades and windows with aerogel. A special section was also included on smart glazing for windows and façades showing the new tendencies and applications in the building industry. Since commercial programs and open access codes are handy tools for simulation and performance calculations a section is dedicated to these codes. The conclusion section contains the most relevant conclusion of the review as well as future trends in research and developments in the area. The topics included in this review can be helpful for experienced and young researchers, practicing engineers and general readers interested in windows and façades.

Adaptive support for self‐regulated learning in digital learning environments

AbstractA core focus of self‐regulated learning (SRL) research lies in uncovering methods to empower learners within digital learning environments. As digital technologies continue to evolve during the current hype of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, the theoretical, empirical and methodological nuances to support SRL are emerging and offering new ways for adaptive support and guidance for learners. Such affordances offer a unique opportunity for personalised learning experiences, including adaptive interventions. Exploring the application of adaptivity to enhance SRL is an important and emerging area of research that requires further attention. This editorial introduces the contributions of seven papers for the special section on adaptive support for SRL within digital learning environments. These papers explore various themes related to enhancing SRL strategies through technological interventions, offering valuable insights and paving the way for future advancements in this dynamic area.

Bangladesh and New Development Bank (NDB): Accession and after, money and more

AbstractThis article examines Bangladesh's new membership in the BRICS‐led New Development Bank (NDB), as the Bangladesh country study for the Special Section on ‘The Evolution of New Development Bank: A Decade Plus in the Making’, in Global Policy journal. In September 2021, Bangladesh became the first country outside of the original BRICS founding members to join NDB. The analysis details how Bangladesh went about joining NDB, especially the geopolitics and diplomacy between Bangladesh and the key NDB founding members (India, China, Russia) which supported Bangladesh's entry; why Bangladesh joined NDB, the main motivations or interests; and how NDB membership is turning out for Bangladesh after acceding to the Bank, what are Bangladesh and the Bank actually doing together, are they realizing the main opportunities as intended, or are outcomes not as intended. Throughout the analysis, we assess how Bangladesh's membership in NDB compares to its multi‐decade memberships in the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development, and its newer relations with the other new China‐supported multilateral bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This study combines primary data gathered from field research, primary desk research, and cross‐verification with the related data, and secondary sources.

Vadose Zone Journal Special Section: Soil physics in agricultural production, water resources, and waste management

<i>Vadose Zone Journal</i> Special Section: Soil physics in agricultural production, water resources, and waste management

Foreword: Special Section on Multiphysics Aspects of Power Electronics Packaging—Power Die, Power Module, and Converter Level—Part 1

Foreword: Special Section on Multiphysics Aspects of Power Electronics Packaging—Power Die, Power Module, and Converter Level—Part 1

To Approve or not to Approve? A Comparative Analysis of State-Company-Indigenous Community Interactions in Mining in Canada and Sweden.

This Special Section explores the interplay between Indigenous peoples, industry, and the state in five proposed and active mining projects in Canada and Sweden. The overall aim is to identify factors shaping the quality of Indigenous community-industry-state interactions in mining and mine development. An ambition underlying the research is to develop knowledge to help manage mining related land-use conflicts in Sweden by drawing on Canadian comparisons and experience. This paper synthesizes the comparative research that has been conducted across jurisdictions in three Canadian provinces and Sweden. It focuses on the interplay between the properties of the governance system, the quality of interaction and governance outcomes. We combine institutional and interactive governance theory and use the concept of governability to assess how and why specific outcomes, such as mutually beneficial interaction, collaboration, or opposition, occurred. The analysis suggests there are measures that can be taken by the Swedish Government to improve the governability of mining related issues, by developing alternative, and more effective, avenues to recognize, and protect, Sámi rights and culture, to broaden the scope and increase the legitimacy and transparency of the EIAs, to raise the quality of interaction and consultation, and to develop tools to actively stimulate and support collaboration and partnerships on equal terms. Generally, we argue that Indigenous community responses to mining must be understood within a larger framework of Indigenous self-determination, in particular the communities' own assessments of their opportunities to achieve their long-term objectives using alternative governing modes and types of interactions.

Guest Editorial Special Section on Recent Standardization Efforts for Learning-Based Visual Data Coding

Guest Editorial Special Section on Recent Standardization Efforts for Learning-Based Visual Data Coding

Introduction to this special section: Rock physics

As a means of interpreting subsurface geophysical and petrophysical data in terms of engineering reservoir properties, the discipline of rock physics has been central to delivering value for an ever-growing pool of underground energy applications. As the industry looks in new directions, from the sequestration of carbon dioxide to the production and storage of geothermal heat and hydrogen, many new challenges arise that position rock physics as a major enabler to a new sustainable energy portfolio. Delivering on that promise will in part necessitate the ingenuity and dedication of a new generation of rock physicists as skilled in the understanding of fundamental chemo-physical processes at play as they are in the astute use of modern digital tools. But as with any great project, foundation comes first, and long-recognized challenges that have already prompted decades of rock physics modeling efforts still require our attention if we are to succeed in these new endeavors.

Guest Editorial Introduction to the Special Section on Next-Generation Traffic Measurement With Network-Wide Perspective and Artificial Intelligence

Guest Editorial Introduction to the Special Section on Next-Generation Traffic Measurement With Network-Wide Perspective and Artificial Intelligence

It’s getting dark, but we will see: Gaining collective momentum in face of existential environmental threat

Collective action to protect the environment is increasingly moving into the focus of environmental psychology. Also policy makers are well-advised to consider the dynamics of collective environmental action as a vehicle to swift ecological transformations of societies. A sense of collective environmental agency (vs. treating citizens as reluctant consumers) is proposed to drive people supporting collective ecological transformations and engaging in personal and political action against large-scale environmental crises, such as climate change. The Global Environmental Psychology special section, “Responding to the Socio-Ecological Crisis: Collective Action and Activism”, presents nine empirical research articles that help to assess the antecedences and consequences of collective environmental agency. The present commentary discusses what the specific contributions of these papers are to better understand the emergence of collective environmental agency and what their implications are for future research in the field of social environmental psychology.

Guest editorial for the special section on SEFM 2020 and 2021

Guest editorial for the special section on SEFM 2020 and 2021

Special Section on Efficiency in Neural Information Retrieval

Special Section on Efficiency in Neural Information Retrieval