Sustainable Tool Research Articles

Social Business: Means of Sustainability and Ways to Success

Social business becomes an innovative and sustainable tool to provide solutions for different social problems. Although it is receiving a huge attention, there is a lack of studies about the main drivers of social businesses models and the keys of success. Depending on literature review and deep descriptive analysis, this study will provide main drivers and some keys of success of sustainable social businesses models. Results suggest eight main drivers of social business which are customer centricity, quality, social needs, latent demands, incidental gains, innovation through partnerships, inspirations from initiatives and collaborative eco-systems. Findings also reveal four key success factors which are social goals, collaboration, simplicity and start from home. Generally, this study discussing the development of social businesses for empowerment and enhancing the quality of life and economic development in the developing countries.

Assessment of a Workforce Sustainability Tool through Leadership and Digitalization.

As organizational environment develops, the working environment increases in physical and mental demands. As a result, risk inadvertences could arise, along with organizational emotional and financial challenges. Within their efforts to diminish such risks, organizations strive for developing and training their workforce; a sustainable workforce can only be achieved through cultivating aptitudes and positive attitudes that will lead to organizational but also personal growth. Considered to be an important measuring instrument for social sustainability, workforce sustainability enhances organizational leadership projections and trajectories, along with digitalization initiatives. The aim of the current study is the development of an assessment tool for state and private organizational workforce sustainability, and to study it in relation to leadership and digitalization components. Through a quantitative approach, data was gathered by issuing an online survey that delivered 463 responses. By using structural equation modelling, the authors examined the aims and found that the designed workforce sustainability tool is reliable and valid; as predicted, all the leadership components contribute to organizational stability and a more favorable workforce sustainability development, along with enhancing digital learning. This study stresses the importance for state and private organizations to achieve workforce sustainability, while nurturing and providing the necessary tools for the development of leadership and digital learning.

Sustainable Adaptation Planning for Cultural Heritage in Coastal Tourism Destinations Under Climate Change: A Mixed-Paradigm of Preservation and Conservation Optimization

Fragmented guidance and unbalanced climate adaptation efforts for tangible and intangible cultural heritage are challenging the long-term sustainability of coastal tourism destinations. Conceptualizing and quantifying adaptation paradigms that optimize cultural heritage preservation from multi-faceted perspectives under fiscal constraints is highly prioritized by coastal tourism destinations. Informed by the Modern Portfolio Theory, this study developed, tested, and evaluated four adaptation paradigms using machine-learning approaches to optimize the historical significance, tangible, and intangible values of multi-type cultural heritage in Gulf Island National Seashore across a 30-year planning horizon under varying fiscal constraints. Results indicated that adaptation paradigms can provide transformative and flexible preservation portfolios to preserve tangible and intangible uses when facing degradation or loss from inadequate funding and intensifying climate threats. The mixed-paradigm framework optimizes preservation efforts between tangible and intangible cultural heritage quantitatively and can be generalized to coastal tourism destinations globally as a sustainable climate adaptation decision support tool.

Combined effect of atmospheric gas plasma and UVA light: A sustainable and green alternative for chemical decontamination and microbial inactivation of fish processing water

The simultaneous use of UVA light irradiation coupled with low energy cold plasma generated by a dielectric barrier discharge prototype, results in significant enhancement of efficiency of the integrated process with respect to the sole plasma treatment. This effect has been demonstrated both on microbial inactivation of a food-borne pathogen, i.e. Listeria monocytogenes, and on the degradation of a compound of biological origin such as phenylalanine. In the latter case, the analysis of its reaction intermediates and the spectroscopic identification and quantification of peroxynitrites, allowed to propose mechanistic hypotheses on the nature of the observed synergistic effects. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the process does not affect the quality of trout fillets, indicating its suitability as a chlorine-free, green, and sustainable tool for the decontamination of fish processing water.

High-throughput platforms for microextraction techniques.

The proposal of high-throughput platforms in microextraction-based approaches is important to offer sustainable and efficient tools in analytical chemistry. Particularly, automated configurations exhibit enormous potential because they provide accurate and precise results in addition to less analyst intervention. Recently, significant achievements have been obtained in proposing affordable platforms for microextraction techniques capable of being integrated with different analytical instrumentations. Considering the evolution of these approaches, this article describes innovative high-throughput platforms that have recently been proposed for the analysis of varied matrices, with special attention to laboratory-made devices. Additionally, some challenges, opportunities, and trends regarding these experimental workflows are pointed out.

Using machine learning models to assess the population dynamic of the freshwater invasive snail Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 (Gastropoda: Physidae) in a tropical urban polluted streams-system

The poor understanding of the spread conditions and the geographical patterns of the exotic freshwater snail Physa acuta in sub-Saharan Africa urban streams makes it difficult to design and implement sustainable management tools, especially in deteriorating global and local environments. This study aimed to determine the ecological preferences and the major environmental variables associated with P. acuta abundance, occurrence and distribution in Douala urban streams-system using modelling approaches based on discriminant factor analysis, canonical Spearman correlation and random forest tree models. We inductively define four clusters for snail’s distribution along a geographical and upstream–downstream pollution gradient. Snail’s specimens were collected monthly over a 13-month period in two forest and ten urban sites using a long-handled net (30x30cm side, 400-µm mesh). Meanwhile, measurements of the physicochemical properties of water and streambed sediment were taken. In addition, ten metal contents were determined in P. acuta tissues to assess its ability of bioaccumulation of heavy metals. Results revealed that urban streams of Douala are adversely impaired, especially downstream of industrial effluents. Discriminant factor analysis and random forest regression trees model showed that dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, alkalinity, salinity, pH, water depth, wetted width, zinc, iron, cadmium, encumbrance rate of the sediment and sediment types (high sandy mud, sandy mud and muddy sand) were the major environmental variables responsible for structuring P. acuta distribution. Abundances decline drastically following pollution gradient, with great decrease observed in juvenile size classes. High contents of metals were detected in P. acuta tissues, especially downstream of industrial effluents. This study highlights that P. acuta spread in Douala urban-streams system is structured by key environmental variables related to an upstream–downstream pollution gradient. Therefore management plans should emphasize on proper disposal ways of industrial wastes, and stakeholders should take responsible actions in water pollution control and implement the polluter-payer principle.

New plant immunity elicitors from a sugar beet byproduct protect wheat against Zymoseptoria tritici

The current worldwide context promoting agroecology and green agriculture require the discovery of new ecofriendly and sustainable plant protection tools. Plant resistance inducers, called also elicitors, are one of the most promising alternatives fitting with such requirements. We produced here a set of 30 molecules from pyroglutamic acid, bio-sourced from sugar beet byproducts, and examined for their biological activity on the major agro-economically pathosystem wheat-Zymoseptoria tritici. Foliar application of the molecules provided significant protection rates (up to 63% disease severity reduction) for 16 among them. Structure–activity relationship analysis highlighted the importance of all chemical groups of the pharmacophore in the bioactivity of the molecules. Further investigations using in vitro and in planta antifungal bioassays as well as plant molecular biomarkers revealed that the activity of the molecules did not rely on direct biocide activity towards the pathogen, but rather on the activation of plant defense mechanisms dependent on lipoxygenase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxidase, and pathogenesis-related protein pathways. This study reports a new family of bio-sourced resistance inducers and provides new insights into the valorization of agro-resources to develop the sustainable agriculture of tomorrow.

Adaptive reuse of existing buildings as a sustainable tool for climate change mitigation within the built environment

The current climate change emergency has triggered a global strive for reducing carbon emissions and relevant sustainable planning for low-carbon cities. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings can be adopted to facilitate climate change mitigation progressively. This study explores the applicability of the adaptive reuse concept as a sustainable tool for climate change mitigation.Data was gathered using the systematic literature review (SLR) approach embedded in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol and key informant interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).From the SLR results, 29 benefits and 16 challenges of the adaptive reuse of existing buildings were identified under four main categories each (i.e., for benefits: economic, social, cultural and historical, and environmental; and for challenges: building regulatory requirements and governance, financial, management, and complexities and uncertainties). The interview findings revealed the influence of the identified benefits and challenges, with strategies which were examined to propose a conceptual framework. The framework aims to guide relevant stakeholders on how the adaptive reuse of existing buildings could be used as a practical, sustainable measure to achieve climate change mitigation in the built environment.

Digital Transformation of Public Sector Governance With IT Service Management–A Pilot Study

Information Technology or IT is a combination of technology itself and a collection of IT services that ensure the effective implementation of overall Information Technology in an organization. Like other services, Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) has become a global subject because managing IT is only possible through efficient and effective ITSM protocols. A well-implemented ITSM delivery system improves the quality of IT services, which eventually enhances the organization’s overall capacity and output. Public service delivery is closely dependent on the quality IT services that can be acquired through ITSM. This research study reviews some of the established ITSM standards and frameworks like FitSM, ITIL, CobiT, and ISO/IEC 20000 and proposes a most suitable and sustainable tool and its implementation roadmap for the digital transformation of public sector governance. For this pilot study, a public sector organization (PSO) working under the Government of Punjab (GoPb) was selected. This study focuses on an important area that has not yet been adequately addressed, where ITSM delivery can produce tremendous results. This study contributes to academics and researchers since it discusses the selection and implementation of a service management system (SMS) for a PSO while focusing on its needs, requirements, and available resources. In general, the qualitative analysis methodology is used in this research study, and specifically, it can be identified as applied research. The data is collected through a questionnaire, and the results are shown and discussed in the later sections.

Biocontrol of Plant and Insects Pathogens using Sustainable Tool: Opportunities and Challenges

Sustainable agricultural methods are essential to achieving the objective of ending world hunger because of the expanding global population. The agricultural sector is very concerned about both the Modern Environmental Health Hazards (MEHHs) which were troubles to Public Health (PH) caused by insect repellent experience, residue, with the rise in insecticide resistance. Today's farming methods rely on microbial bio-stimulants, which are safer and more productive than synthetic agrochemicals. In this respect, using microorganisms for BioControl (BC) that may stifle insects and phytopathogens is one of the most crucial methods for sustainable agriculture. Understanding these bacteria's role in promoting development as well as the management of the illness is essential since they are being used in the field as biopesticides or biofertilizers, with varied degrees of efficiency. For plant and insect pathogen analysis, we have used Biocontrol analysis. Through the use of advantageous microbes, substances, or healthy cropping practices, BC inhibits plant diseases, boosts plant immunity, and/or modifies the environment

ИНСТРУМЕНТЫ УПРАВЛЕНЧЕСКОГО УЧЕТА КАК АГРЕГАТОР УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННОЙ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЦИФРОВОЙ ЭКОНОМИКИ

Currently, approaches to the formation of sustainable development reporting are being implemented, which is a new type of reporting – integrated reporting, including economic, environmental and social spheres of activity of an economic entity. In order to achieve this goal, the tasks of rethinking the information content of sustainable development reporting are being solved; comparative assessment of management and social accounting, as well as management, strategic accounting and green finance tools necessary for the formation of integrated reporting indicators. At the same time, it is important to clarify the role, composition and content of accounting and financial instruments and to determine their impact on the formation of information in sustainable development reporting. The necessity of using an expanded set of accounting instruments as an aggregator of sustainable development reporting is substantiated. The concept of sustainable accounting tools in agricultural organizations is proposed in accordance with the realities of digitalization of agriculture, aimed at forming information about economic, environmental, and social spheres of activity. The developed concept is based on the theoretical component, the system of accounting tools, the technology of accounting procedures, accounting and analytical support of accounting processes.

Beyond good intentions

Sustainable Conservation are the processes of change through which the components of the inherited ecosystem from the past retain their value for present and future generations. As such, the value assessment is critical to recognise the values of heritage, not only by its aesthetical and historical values, but also by its contribution to a more sustainable future. Despite recent policies and standards highlighting the role of heritage for sustainability and encouraging urban conservation, sustainable conservation is not yet the most common practice. The behavioural dimension is intrinsic to the decision-making process; however, studies analysing designers’ decision behaviours regarding sustainability in built heritage are seldom found in recent literature. This research aims to increase the understanding of the gap in the implementation of best practices of sustainable conservation of built heritage, and to achieve solutions for behavioural change. It applies methods from psychology to analyse designers’ decisions behaviours, by eliciting common beliefs, challenges, and opportunities in the implementation of conservation intentions towards heritage buildings. The results demonstrate that design decisions result from conscious and unconscious processes, some of them socially driven, while others result from individual attitudes. Targeting the primary belief in the study population on the (in)compatibility between sustainability and heritage conservation, a building passport for sustainable conservation was developed aiming at raising awareness in the value of built heritage to sustainability. The results of this research can support the redesign of heritage buildings and demonstrate the importance of considering behavioural factors in the development of future sustainable conservation policies and tools.

Impact evaluation of microfinance: a HEPM perspective

Microfinance services were primarily conceived for poverty alleviation and millions of borrowers have benefited across various countries. This study measures microfinance impact on borrowers from the following dimensions viz. enterprise, household, individual and security. The impact was measured by comparing the borrowers’ poverty level before and after microfinance (within impact), and then with and without microfinance (between impact) using Household Economic Portfolio Model (HEPM). In general, it was observed that microfinance has had a favorable impact on borrowers. The income level of borrowers has increased after they availed the loan indicating that participant borrowers’ financial position is better than that of the non-participant borrowers. The results confirm that both industry survival and growth are achievable thereby advocating that microfinance is a sustainable development tool in the current scenario. Hence, policymakers should continue framing strategies that are in favour of extending microfinance to micro-enterprises that are deprived of mainstream finance.

Development of Sustainable Curative and Preventive Tools for the Control of Zoonotic Diseases

Development of Sustainable Curative and Preventive Tools for the Control of Zoonotic Diseases

Exploring the Different Sustainable Pedagogical Tools, Their Applications and Limitations in UK Higher Education by Reference to the University of Westminster Fashion Department.

Exploring the Different Sustainable Pedagogical Tools, Their Applications and Limitations in UK Higher Education by Reference to the University of Westminster Fashion Department.

Research on Pattern Matching of Dynamic Sustainable Procurement Decision-Making for Agricultural Machinery Equipment Parts

With the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry and the diversification of production methods of agricultural machinery and equipment, external purchase, external coordination, and self-made products continue to increase. If agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprises want to maintain maximum benefits in the fierce competition, they must pay attention to the collaborative procurement decision-making model and the relationship between production, supply, and marketing, and seek a comprehensive dynamic sustainable procurement strategy under the supply chain environment. In this paper, from the manufacturers of agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprises, firstly, three procurement strategies based on line-side inventory supply, third-party logistics supply, and dynamic sustainable supply are studied respectively, while a system dynamics model of collaborative procurement strategy for the agricultural machinery supply chain is constructed and the three procurement strategy models are simulated and analyzed Secondly, the simulation results are analyzed to establish the measurement indexes for evaluating sustainable procurement model matching, and a procurement model matching measurement model based on the topological superiority of object elements combined with the topological hierarchical analysis method and CRITIC comprehensive assignment method is proposed to determine the index weights. And using the correlation function calculation, we get the comprehensive superiority ranking of procurement patterns and the correlation comparison of individual indicators and output the optimal procurement matching pattern and pattern recognition degree. Finally, an application example is given to verify the correctness and practicability of the proposed decision-making model, to provide a qualitative and quantitative dynamic sustainable procurement multi-attribute decision-making tool for the procurement management of agricultural machinery equipment manufacturing enterprises.

ПИТАННЯ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ ESG КОНЦЕПЦІЇ У МАРКЕТИНГОВУ ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ

The article examines the main issues of integrating the ESG concept into the marketing activities of enterprises. The main components of the ESG concept are highlighted: environmental, social and management aspects. Three main stages of integration of the ESG concept into the marketing activities of the enterprise are distinguished: audit of the values of the enterprise brand (values are the basis of any brand of the organization, they are especially important when defining and forming views on ESG, therefore it is important to create a message that will correspond to the values of the organization and cause authenticity and organicity); analysis of the company's mission (a mission that reflects ESG principles can contribute to the formation of commitment and increase loyalty to the organization) and setting strategic goals (development of a vision and marketing plan that will include elements of corporate social responsibility, as well as guidelines for the development of the organization's brand in order to achieve goals ESG). It is emphasized that when implementing ESG concepts in marketing activities within the framework of the concept of sustainable development, it is important to avoid situations where marketing actions exceed the actual efforts of the enterprise in the field of sustainable development, as this can lead to reputational risks known as greenwashing. It is proposed to use the following approaches when applying the ESG concept to the marketing activities of enterprises: the use of a holistic communication plan with unique messages and content; development of a PR strategy for interaction with the external environment to create a positive image of the enterprise in the field of ESG; effective storytelling with a focus on results; the importance of personnel; use of affiliate programs. It has been established that the main goal of introducing the ESG concept into the marketing activities of enterprises is the formation of a unique niche for the enterprise on the market and in the awareness of consumers, based on the creation and consolidation of a positive image of the enterprise or its product, based on important aspects of the ESG concept and the use of sustainable development marketing tools. This approach is especially relevant in the conditions of an unstable environment, fierce competition and information overload.

START: Sustainable transport awareness recommendation tool

Sustainable mobility has become one of the most pressing issues in modern society. The need to raise awareness of climate change, combined with the overcrowding of metropolitan and urban areas, has produced a situation that requires an urgent solution. Some earlier approaches dealt primarily with transport-related issues, while some conceptual models attempted to increase the appeal of public transport by linking the services provided by public transport operators to a variety of city services. A practical and empirical answer, on the other hand, has not yet been given. This research addresses these issues by taking a holistic approach and presenting a personalized recommendation system based on users' everyday activities as well as their mobility profiles. The crossing of both sources of information allows for a more user-centric experience, ensuring that the offers presented are adapted to the tastes of customers. The potential of such a system is proven using data from Porto, Portugal. Two types of data sources were used to obtain more accurate results: data from the automated fare collection system of the Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal, and data from city services taken from Google Places. The fundamental idea behind tackling this problem is to encourage people to use public transport by providing them with incentives such as discounts, promotions and service offers to encourage them to use cleaner and more efficient modes of transport.

Ensuring the environmental safety of a transport company in the direction of achieving sustainable development goals

Objective: to develop approaches to solving problems in the field of sustainable development of a transport organization that can ensure the formation of practical tools and business process management, taking into account the optimization of activities in the field of environmental friendliness. Methods: the work was carried out on the basis of a study of trends in sustainable development of PJSC TransContainer; a comparative analysis of existing methods and tools for assessing and managing sustainable development. When considering issues in the field of risks, approaches, standards and guidelines on control and risk management are taken into account. Results. The conclusions are substantiated that the implementation of the sustainable development Goals in Transcontainer involves the integration of the principles of sustainable development into its business processes. On this basis, the goals of sustainable development and the actions of TransContainer to ensure their achievement have been coordinated, the system of ESG indicators has been modified to objectively assess the state of the Company in each of the aspects of sustainable development, risks in the field of sustainable development and risk management tools have been established. The practical significance lies in the justification of measures to achieve sustainable development in accordance with the principles developed by TransContainer.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A BLENDED-LEARNING TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Ponte Academic JournalJan 2023, Volume 79, Issue 1 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A BLENDED-LEARNING TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTSAuthor(s): Aderinsola Eunice Kayode ,Lingaliso LindaJ. Ponte - Jan 2023 - Volume 79 - Issue 1 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2023.1.4 Abstract:The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a blended-learning tool into traditional classroom-based teaching and learning has been shown to improve students' academic performance at globe and is essential to economic development. These claims were investigated in a sample of undergraduate students at the faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Based on the goals of the research , a purposeful sample of students was chosen. It used a mixed-method survey design. A total of 117 students completed the online survey (quantitative component); while a focus group interview with 4 students (qualitative component) was conducted. The findings showed significant barriers to, and affordances of, the use of ICT as a blended-learning tool. In addition, the study discusses student access to ICT devices and internet facilities on campus, student proficiency in using these devices and facilities, and the impact these have on students’ academic activities. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are discussed in the context of graduate career opportunities and national economic sustainable development Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password