Sustained Characteristics Research Articles

Sustainable Removal of Contaminants by Biopolymers: A Novel Approach for Wastewater Treatment. Current State and Future Perspectives

Naturally occurring substances or polymeric biomolecules synthesized by living organisms during their entire life cycle are commonly defined as biopolymers. Different classifications of biopolymers have been proposed, focusing on their monomeric units, thus allowing them to be distinguished into three different classes with a huge diversity of secondary structures. Due to their ability to be easily manipulated and modified, their versatility, and their sustainability, biopolymers have been proposed in different fields of interest, starting from food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries, (i.e., as excipients, gelling agents, stabilizers, or thickeners). Furthermore, due to their sustainable and renewable features, their biodegradability, and their non-toxicity, biopolymers have also been proposed in wastewater treatment, in combination with different reinforcing materials (natural fibers, inorganic micro- or nano-sized fillers, antioxidants, and pigments) toward the development of novel composites with improved properties. On the other hand, the improper or illegal emission of untreated industrial, agricultural, and household wastewater containing a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants represents a great risk to aquatic systems, with a negative impact due to their high toxicity. Among the remediation techniques, adsorption is widely used and documented for its efficiency, intrinsic simplicity, and low cost. Biopolymers represent promising and challenging adsorbents for aquatic environments’ decontamination from organic and inorganic pollutants, allowing for protection of the environment and living organisms. This review summarizes the results obtained in recent years from the sustainable removal of contaminants by biopolymers, trying to identify open questions and future perspectives to overcome the present gaps and limitations.

Defining the aspects of the local urban sustainability: Eco-cities as a model

The absence of ecological perception in the local urbanization resulted in the lack of a clear conception of achieving sustainability in its simplest form in the urban reality and in the city of Baghdad in particular. The research assumes the possibility of achieving urban sustainability in Iraqi cities by applying the cities for the most effective methods to implemented ecological solutions and introducing appropriate urban planning tools and improve the living environment. The research focuses on the ability to define some aspects to achieve a sustainable local urban identity from global experiences. This was performed by proposing a scheduled theoretical framework, through which the features of sustainability can be extrapolated from the experiences of countries like the UK, China, Spain, Finland, Germany, and the US, which are considered leaders in the field of environmental conservation. The goal is to reach healthy urbanism preserved from emissions, with developed systems, take into account the environment and social life to establish ecological cities as part of its contributions to low carbon development with the aim of mitigating climate changes and contributing to the promotion of the sustainable identity of the city.

The effect of LEED certification on office rental values in China

With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the real estate sector has proposed green buildings to achieve the sustainability of the building environment. Although the advantages of these sustainable features of green buildings are apparent, the effect of green buildings on the real estate economic values in China is not evident. This study aims to investigate whether and to what extent LEED certification can impact the rental values of the office market in China. This study analyzes an overall sample of China comprising 50 LEED-certified and 50 non-LEED offices and two local samples of Shanghai and Beijing each, based on a hedonic price model. The results suggest that the rental premium for LEED-certified in the China sample is 19.5%, while that in Shanghai and Beijing samples are 25.5% and 20.8%, respectively. Furthermore, other variables, such as utilization time, floors, construction area, building class, and GDP, are also correlated with rental values. As an early study on the impact of green certifications on the Chinese real estate market, this research provides investors with empirical data to evaluate the investment value of introducing green certifications and serves as a reference for future explorations of green certifications in the Chinese real estate market.

Individuals who have zero-interest in living in carsharing-facilitating neighbourhoods: a case study in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Carsharing-facilitating neighbourhood refers to a development scheme to combine carsharing, sustainable transportation-residential planning and housing features to promote less private car use and improve residential environments. Since this concept is new, little is known about residents’ reactions. This study focuses on the individuals who indicated zero-interest in living in such neighbourhoods to discuss the influential factors and possible improvements for the concept. The analysis is based on a stated choice experiment conducted in densely populated areas in the Netherlands. According to the survey results, 25.4% of the respondents indicated zero-interest. A binary logistic regression was applied to understand internal influencing factors on individuals’ zero-interest. Accordingly, respondents’ social-demographics, travel habits and present housing conditions have significant influences on their zero-interest. Particularly, zero-interest residents are more likely to be males, have full-time jobs or not work, have no child, live in medium-sized cities, own large gardens, have no driving licence, often travel by private cars or metros rather than bikes. Besides, based on the unobserved factors indicated by these individuals, several issues can also lead to zero-interest, such as objection to top-down governance, doubt of the necessities to provide shared-cars by neighbourhood management and lack of disability design.

A decision-making framework for scheme selection for sustainable hydropower development

ABSTRACT Sustainable hydropower development has attracted widespread attention since the process of developing hydropower stations could negatively impact the social and ecological environments. However, the widely used decision-making approaches for selecting alternative schemes of hydropower stations focus primarily on cost-benefit analysis and do not fully consider a sustainability assessment framework. Therefore, this study proposes a decision-making framework that addresses scheme selection for hydropower development from a perspective of sustainability and hypothesizes that the optimal scheme determined by the proposed method will be consistent with the real decision result. First, an evaluation criteria system is established for assessing the sustainability features of alternative schemes, which includes social, environmental, and economic aspects. Considering the shortcomings of various methods that are used for multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM), a new approach that is derived from multiple-attribute decision-making with time series is developed for hydropower development. Finally, considering a planned hydropower station of the Dadu River in China as an example, five alternative schemes are evaluated and analyzed by the proposed framework, and its effectiveness is illustrated through a comparison with an alternative method. The results demonstrate that the approach adopted in this study is effective for selecting the optimal scheme for developing a hydropower station sustainably, which can provide a reference for the establishment and evaluation of sustainability assessment systems for future hydropower development.

Electron Beam Lithography: CO2‐Based Dual‐Tone Resists for Electron Beam Lithography (Adv. Funct. Mater. 13/2021)

In article number 2007417, Paul F. Nealey, Qiang Li, Guang-Peng Wu, and co-workers discover that CO2-based polycarbonates produced by the copolymerization of CO2 and epoxides could be utilized as qualified positive and negative resists for electron beam lithography, as demonstrated by their features of full sustainability, outstanding sensitivity, high resolution, and the finely manufactured photonic crystal devices in both positive and negative tones.

Perceptions on Critical Urban Issues in the COVID-19 Pandemic Crises

COVID-19 Pandemic crises have further challenged the achievement of sustainable urban or cities development as they are now a potential threat for quick transmission of disease between humans and other urban areas due to their connectivity via rail, flights, or roads. The absence of sustainability features of smart cities such as well numbered buildings, street naming for effective contact tracing, and tracing index contact of infected persons prevents effective infection management. The COVID-19 disease has therefore brought out the need to address the emerging urban challenges been faced, drawing from the perception of the urban dwellers, especially on what and how to achieve efficient management of pandemic in the urban areas, building urban resilience, and achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 11 target of safe, inclusive and sustainable cities. Thus, this paper aims to interrogate the urban dwellers' perception in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Lagos, Nigeria, on emerging urban issues brought out by the COVID – 19 pandemic management and how they could be managed in the future. The study utilizes a questionnaire developed in the google form and distributed using email and WhatsApp platforms to three hundred respondents, One hundred and fifty respondents in each city, picked by their expertise and official responsibility in the urban-related field. The results reveal that key urban planning issues such as weak health systems, crowd management, adherence to government orders on handwashing and sanitation, social distancing, and socio-cultural issues need to be given utmost attention. Recommendations were made in line with effecting an integrated planning policy, citizen reorientation, and the need to re-plan these cities, amongst others.

Analysis of photovoltaic-green roofs in OSTIM industrial zone

In the current century, climate change, air pollution, and the depletion of energy resources are big threats to our society, especially in urban areas. It is an inevitable fact that we need to develop the green building concept and produce innovative solutions in our quest to design structures that are compatible with nature, sustainable, environmentally friendly, aesthetic and use natural resources efficiently. Roofs are the most efficient and promising building surfaces for the combination of photovoltaic panel applications and green roofs considering their locations and inclination angles. This research focuses on how carbon emission can be reduced via both green roofs and solar energy while producing electricity in OSTIM, one of Turkey's most prominent industrial zones located in the capital. The long-term detailed analysis of photovoltaic-green roof application in terms of economics and carbon emission is discussed. Although the rooftop option of a combination of solar panels and a green roof design costs higher than a standard photovoltaic system, it opens up new prospects for urban lighting in smart cities with exciting aesthetic effects. This combination of two sustainable features can become a model of green technology and opens up a wide range of research applications.

Valuing sustainability in real estate: a case study of the United Arab Emirates

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine if there is an impact of sustainability on the market in terms of a green premium or a brown discount on the price of commercial and residential real estate. It also seeks to identify the incentives and barriers for sustainable developments perceived by real estate professionals.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the impact of sustainability features on the valuation of buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study uses a qualitative structured questionnaire to determine the views of certified real estate valuers and advisors on this subject.FindingsThe results suggest a green premium of at least 1% in the UAE, coming from both supply-side and demand-side, and in commercial and residential sectors. Key barriers for the recognition of green building value include availability of reliable market data, lack of relevant technical skills and apparent client disinterest. Initiatives that would encourage green buildings include financial incentives for key stakeholders, raising and enforcing building standards, and higher energy prices. This paper identifies policy measures that local authorities may consider in transforming to a more sustainable economy. It is expected that such changes would convey to the real estate industry and affiliated stakeholders the financial benefits to be gained from investing in green buildings.Research limitations/implicationsThe UAE is not a transparent environment in terms of building prices and rents, and it can be challenging even for experienced professionals to determine whether an observed higher value can truly be considered a green premium. The second issue is that the results may be affected by a “voluntary response bias”, whereby recipients who are interested in sustainability are more likely to have responded to the survey.Practical implicationsThis paper identifies policy measures that local authorities may consider in transforming to a more sustainable economy. It is expected that such changes would convey to the real estate industry and affiliated stakeholders the financial benefits to be gained from investing in green buildings.Originality/valueMost research exploring the value of green buildings originates from developed economies and its applicability to the Middle East is questionable due to its differing origins and unusual development path. This article offers new insights into an under-researched market.

Consumer Attitude towards Sustainability of Fast Fashion Products in the UK

This paper attempts to provide an up-to-date depiction and analysis of the consumer’s attitude towards sustainability of fast fashion products in the UK. Four related strands of literature are reviewed to establish a tri-component model of attitude (ABC), i.e., Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive. A wide set of determinants for attitude is identified, including income, price, gender, culture, religion, age, etc. Based on this conceptual framework, an online questionnaire is designed and sent to university students and alumni in the UK, returning 128 valid responses. Both descriptive statistics and regression analysis (oprobit) are employed to shed light on the three components of attitude towards sustainability. It is found that cognitive and behavioural components converge across cultures and religions, but the affective component remains significantly diverse. Employment status contributes to the awareness, decision and feeling of sustainability features, but gender only matters for purchase decisions. In general, there is an improved cognitive and affective awareness of sustainability, but this does not automatically translate to purchase behaviour. Policy interventions like taxes and subsidies are still needed to foster sustainability in the fast fashion industry.

The influence of sustainable features on liquidity of houses in the Czech Republic

The construction industry has a significant impact on the environment, and it especially affects the level of greenhouse gases. It also reduces the greenhouse gases through constructing and operating sustainable buildings. Sustainable buildings include buildings that meet basic sustainable principles, namely environmental, social, and economic. Sustainable buildings are very often associated with certified buildings (LEED, BREEAM). However, sustainable buildings do not have to be certified to fulfill the idea of sustainability. The question is, how much does sustainability affect the selling prices of houses. A database of 570 sold houses in the district of Brno – venkov in the period of years 2017 - 2019 was compiled. It was found that 5.6% of the houses featured some sustainable aspects, such as heat recovery systems, natural construction materials and all alternative technologies. The factors of liquidity were considered and evaluated. In case of the sustainable houses 3.0 % higher ΔP (difference between asking and market price) was detected. Influence on time on the market was not proven. Based on ANOVA analysis, the impact of sustainable features of houses on the selling prices was not found. Analysis was carried out by a semi-database of 122 houses sold in the year 2017.

HEP-Frame: Improving the efficiency of pipelined data transformation & filtering for scientific analyses

HEP-Frame: Improving the efficiency of pipelined data transformation & filtering for scientific analyses

Comprehensive review on plant fiber-reinforced polymeric biocomposites

The expansion of environment-friendly materials based on natural sources increases dramatically in terms of biodegradable, recyclable, and environmental disputes throughout the world. Plant-based natural fiber, a high potential field of the reinforced polymer composite material, is considered as lightweight and economical products as they possess lower density, significant material characteristics, and extraordinary molding flexibility. The usage of plant fibers on the core structure of composite materials have drawn significant interest by the manufacturers to meet the increasing demand of the consumers for sustainable features with enhanced mechanical performances and functionalities. The plant fiber-based composites have widespread usage in construction, automotive, packaging, sports, biomedical, and defense sectors for their superior characteristics. Therefore, this critical review would demonstrate an overview regarding the background of natural fiber composites, factors influencing the composite properties, chemical interaction between the fiber and matrices, future potentiality, and marketing perspectives for triggering new research works in the field of biocomposite materials.

Understanding stakeholders’ opinion and willingness on the adoption of sustainable residential property features in a developing property market

Sustainable building connects with the safeguarding principles on built environment and climate change reality. Research have shown a compelling stakeholders’ willingness to invest in sustainable buildings in the developed economies and some emerging economies. However, information on key market actors’ opinion on the sustainability attributes, their willingness to adopt sustainable features and the acceptance of sustainable policy in residential property development in sub-Saharan Africa is under investigated. Our paper adopts a trio of the market-led actors’ perspective evaluation; Investors, Contractors and Users, to investigate perceptions on the sustainability attributes of eight contextual property-related sustainable features, unfolded from sustainability literature and identified during the pilot study in Lagos; the largest property market and economic nerve-centre of West Africa and Nigeria. We also examine the stakeholders’ willingness on the use of the sustainable features. The study employed analysis of variance, correlation analysis and willingness to adopt index (WTAI) and found that variations exist among different stakeholders. Therefore, the need to sensitize all stakeholders on the attributes of sustainable buildings, especially the extra-environmental benefits which is more relevant to the stakeholders in taking decisions on sustainable building adoption in developing economies.

Sustainable development features of international business tourism

The authors have identified the features of the international business tourism development; analyzed the main business tourism segments. The authors provide the rationale that it is business tourism that has a huge impact on the level of income and the sustainability of economic development. Business tourism can be classified as a profitable and promising type of tourism. The authors consider the key factors influencing the development of international business tourism and the economy of the respective territory; the features of the MICE industry and its impact on business tourism. The characteristic features of international business tourism have been investigated and substantiated; the factors influencing the development of business tourism infrastructure in foreign countries have been identified. The authors conducted a study and a comparative analysis of the expenditure on organizing business tourism; revealed the specifics of the business tourism infrastructure in European countries; the authors studied and analyzed external business relations, increased business activity, the quality of business infrastructure at the regional level and their impact on the development of business tourism and the economy.

Sustainable Design & Product and Health & Safety Awareness among Public University Students

In this article, the focus is on understanding the awareness of sustainable design & product and health & safety among engineering and architectural students at university levels as these young graduates are representative of the workforce. This survey was conducted at five public universities in Peninsular Malaysia. On average, the majority of respondents provided positive responses (more than 80%) on the needs of sustainable design & product and health & safety aspects in their workplaces. These figures bode well for such an ambitious country to be on par with developed countries. It is also noteworthy to highlight that a significant portion who are not comfortable with investing with sustainable features. Keywords: Sustainable Design & Products; Health and Safety (H&S) eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bsby e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5iSI3.2578

Exploring Sustainability Features and Determinants of Agricultural Insurance Programmes in Low-income Countries

Agriculture is the main occupation and source of livelihood for the majority of the inhabitants in low-income countries. However, agricultural activities in these countries are confronted with a plethora of challenges, including production and marketing risks. Some of the farmers in low-income countries have been employing autonomous and planned adaptation strategies, including agricultural insurance contracts to cope with the agricultural risks. Agricultural insurance has been acclaimed to possess enormous potential for managing agricultural risks in low-income countries. This study employed the literature review approach to identify the features and determinants of sustainable agricultural insurance programmes in low-income countries. The study found that the appropriate institutional arrangements, socio-economic and ecological pillars could interact to make agricultural insurance programmes in low-income countries sustainable. Since most low-income countries are still piloting and up scaling their agricultural insurance programmes, I recommend incorporating the institutional, socio-economic and ecological dimensions into the design and implementation of their agricultural insurance schemes.

Multicomponent Polymerizations Involving Green Monomers.

Green monomers, such as oxygen (O2 ), water (H2 O), and carbon dioxide (CO2 ), refer to a kind of natural reagents with abundant, nontoxic, cheap, environmentally friendly, renewable, and sustainable features. These monomers have been used in multicomponent polymerizations (MCPs) toward functional polymers. In this review, the recent development of MCPs involving green monomers of O2 -, H2 O-, and CO2 is summarized. The catalytic systems, polymerization conditions, the molecular weights, and potential applications of resultant polymers are briefly discussed. Furthermore, the existing challenges and the promising opportunities are concisely provided.

Learning within sustainable educational innovation: An analysis of teachers\u2019 perceptions and leadership practice

Innovative initiatives in education often have problems with their sustainability. The present study focuses on three educational innovations that have proved to be sustainable over time. We used a qualitative research approach to study and identify essential features of sustainable educational innovation. Two theoretical frameworks were used to guide the study: the integrated model for sustainable innovation (IMSI) and self-determination theory (SDT). Both frameworks take a different perspective upon learning; IMSI presents learning at the individual level, the team level and the organizational level to be the heart of sustainable innovation, and SDT presents how learning can be improved. The research question focused upon how the SDT concepts of autonomy, competence and relatedness were perceived within sustainable innovation, expressed by the IMSI framework, by teachers and school leaders. Based on our findings we demonstrate that the framework of IMSI and SDT can effectively be applied as a frame of analysis to identify essential features of sustainability in educational innovations and we discuss how concepts of SDT deepen the knowledge of sustainable educational innovation.

Sustainable Living Environment in Retirement Villages: What Matters to Residents?

In responding to the requirements of the sustainable development movement, many retirement village developers endeavor to provide a sustainable living environment for their residents. However, this cannot transpire until a thorough understanding of retirement village residents’ preferences for various features of a sustainable living environment is known. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to reveal retirement village residents’ perceptions of the importance of 23 sustainable living environment features through a questionnaire survey of 81 residents from 15 retirement villages. The survey results reveal that independent and convenient living, justice and fairness, being respected and valued, and privacy protection are the most preferred sustainability features, all of which are in the triple bottom line dimension of social sustainability, whereas capital gain sharing, community diversity, and care and service provision are the least important. In addition, it is found that the residents of different ages, gender, living experience, and retirement village nature have significantly different preferences toward various sustainability features. The findings of this study contribute to the management and development of sustainable retirement villages, which will eventually lead to an improved quality of life for older people.