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Wang, LK, and Wang, MHS (2023). Application of secondary flotation for improvement of conventional activated sludge process system. In: "Environmental Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)", Wang, LK, Wang, MHS, and Pankivskyi, YI (editors). Volume 2023, Number 3A, March 2023; pp.80 . DOI: 10.17613/jwrp-0e11 ; Lenox Institute Press, Massachusetts, USA. .....ABSTRACT: Dissolved air flotation (DAF) clarifier can be applied in series between the aeration basin and the existing overloaded secondary sedimentation in a conventional activated sludge process system to separate the living microorganisms before settling. This results in many improvements: (a) solids and hydraulic loadings on an overloaded secondary sedimentation are reduced for preventing sludge rising, increasing the overall clarification efficiency, and saving construction cost on expansion of secondary sedimentation facilities; (b) hydraulic loading on the existing aeration basin is reduced thus increasing retention time without increasing aeration basin size; (c) higher solids content of the wasted sludge from DAF represents cost saving and improved operation of sludge thickening, dewatering and disposal; (d) the return sludge, separated by DAF stay in aerobic conditions at all times and are more active than comparable settled return activated sludge. The oxygen requirement for the mixed liquor suspend solids is also reduced due to recycling of aerobic sludge; and (e) The problems of sludge rising and sludge bulking can be totally solved when using DAF. Pilot scale results and full scale design considerations are both presented in this publication in detail. The authors' research findings can be applied to any flotation process equipment regardless of its shape (circular or rectangular), or its manufacturer as long as the secondary flotation clarifier is properly designed and operated.

The System-wide Program for Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) sponsored an International Conference on Policy and Institutional Options for the Management of Rangelands in Dry Areas, May 7-11, 2001 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The conference focused on institutional aspects of rangeland management and brought together policy makers and researchers from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia to discuss sustainable rangeland production strategies and livelihood of pastoral communities in dry areas. This conference summary paper contains summaries of the CAPRi sponsored research findings on institutional options for rangeland, policy makers’ interventions and reactions as well as the synthesis of discussion groups. These working groups evaluated outcomes of policies and institutions guiding rangeland management in terms of their impact on livelihoods and environmental sustainability, and explored alternative policies and institutional strategies in light of their capacity to reduce poverty and enhance food security.

This paper was presented at the tenth Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP Congress) in Prague (May 16-19, 2001) and is based on a study among 1,600 employees in health care and welfare institutions, to find out what these institutions do about absenteeism and to see if whatever they do has the desired effect. The institutions that were selected are known to deal with the problem more systematically than others. There was found that sickness absenteeism policies were indeed actively carried out, but most employees are not familiar with them. Still, they report that they call in sick less often and go back to work sooner than they did two years ago.

This paper was presented at the tenth Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP Congress) in Prague (May 16-19, 2001) and is based on a study among 1,600 employees in health care and welfare institutions, to find out what these institutions do about absenteeism and to see if whatever they do has the desired effect. The institutions that were selected are known to deal with the problem more systematically than others. There was found that sickness absenteeism policies were indeed actively carried out, but most employees are not familiar with them. Still, they report that they call in sick less often and go back to work sooner than they did two years ago.

Metadata only record The system-wide program for collective action and property rights (CARPRi) sponsored an International Conference on Policy and Institutional Options for the Management of Rangelands in Dry Areas, May 7-11, 2001 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The conference focused on institutional aspects of rangeland management and brought together policy makers and researchers from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia to discuss sustainable rangeland production strategies and livelihood of pastoral communities in dry areas. Available in SANREM office, FS

International Conference on Irrigation Management Transfer, Wuhan, China, 20-24 September 1994.

Bioethics education often includes the study of short stories, novels, plays, and films, because such materials present case examples that can highlight relevant issues and questions especially vividly for a wide range of students. In addition, creative writing is widely used in the education of health professional students and in continuing education settings for health professionals. There are very few academic or professional disciplines that do not use case studies, but the case study in dialogic form has not been standard practice for thousands of years. Dramatic arts casuistry—the creation and performance of short case studies designed specifically to raise bioethics issues for discussion—represents an application of literature and the medical humanities that is both unique and uniquely valuable. This essay describes the development and history of a course that has been successfully taught to medical students and graduate bioethics students, in which the class researches, writes, and performs a case study designed to elicit reflection and discussion about a topic and set of bioethics issues of current interest to both academic and general audiences. The model is also suited to the presentation and discussion of existing case studies, both live and via on-demand audio.

Research on the implementation of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) has been published since the beginning of the 21st century. Some researchers claim that the success rate of PLM implementation projects is below 50%, but the authors have found no evidence of that figure. In this paper’s research, a number of PLM implementation cases have been analyzed for their project goals, implementation challenges, and project results. The research data are retrieved from project files and interviews with project managers. The investigated implementation cases are in Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). The results have been structured and compared with findings from the authors’ earlier literature research on SME specific implementation challenges and recommended implementation methods. From this comparison, a conclusion is drawn regarding the implementation success rate and a hypothesis for causes of observed failure.

This research paper examines the delicate balance between conservation and innovation in the preservation of sustainable art and cultural heritage. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the obstacles, opportunities, and potential strategies for attaining a harmonious equilibrium in this field. The research consists of a literature review, case studies, interviews, and surveys, as well as a mixed-methods approach. The findings emphasise the importance of sustainable practices in addressing conservation issues and fostering innovation. This paper examines the role of policy frameworks and regulations in encouraging the adoption of sustainable approaches. This article investigates the environmental, social, and economic benefits of sustainable art and cultural heritage practices. It also investigates the long-term effects of balancing conservation and innovation, the role of sustainable practices in promoting cultural diversity and inclusiveness, and the implications of future developments and trends. The research concludes by emphasising the need for a balance between conservation and innovation and recommending additional research and action. The paper emphasises the vital importance of sustainable art and cultural heritage practices in preserving our shared cultural heritage and embracing the changing dynamics of the modern world., Expressions: A Journal of Art and Culture, Vol. 1 No. 01 (2023): Sustainable Art and Cultural Heritage: Balancing Conservation and Innovation

As the digital era advances, many industries continue to expand their use of digital technologies to support company operations, notably at the customer interface, bringing new commercial opportunities and increased efficiencies. However, there are new sets of responsibilities associated with the deployment of these technologies, encompassed within the emerging concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR), which to date has received little attention in the academic literature. This exploratory paper thus looks to make a small contribution to addressing this gap in the literature. The paper adopts a qualitative, inductive research method, employing an initial scoping literature review followed by two case studies. Based on the research findings, a simple model of CDR parameters is put forward. The article includes a discussion of a number of emergent issues—fair and equitable access, personal and social well-being, environmental implications, and cross-supply chain complexities—and a conclusion that summarises the main findings and suggests possible directions for future research.

This paper describes repurposing projects using decommissioned wind turbine blades in bridges conducted under a multinational research project entitled “Re-Wind”. Repurposing is defined by the Re-Wind Network as the re-engineering, redesigning, and remanufacturing of a wind blade that has reached the end of its life on a turbine and taken out of service and then reused as a load-bearing structural element in a new structure (e.g., bridge, transmission pole, sound barrier, seawall, shelter). The issue of end-of-life of wind turbine blades is becoming a significant sustainability concern for wind turbine manufacturers, many of whom have committed to the 2030 or 2040 sustainability goals that include zero-waste for their products. Repurposing is the most sustainable end-of-life solution for wind turbine blades from an environmental, economic, and social perspective. The Network has designed and constructed two full-size pedestrian/cycle bridges—one on a greenway in Cork, Ireland and the other in a quarry in Draperstown, Northern Ireland, UK. The paper describes the design, testing, and construction of the two bridges and provides cost data for the bridges. Two additional bridges that are currently being designed for construction in Atlanta, GA, USA are also described. The paper also presents a step-by-step procedure for designing and building civil structures using decommissioned wind turbine blades. The steps are: project planning and funding, blade sourcing, blade geometric characterization, material testing, structural testing, designing, cost estimating, and construction.

Today, policymakers struggle to obtain information from specific smart city case studies. The literature lacks a unified view of current initiatives. This paper performs an empirical study with the aim of collecting evidence from the literature about existing smart city initiatives in the European Union (EU). The contribution of each paper and its geography are analyzed using content analysis to identify the number and type of initiatives in each country. A cluster analysis is performed to find relationships between countries and their development phase as well as the categories (areas) they are focused on. The results suggest that there are different levels of smart city development between the member states despite the initial year of their first result in the literature. Furthermore, 22 smart city categories clustered in four different groups were found. When compared to countries’ socio-economic characteristics, the results suggest the development of smart cities is significantly related to the public budget balance, gross domestic product and EU structural funds. In summary, this paper portrays the state-of-the-art of smart city initiatives in the member states of the European Union. Moreover, it represents a valuable contribution to decision makers to discuss ways to standardize smart city approaches in the European scope. Furthermore, the method used in this paper can inspire the development of collaborative dashboards for the exchange of best practices and data accessibility about case studies’ details.

InnoUrba is a project about developing land-use planning methods and solutions for new urban environments in Nordic cities. The project created a best-practice proposal for a Nordic planning procedure. The project includes three case studies: Anebjerg in Skanderborg, Ön in Umeå and Toppila Shore in Oulu.

Background In several recent articles, authors have called for aligning the fields of implementation and improvement science. In this paper, we call for implementation science to also align with improvement practice. Multiple implementation scholars have highlighted the importance of designing implementation strategies to fit the existing culture, infrastructure, and practice of a healthcare system. Worldwide, healthcare systems are adopting improvement models as their primary approach to improving healthcare delivery and outcomes. The prevalence of improvement models raises the question of how implementation scientists might best align their efforts with healthcare systems’ existing improvement infrastructure and practice. Main body We describe three challenges and five benefits to aligning implementation science and improvement practice. Challenges include (1) use of different models, terminology, and methods, (2) a focus on generalizable versus local knowledge, and (3) limited evidence in support of the effectiveness of improvement tools and methods. We contend that implementation science needs to move beyond these challenges and work toward greater alignment with improvement practice. Aligning with improvement practice would benefit implementation science by (1) strengthening research/practice partnerships, (2) fostering local ownership of implementation, (3) generating practice-based evidence, (4) developing context-specific implementation strategies, and (5) building practice-level capacity to implement interventions and improve care. Each of these potential benefits is illustrated in a case study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network. Conclusion To effectively integrate evidence-based interventions into routine practice, implementation scientists need to align their efforts with the improvement culture and practice that is driving change within healthcare systems worldwide. This paper provides concrete examples of how researchers have aligned implementation science with improvement practice across five implementation projects.

This introductory paper outlines the conceptual framework and case studies comprising the research project Disrupted Histories, Recovered Pasts. Our project proposes a cross-disciplinary analysis and cross-case synthesis of experience and memory in post-conflict and postcolonial contexts. In the post- conflict and colonial contexts of our cases, we see “disruption” as present in three senses: as the productive ways in which multiple experiences retrieved through oral histories may refract and revise historical analysis; as the happening histories of objectively disruptive events break the flow of individual and collective experience; and as a strategy for cross-disciplinary research to disrupt and democratise conventional understanding by drawing attention to occluded experiences. We also articulate “recovery” as polysemic: invoking retrieval of past experiences and the possibility for enhanced well-being through voicing memories that may have been suppressed, as well as attending to mismatches with public discourses about displaced groups and individual experience. Following an introduction to our conceptual approach, we summarise our case-research. We have conducted oral history and archival research in multiple contexts, from disciplinary bases in anthropology and history. Our aim has been to interrogate relationships between oral histories and amateur histories with more formal written archives and historiography in a series of disrupted settings: evictions in colonial and apartheid west Namibia (SULLIVAN); memories and historical interpretations of the Egyptian Jewish diaspora (BAUSSANT); the evacuation of children in Second World War France (DODD); recent maritime exodus of migrants from Africa (OTELE); and rupture from a hegemonic imperial-nostalgic narrative in Portugal (DOS SANTOS). Our case research is complemented in the concluding paper of this Special Issue by systematic cross-case engagement, synthesis and theorisation of our case-study research. Ce texte introductif présente le cadre conceptuel des études de cas traités dans ce numéro consacré aux Histoires Perturbées, Passés Retrouvés. Nous proposons ici une analyse interdisciplinaire et une synthèse croisée de l’expérience et de la mémoire dans des contextes post-conflits et postcoloniaux. Articulant une perspective anthropologique et historique, nous examinons les relations (ou leur absence éventuelle) entre histoires orales, histoires écrites par des amateurs, archives écrites et historiographie. Dans les contextes post-conflits et postcoloniaux ici abordés, nous définissons la notion de « disruption » de trois façons : comme un moyen permettant aux expériences multiples, recouvrées par le biais l’histoire orale et des évocations du passé collectées au cours de nos enquêtes, de complexifier et de modifier l’analyse historique ; comme la survenance d’histoires liées à des événements perturbateurs interrompant le flux « ordinaire » des expériences individuelles et collectives ; comme une stratégie de recherche interdisciplinaire visant à la fois à perturber et à démocratiser les modes de compréhension conventionnelle en attirant l'attention sur des expériences occultées. Le terme « retrouvé » est lui aussi polysémique. Il évoque tant le recouvrement d’expériences passées que la possibilité d’accéder à et de reconstruire un autre rapport au passé, plus « apaisé » , grâce à l’expression des souvenirs. Il permet également d’interroger l’écart et la non-coïncidence entre les discours publics portant sur certains groupes, les expériences individuelles de leurs membres et les souvenirs qu’ils construisent autour de ces dernières. Notre approche privilégie une articulation explicite entre les outils conceptuels mobilisés pour nos recherches et les données empiriques collectées, associant histoire orale, diverses formes « ordinaires » d’évocation du passé et archives dans des contextes multiples. Ce travail multidisciplinaire adopte avant tout une perspective anthropologique et historique. Les études sont menées dans plusieurs contextes : l’expulsion coloniale et l’apartheid dans l’ouest de la Namibie (SULLIVAN) ; les souvenirs et les interprétations historiques de la diaspora Juive Égyptienne (BAUSSANT) ; l’évacuation des enfants en France pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale (DODD) ; les exodes maritimes des migrants en provenance d’Afrique sub-Saharienne (OTELE) ; et la rupture avec le récit hégémonique de la nostalgie impériale au Portugal (DOS SANTOS).

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how first-tier suppliers in multi-tier supply chains adapt their vertical and horizontal relationships to reduce the risk of slavery-like practices. Design/methodology/approach Using Archer’s morphogenetic theory as an analytical lens, this paper presents case analyses adduced from primary and secondary data related to the development of relational anti-slavery supply capabilities in Brazilian–UK beef and timber supply chains. Findings Four distinct types of adaptation were found among first-tier suppliers: horizontal systemisation, vertical systemisation, horizontal transformation and vertical differentiation. Research limitations/implications This study draws attention to the socially situated nature of corporate action, moving beyond the rationalistic discourse that underpins existing research studies of multi-tier, socially sustainable, supply chain management. Cross-sector comparison highlights sub-country and intra-sectoral differences in both institutional setting and the approaches and outcomes of individual corporate actors’ initiatives. Sustainable supply chain management theorists would do well to seek out those institutional entrepreneurs who actively reshape the institutional conditions within which they find themselves situated. Practical implications Practitioners may benefit from adopting a structured approach to the analysis of the necessary or contingent complementarities between their, primarily economic, objectives and the social sustainability goals of other, potential, organizational partners. Social implications A range of interventions that may serve to reduce the risk of slavery-like practices in global commodity chains are presented. Originality/value This paper presents a novel analysis of qualitative empirical data and extends understanding of the agential role played by first-tier suppliers in global, multi-tier, commodity, supply chains.

PurposeAsset owners and maintainers need to make timely and well-informed maintenance decisions based on the actual or predicted condition of their physical assets. However, only few companies have succeeded to implement predictive maintenance (PdM) effectively. Therefore, this paper aims to identify why only few companies were able to successfully implement PdM.Design/methodology/approachA multiple-case study including 13 cases in various industries in The Netherlands was conducted. This paper examined the choices made in practice to achieve PdM and possible dependencies between and motivations for these choices.FindingsAn implementation process for PdM appeared to comprise four elements: a trigger, data collection, maintenance technique (MT) selection and decision-making. For each of these elements, several options were available. By identifying the choices made by companies in practice and mapping them on the proposed elements, logical combinations appeared. These combinations can provide insight into the PdM implementation process and may also lead to guidance on this topic. Further, while successful companies typically combined various techniques, the mostly applied techniques were still those based on previous experiences.Research limitations/implicationsThis research calls for better methods or procedures to guide the selection and use of suitable types of PdM, directed by the firm's ambition level and the available data.Originality/valueWhile it is important for firms to make suitable choices during implementation, the literature often focusses only on developing additional techniques for PdM. This paper provides new insights into the application and selection of techniques for PdM in practice and helps practitioners reduce the often applied trial-and-error process.

With the emergence of digital technologies, we have witnessed a rapid growth of the sharing economy in recent years. In fashion industry, sharing economy concept is also widely applied. Instances can be found all over the world, like Rent the Runway, Golden Tote, Stitch Fix, and Le Tote in the US, Air Closet in Japan, Y Closet, Ms Paris, and Dora’s Dream in China, etc. In this paper, motivated by the industrial practices of fashion sharing platforms, we first conduct a literature review on business operations of sharing platforms, including the sharing platform operations, digital and information technologies employed in sharing economy, business models, and sustainability and circularity in business operations. Afterwards, we analyze the challenges faced by fashion sharing platforms by exploring the two leading fashion sharing platforms in the US and in China, respectively. At last, we propose future research directions on fashion sharing platform operations and conclude the paper.

At the end of 2021, CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) will be replaced by Initiatives housed within One CGIAR. This new modality is intended to achieve higher levels of impact at a faster rate and at reduced cost compared to the CRPs. As One CGIAR begins, there is a unique opportunity to reflect on what has worked in different contexts. In this paper, we provide findings that relate to One CGIAR’s overarching view of how it will achieve positive and measurable impacts, and for agricultural research for development (AR4D) more generally. Specifically, we draw from three related CRP evaluations to identify how different types of AR4D approaches have contributed to successful outcomes. In the final section of the paper, we present our conclusions and provide a list of recommendations for the science and technology policy of One CGIAR and possibly other integrated research for development programs.

This paper presents a study that explores an affordable housing scheme which allows customisation prior to construction for owner-occupiers. Due to ongoing concerns about the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting large populations, the demand for affordable housing is increasing. In particular, low-income households continue to struggle with unaffordable rents throughout major Australian cities. Assailed by this growing affordability crisis and deemed environmentally unsustainable, Australian suburbs are in need of revitalisation. The implementation of mass customisation solutions can heighten the sense of identity within a community and also significantly increase occupant satisfaction. However, presently, there is a lack of studies discussing the financial model and design of affordable mass customisation solutions for housing. To address that gap, this paper employs the method of case studies by analysing five relevant cases from the perspectives of affordability and customisation. The results of this study indicate that there is great room for future improvement in what is currently claimed to be defined as affordable housing, in terms of both affordability and customisation. These results will potentially assist and provide guidance to future architects, developers and planners Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Purpose Within digital innovation, there are two significant consequences of the pervasiveness of digital technology: (1) the increasing connectivity is enabling a wider reach and scope of innovation structures, such as innovation networks and (2) the unprecedented availability of digital data is creating new opportunities for innovation. Accordingly, there is a growing domain for studying data-driven innovation (DDI), especially in contemporary contexts of innovation networks. The purpose of this study is to explore how DDI processes take form in a specific type of innovation networks, namely federated networks. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design is applied in this paper. We draw our analysis from data collected over six months from four cases of DDI. The within-analysis is aimed at constructing the DDI process instance in each case, while the crosscase analysis focuses on pattern matching and cross-case synthesis of common and unique characteristics in the constructed processes. Findings Evidence from the crosscase analysis suggests that the widely accepted four-phase digital innovation process (including discovery, development, diffusion and post-diffusion) does not account for the explorative nature of data analytics and DDI. We propose an extended process comprising an explicit exploration phase before development, where refinement of the innovation concept and exploring social relationships are essential. Our analysis also suggests two modes of DDI: (1) asynchronous, i.e. data acquired before development and (2) synchronous, i.e. data acquired after (or during) development. We discuss the implications of these modes on the DDI process and the participants in the innovation network. Originality/value The paper proposes an extended version of the digital innovation process that is more specifically suited for DDI. We also provide an early explanation to the variation in DDI process complexities by highlighting the different modes of DDI processes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical investigation of DDI following the process from early stages of discovery till postdiffusion. Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-04-13 (sofila)

Innovation is believed to be a key driver of societal and economic well-being. In many cases, it has also led to more sustainable lifestyles and a more efficient use of natural resources. But despite the relevance of innovation as a tool to support sustainable development, there is a need for research that analyses current trends in order to guide future efforts. The present paper addresses this research need. It examines existing methods and tools for fostering social innovation in matters related to sustainable development, within the framework of the SDGs. By means of an online survey undertaken among sustainability and innovation experts in a sample of industrialised and developing nations, this study has identified some of the means via which social innovation is being pursued, along with its applications and limitations. A number of case studies showing examples of sustainable innovation have been mapped to demonstrate its usefulness. A causal loop diagram, which links the factors associated with social innovation within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, is also presented, offering a greater understanding of their interconnections. The paper concludes by outlining some measures that may help to take better advantage of the many opportunities offered by social innovation that put the principles of sustainable development into practice. WOS:000729021400001 Q2

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the conditions under which continuous improvement practices are developed and to determine what success factors and barriers affect the sustainability of these practices in order to establish strategies that reduce the risk of failure of improvement proposals in companies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a rigorous review of the success factors and barriers in the implementation of continuous improvement models in companies and a multiple case study in which four successful companies located in Bogota, Colombia, were compared using Bessant's maturity model. Findings: The results suggest the existence of systematic improvement processes in the four companies analysed in favour of the improvement of business competitiveness. After a convergence exercise between the success factors identified in the literature and the routines of the evaluation model used to identify the maturity of the companies in terms of improvement, five strategic fronts were identified to achieve sustainable improvement proposals: (1)have management commit to the improvement and guarantee resources, (2) define a methodology to implement, (3) facilitate and systematize the information on the interventions, (4) design training programs and incentives to encourage employee involvement, and (5) generate a verification and control system to provide real-time feedback on the progress of the improvement actions. Research limitations/implications: This research paper was limited by the analysis of four large Colombian companies, which did not allow the generalizability of findings. Therefore, the study offers interesting insights on the empirical evidence on the lessons learned from continuous improvement practices in order to support managers on better decision making and for the academics on better understanding continuous improvement drivers. Originality/value: The present investigation provides a conceptual framework for future studies related to the sustainability of continuous improvement in industry, approaching this topic from a theoretical and practical perspective.

It is widely accepted that entrepreneurship education has become a key development priority for coping with uncertainty and for addressing various social, economic, and technological concerns related to health, living conditions, education systems, employment, and economic growth. In recent times we have witnessed a proliferation of Entrepreneurship Education (EE) programs and initiatives with the aim to promote the creation of new skills, competencies, and capabilities to deal with a wide range of social issues and for creating new societal. The COVID-19 pandemic situation has introduced radical challenges to the society and has impacted significantly, especially the process of entrepreneurial competencies, skills and attitudes development. This paper aims to provide insights into knowledge mechanisms and learning strategies that have been activated for the effective creation of entrepreneurship competencies. We have based our evaluation on an exploratory analysis of 10 program studies that deliver social entrepreneurship education. The paper presents elements of originality under two perspectives: it proposes a framework with the main patterns characterizing social entrepreneurship education (SEE), and it argues that the creation of an entrepreneurship mindset and competencies is an evolutionary process that combines dynamic knowledge exploitation and exploration mechanisms.

Background: Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of universities´ teaching and research programs. Methods: A three-tiered approach was used, consisting of a bibliometric analysis, an online survey and a set of case studies, which allow a profile to be built, as to how a sample of universities from 45 countries handle climate change as part of their teaching programs. Results: This paper reports on a study which aimed at identifying the extent to which matters related to climate change are addressed within the teaching and research practices at universities, with a focus on the training needs of teaching staff. It consists of a bibliometric analysis, combined with an online worldwide survey aimed at ascertaining the degree of involvement from universities in reducing their own carbon footprint, and the ways they offer training provisions on the topic. This is complemented by a set of 12 case studies from universities round the world, illustrating current trends on how universities handle climate change. Apart from reporting on the outcomes of the study, the paper highlights what some universities are doing to handle climate issues, and discusses the implications of the research. Conclusions: The paper lists some items via which universities may better educate and train their students on how to handle the many challenges posed by climate change., peer-reviewed

Includes presentation (18 slides) and camera-ready paper (10 pages).-- Presented by Pablo de Castro within the EUNIS 2023 session "IT Support for Research 3".-- Event programme available at https://www.eunis.org/eunis2023/schedule/ The report “Building the plane as we fly it: the promise of persistent identifiers” was published last February by the Knowledge Exchange. The report explores the challenges, opportunities, risks and trust-related issues associated with the quickly-developing PID landscape with an emphasis on the six KE member countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom). A series of seven complementary case studies were published alongside this report examining more in depth the current PID landscape for specific entities such as authors, organisations, instruments and facilities, grants and projects or physical samples. The report summarises the findings of a series of interviews with PID experts that provided the basis for the study. Sets of recommendations are also provided for a range of relevant stakeholders in the PID implementation domain. The current fragmentation of the PID landscape is one of the main challenges highlighted in the report and the case studies. This contribution provides a summary of the findings of this study and analyses this fragmented PID landscape in some detail, specifically exploring the meaning of “community” in expressions like “a community-driven PID landscape”. The role universities are expected to play in the gradual, unstoppable adoption of a wide range of PIDs is laid out, together with some early best practices in the domain.

Within the Computer Science community, many ethical issues have emerged as significant and critical concerns. In this paper we present the concept of adaptable and re-usable educational bricks for the teaching ethics to Computer Science students. The importance of integrating ethical aspects into Computer Science programmes has been highlighted by many scholars [1, 2, 3]. For example in [1] Grosz et al. argue that modern technology cannot be considered "value-neutral", that it can have unplanned consequences and that Computer Science students should be trained to identify the potential harmful effects of the technologies they help develop. We are also inspired by the research of Chuck Huff and C Dianne Martin [4] which places emphasis on empathy, and students imagining the consequences of their own work and actions. The research presented in this paper is taking place in the content of the ethics4EU project, an Erasmus+ project that aims to provide a central repository of useful re-usable/adaptable education bricks for the teaching of digital ethics, following an “open” model, e.g. [5], such as seen with the creative commons approach. This platform will manage teaching materials following good software engineering practices - as outlined in [6] for improved maintainability and sustainability. We use a standard template for the development of educational bricks with 6 subsections. These are prerequisites, learning objectives (ethical, computing and transverse), teaching materials, evaluation approach(es), support material (for teachers and students), and links to other bricks. In this paper we describe our approach to developing educational ‘bricks’ using a one of the developed bricks – learning resources for teaching the topic of dark patters - to demonstrate the concept. Dark patterns are duplicitous user interfaces that trick the user into either sharing more information than they intend to, or spending more money than they want to. We also outline an evaluation framework for testing the developed educational content (bricks) that draws on standard instruments such as LORI (Learning Object Review Instrument), TAM (the Technology Assessment Model) as well reflections from the teacher and student feedback.

Case studies have been used in management teaching for nearly a century, and have deeper roots in the teaching of other professions, including law and medicine. Cases have considerable value as a teaching method but there has been increasing criticism of the limitations of many of the case studies currently available. There are challenges that are particularly relevant to today’s professional students who are often working at the complex interface between technical and social issues. First, many cases have a clear disciplinary label and do not embrace multi-disciplinarity. Second, most cases are focused on organising and analysing issues and arrive at a decision, usually placing primacy on the outcomes for a single company, and do not capture the complexity created by social and environmental considerations. This is problematic when it comes to considering how to address issues associated with sustainability and resilience in the built environment. This paper reports on a revised, piloted case study model that addresses the shortcomings of existing typical cases, focusing on exploring problems rather than making specific decisions. The pilot case, on engineering decisions in disaster recovery, was based on insights developed through a research project. Similar to other case teaching, the lecturer becomes a facilitator to help participants through the case, rather than specifically teach material. This proved to be a successful way of exploring a complex problem space where there is no right answer, only lessons that can be drawn from the tensions presented. Drawing on this experience, this paper outlines what this means for the roles of teachers and post-graduate training in advancing professional-oriented education in engineering and the built environment.

Purpose While big data creates business value, knowledge on how value is created remains limited and research is needed to discover big data’s value mechanism. The purpose of this paper is to explore value creation capabilities of big data through an alignment perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a single case study of a service division of a large Danish wind turbine generator manufacturer based on 18 semi-structured interviews. Findings A strategic alignment framework comprising human, information technology, organization, performance, process and strategic practices are used as a basis to identify 15 types of alignment capabilities and their inter-dependent variables fostering the value creation of big data. The alignment framework is accompanied by seven propositions to obtain alignment of big data in service processes. Research limitations/implications The study demonstrates empirical anchoring of how alignment capabilities affect a company’s ability to create value from big data as identified in a service supply chain. Practical implications Service supply chains and big data are complex matters. Therefore, understanding how alignment affects a company’s ability to create value of big data may help the company to overcome challenges of big data. Originality/value The study demonstrates how value from big data can be created following an alignment logic. By this, both critical and complementary alignment capabilities have been identified.

Water resource management policies impact how water supplies are protected, collected, stored, treated, distributed, and allocated among multiple users and purposes. Water resource policies influence the decisions made regarding the siting, design, and operation of infrastructure needed to achieve the underlying goals of these policies. Water management policies vary by region depending on particular hydrologic, economic, environmental, and social conditions, but in all cases they will have multiple impacts affecting these conditions. Science can provide estimates of various economic, ecologic, environmental, and even social impacts of alternative policies, impacts that determine how effective any particular policy may be. These impact estimates can be used to compare and evaluate alternative policies in the search for identifying the best ones to implement. Among all scientists providing inputs to policy making processes are analysts who develop and apply models that provide these estimated impacts and, possibly, their probabilities of occurrence. However, just producing them is not a guarantee that they will be considered by policy makers. This paper reviews various aspects of the science-policy interface and factors that can influence what information policy makers need from scientists. This paper suggests some ways scientists and analysts can contribute to and inform those making water management policy decisions. Brief descriptions of some water management policy making examples illustrate some successes and failures of science informing and influencing policy.

Context. The reasons for recent landscape change in the European countryside are complex and poorly substantiated. Identification of drivers of landscape transition and assessment of the effects on the provision of landscape services are subject of recent debate.Objectives. Aims of the paper are to explore what implications rural landscape transitions (as identified by land use and land cover changes) have for the provision of landscape services, and whether these changes can be related to specific drivers of change.Methods. The paper records gross landscape change on the basis of land use and land cover changes in six case study areas in five countries, and assesses the impacts on the provision of landscape services in the past 25 years.Results. In the past decades the observed land use and land cover changes in the case studies are relatively small, with a dominance of urbanisation and afforestation processes. However, the impacts of these changes are clearly reflected in a change in landscape services.Conclusions. Although the landscape transitions do affect the services, spatial data alone is insufficient to assess cause-effect relationships of landscape transitions,landscape structure and pattern. Circumstantial evidence points to substantial effects of EU and national policies on landscape services through landscape transition. These—often unintentional—effects can substantially affect biodiversity, cultural identity and landscape character. More research is needed onthe exact cause-effect relationships between policies and landscape service provision.

Since the last decade, the concepts of green innovation and green economy have become more and more attractive to researchers and policymakers. This research brings some light to the association of those themes with the concept of green energy. Therefore, this paper is a critical review of the green innovations directed explicitly to the green energy challenges faced by organizations and the world economies. The research question is as follows: What are the main dimensions of a model to implement a green innovation process focused on green energy in organizations? The methodology used to answer the research question was qualitative, and the main techniques included a systematic literature search and survey. The main findings of the study were the identification of the most relevant dimensions of a green innovation model to be implemented in organizations. The article structure is based on the different concepts about innovation and green innovation, related to the green economy, and the analysis of two situational cases on green energy. Finally, we present the analysis made on the articles identified by the literature survey and the green innovation model. By making this research on green economy and related concepts of green innovation and green energy, this paper seeks to make a valid contribution to their definitions and for operationalizing the green innovation model in organizations.

Remnants of old charcoal kilns found at Siam Village in Kubang Badak are about 100 years old, from approximately the same time as World War I. However, little research has been conducted into promoting the antiquity of remnant charcoal kilns as a representation of the historical inheritance of the Siamese community and their early settlement on Langkawi Island. This paper reveals the great potential of the abandoned charcoal kilns as a tourist site and shows the role of heritage conservation through reviewing the conditions. Following the methodology, firstly, charcoal kilns in Malaysia are investigated in term of their natural, cultural, and social history. Secondly, interviews were conducted to examine empirically the community life of that heritage area and the impacts of the charcoal kiln as tourist product. The segmentation of the narration into preservation means, sustainable activities, and historical knowledge is exemplified by extracting important data for taxonomic derivation of heritage conservation, economic, and community development. Finally, a set of guidelines including conservation approaches is proposed to support sustainable tourism development. The findings from the interviews conclude that the conservation of remnant charcoal kilns is vital for the long-term sustainability of cultural heritage tourism.

Purpose: This research aims to investigate which are the green purchasing practices that Portuguese manufacturing companies have been using and the relationship with company overall performance. This paper focuses on green-purchasing practices, such as green products, green suppliers, environmental collaboration with suppliers, green packaging, and reverse logistics, to ensure sustainable practices in the supply chain, and the influence of those practices on firm’s performance was investigated from the perspective of managers perception.Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted, based on eight case studies. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with procurement managers from Portuguese manufacturing industry and from reports, websites and companies’ internal documentation. To analyze the impact of green purchasing practices on company overall performance a conceptual model was proposed.Findings: The results support three out of five propositions of this research, and evidence reveals that green purchasing practices improves company overall performance. Provides evidence that the implementation of those practices positively influences overall company performance, it also identifies the most frequent green purchasing practices that may help businesses in adopting environmental initiatives.Research limitations/implications: While the sample included organizations from several economic sectors, it was based on just a sample of eight case studies and the findings may not be valid in different sectors. This research focuses on green procurement from a country's perspective, which reduces the ability to generalize the findings to other countries.Practical implications: Managers might utilize the results of this study to develop and implement green purchasing practices and enhance organizations' overall performance via their adoption.Social implications: This research contributes to the current discussion in green supply chain literature.Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing body of research on the effects of implementing green purchasing practices into the procurement function.

This theoretical paper aims at collecting and reviewing the existing literature on two underexplored topics related to Technology Transfer. In fact, while researchers working on this topic have focused mainly on Universities and on quantitative analysis of Technology Transfer activities, some topics remain underexplored. Among these topics we focus in particular on the scientific works performing qualitative analyses via exploitation of case studies and on those dealing with Technology Transfer activities of nonUniversity Large Public Research Organizations. Aim of the paper is to highlight and put on the spot unconventional topics of research. The paper performs a comprehensive literature review of these fields, introduced by an analysis of literature on University-Industry interaction performed in order to frame the main research topics. A final section resumes the results of the literature review and sets suggestions for further research.

PurposeOrganizational culture plays a central role when dealing with the issue of digital business transformation (DBT). Managers handling a DBT and involved in digital strateging are expected to modify the organizational culture of firms to make it more fitting with the paradigm of digital economy and having more chance of success. Thus, it is noteworthy to inspect the role they can have over DBTs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior that managers assume when they approach DBTs by investigating whether they act as mentors/facilitators or entrepreneurs/innovators, as coordinators or decision makers.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the above purpose, ten case studies about manufacturing firms have been selected. Case studies, retrieved by the Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, are studied and analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis on textual data. This allows getting specific insights into organizational culture before and after DBT and about the role played by managers.FindingsAchieved results disclose that managers need to modify the organizational culture of their firms to handle a successful DBT. However, firms can assume different organizational culture and thus the role assumed by managers handling a DBT can change as well.Originality/valueTo the authors knowledge, this paper is among the first that aim to investigate the role that mangers assume when handling DBTs. In particular, originality lies in the fact that assumed roles are rebuilt in reference to their ability to modify organizational culture.

PurposeThe paper aims to analyze collective bargaining in the facility management business of these six countries to explore similarities and differences between them. The analysis serves to test the differential impact of the national institutional setting on the protection provided by collective agreements to facility management workers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a case study methodology to approach a facility management multinational company providing services in six European countries (France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK) that represent different industrial relations systems with variance in key dimensions of collective bargaining, including its structure, coverage and extension of agreements.FindingsThe extension of the facility management business model has not always adopted a high-road strategy aimed at enhancing the quality and efficiency through the integrated management and delivery of services, which is expected to positively impact employment conditions. Rather, it has, in many cases, been a deliberate, low-road attempt to undercut working standards, taking advantage of the multiple services provided by the company in a context of growing de-centralization in collective bargaining. The results point to an important role of industrial relations institutions in shaping facility management strategies and outcomes.Originality/valueSimilar to other forms of outsourcing, facility management leads to fragmented employment relations. However, the concentration of outsourced workers under the same supplier organization introduces opportunities to ensure the protection of workers, depending on the adoption of a high- or low-road competitive strategy. This paper provides for the first time comparative evidence about industrial relations in facility management businesses, a largely under-researched area.

This article reviews the literature related to the performance of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) in the context of the durability of concrete infrastructures. The durability of a concrete infrastructure is defined by its ability to sustain reliable levels of serviceability and structural integrity in environmental exposure which may be harsh without any major need for repair intervention throughout the design service life. Conventional concrete has relatively low tensile capacity and ductility, and thus is susceptible to cracking. Cracks are considered to be pathways for gases, liquids, and deleterious solutes entering the concrete, which lead to the early onset of deterioration processes in the concrete or reinforcing steel. Chloride aqueous solution may reach the embedded steel quickly after cracked regions are exposed to de-icing salt or spray in coastal regions, which de-passivates the protective film, whereby corrosion initiation occurs decades earlier than when chlorides would have to gradually ingress uncracked concrete covering the steel in the absence of cracks. Appropriate inclusion of steel or non-metallic fibers has been proven to increase both the tensile capacity and ductility of FRC. Many researchers have investigated durability enhancement by use of FRC. This paper reviews substantial evidence that the improved tensile characteristics of FRC used to construct infrastructure, improve its durability through mainly the fiber bridging and control of cracks. The evidence is based on both reported laboratory investigations under controlled conditions and the monitored performance of actual infrastructure constructed of FRC. The paper aims to help design engineers towards considering the use of FRC in real-life concrete infrastructures appropriately and more confidently.

The production and use of evidence for agricultural policy is critical to prioritizing and targeting effective agricultural transformation reforms in African countries. International development organizations have supported programmes that promote evidence-informed policies, however, this support has often been focused on short-term and externally driven solutions, with limited impact in the long run. Faced with this scenario, there is now a growing interest in the role of resilient and sustainable national systems that can generate organic evidence-informed agricultural policy. Yet, there is limited knowledge on how to map out and analyse such systems, which is critical to fostering their emergence and the later uptake of evidence in policymaking. This study draws on ecological science and social network analysis to develop and test a framework that can help understand evidence-policy systems and their potential to sustainably promote evidence-informed policymaking in the agricultural sector. Applying this framework in Benin, the study found that beyond the Ministry of Agriculture, other organizations produce, broker or use evidence such as data, research, evaluation and expert knowledge in a context that is influenced by the institutional rules and setup, the incentives in place and the funding landscape. Furthermore, the paper analyses the sustainability of the evidence-policy system in Benin through its power, resilience and capability. Finally, it provides policy recommendations with the key entry points to improve on and how a system like this can be used to improve agricultural policymaking., FAO Document Repository: https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4288en

Crowd-based Requirements Engineering (CrowdRE) promotes the active involvement of a large number of stakeholders in RE activities. A prominent strand of CrowdRE research concerns the creation and use of online platforms for a crowd of stakeholders to formulate ideas, which serve as an additional input for requirements elicitation. Most of the reported case studies are of small size, and they analyze the size of the crowd, rather than the quality of the collected ideas. By means of an iterative design that includes three case studies conducted at two organizations, we present the CREUS method for crowd-based elicitation via user stories. Besides reporting the details of these case studies and quantitative results on the number of participants, ideas, votes, etc., a key contribution of this paper is a qualitative analysis of the elicited ideas. To analyze the quality of the user stories, we apply criteria from the Quality User Story framework, we calculate automated text readability metrics, and we check for the presence of vague words. We also study whether the user stories can be linked to software qualities, and the specificity of the ideas. Based on the results, we distill six key findings regarding CREUS and, more generally, for CrowdRE via pull feedback.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are internationally agreed goals that allow us to determine what humanity, as represented by 193 member states, finds acceptable and desirable. The paper explores how technology can be used to address the SDGs and in particular Smart Information Systems (SIS). SIS, the technologies that build on big data analytics, typically facilitated by AI techniques such as machine learning, are expected to grow in importance and impact. Some of these impacts are likely to be beneficial, notably the growth in efficiency and profits, which will contribute to societal wellbeing. At the same time, there are significant ethical concerns about the consequences of algorithmic biases, job loss, power asymmetries and surveillance, as a result of SIS use. SIS have the potential to exacerbate inequality and further entrench the market dominance of big tech companies, if left uncontrolled. Measuring the impact of SIS on SDGs thus provides a way of assessing whether an SIS or an application of such a technology is acceptable in terms of balancing foreseeable benefits and harms. One possible approach is to use the SDGs as guidelines to determine the ethical nature of SIS implementation. While the idea of using SDGs as a yardstick to measure the acceptability of emerging technologies is conceptually strong, there should be empirical evidence to support such approaches. The paper describes the findings of a set of 6 case studies of SIS across a broad range of application areas, such as smart cities, agriculture, finance, insurance and logistics, explicitly focusing on ethical issues that SIS commonly raise and empirical insights from organisations using these technologies.

Uncertainty and interconnectedness in complex engineering and engineered systems such as power-grids and telecommunication networks are sources of vulnerability compromising the resilience of these systems. Conditions of uncertainty and interconnectedness change over time and depend on emerging socio-technical contexts, thus conventional methods which can conduct normative, descriptive and prescriptive assessment of complex engineering and engineered systems resilience are limited. This paper brings together contributions of experts in complex engineering and engineered systems who have identified six methods, three each for uncertainty and interconnectedness, which form the foundational methods for knowing complex engineering and engineered systems resilience. The paper has reviewed how these methods contribute to overcoming uncertainty or interconnectedness and how they are implemented using case studies in order to illustrate essential approaches to enhancing resilience. It is hoped that this approach will allow the subject to be quantified and best practice standards to develop.

Purpose This paper aims to describe the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) project's ongoing efforts to virtually integrate trans-national archival sources via the reconstruction of collection provenance as it relates to copy collections (material copied from one archive to another) and the co-referencing of subject and authority terms across material held by distinct institutions. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a case study of approximately 6,000 words length. The authors describe the scope of the problem of archival fragmentation from both cultural and technical perspectives, with particular focus on Holocaust-related material, and describe, with graph-based visualisations, two ways in which EHRI seeks to better integrate information about fragmented material. Findings As a case study, the principal contributions of this paper include reports on our experience with extracting provenance-based connections between archival descriptions from encoded finding aids and the challenges of co-referencing access points in the absence of domain-specific controlled vocabularies. Originality/value Record linking in general is an important technique in computational approaches to humanities research and one that has rightly received significant attention from scholars. In the context of historical archives, however, the material itself is in most cases not digitised, meaning that computational attempts at linking must rely on finding aids which constitute much fewer rich data sources. The EHRI project’s work in this area is therefore quite pioneering and has implications for archival integration on a larger scale, where the disruptive potential of Linked Open Data is most obvious.

The UK-based “Space Universities Network” (SUN) was formed in 2016 with the aim of enhancing the quality of learning and teaching by providing support and resources to the space science and engineering higher education community. It now has 60 members from 30 different Universities around the UK. SUN’s objectives are to facilitate the creation of a skilled workforce of graduates who can meet the challenges of future scientific and commercial exploitation of space. The network addresses this need by helping to inspire students to join the space sector and ensuring they are well equipped at University to contribute. SUN enables the developing, sharing and promotion of effective practice and innovation in the delivery of university-level space science and engineering curricula. One of the ways that effective practice and innovation is disseminated is by the collection of case studies. In this paper, a collection of case studies from different members of the network is described.The case studies cover a wide variety of student activities run by staff and/or students including Satellite in a SodaCan (CanSat) competitions, water rocket and rocket building, earth observation data hackathons, astrodynamics workshops using GMAT software, lunar rover model building, cubesat projects, remote microscope investigation of samples, satellite applications data workshops and ESA ‘drop your thesis’ projects. For each case study, those running the activity completed a standard format template of 1-3 pages which describes: What was the purpose? How was it integrated into the curriculum (if at all)? How did it work? What materials do you need and how much did it cost in time and money? What problems were encountered? What feedback did you have? The paper describes each case study briefly. These are now publicly available on the SUN website (spaceuniversitiesnetwork.ac.uk) and are accessible to all. More cases studies are welcome and are being submitted. It is hoped that these will inspire other Universities who wish to spice up their space courses with some interesting recipes!

Emerging technologies are expected to contribute to environmental sustainable development. However, throughout the development of novel technologies, it is unknown whether emerging technologies can lead to reduced environmental impacts compared to a potentially displaced mature technology. Additionally, process steps suspected to be environmental hotspots can be improved by process engineers early in the development of the emerging technology. In order to determine the environmental impacts of emerging technologies at an early stage of development, prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) should be performed. However, consistency in prospective LCA methodology is lacking. Therefore, this article develops a framework for a prospective LCA in order to overcome the methodological inconsistencies regarding prospective LCAs. The methodological framework was developed using literature on prospective LCAs of emerging technologies, and therefore, a literature review on prospective LCAs was conducted. We found 44 case studies, four review papers, and 17 papers on methodological guidance. Three main challenges for conducting prospective LCAs are identified: Comparability, data, and uncertainty challenges. The issues in defining the aim, functionality, and system boundaries of the prospective LCAs, as well as problems with specifying LCIA methodologies, comprise the comparability challenge. Data availability, quality, and scaling are issues within the data challenge. Finally, uncertainty exists as an overarching challenge when applying a prospective LCA. These three challenges are especially crucial for the prospective assessment of emerging technologies. However, this review also shows that within the methodological papers and case studies, several approaches exist to tackle these challenges. These approaches were systematically summarized within a framework to give guidance on how to overcome the issues when conducting prospective LCAs of emerging technologies. Accordingly, this framework is useful for LCA practitioners who are analyzing early-stage technologies. Nevertheless, further research is needed to develop appropriate scale-up schemes and to include uncertainty analyses for a more in-depth interpretation of results.

Emerging technologies are expected to contribute to environmental sustainable development. However, throughout the development of novel technologies, it is unknown whether emerging technologies can lead to reduced environmental impacts compared to a potentially displaced mature technology. Additionally, process steps suspected to be environmental hotspots can be improved by process engineers early in the development of the emerging technology. In order to determine the environmental impacts of emerging technologies at an early stage of development, prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) should be performed. However, consistency in prospective LCA methodology is lacking. Therefore, this article develops a framework for a prospective LCA in order to overcome the methodological inconsistencies regarding prospective LCAs. The methodological framework was developed using literature on prospective LCAs of emerging technologies, and therefore, a literature review on prospective LCAs was conducted. We found 44 case studies, four review papers, and 17 papers on methodological guidance. Three main challenges for conducting prospective LCAs are identified: Comparability, data, and uncertainty challenges. The issues in defining the aim, functionality, and system boundaries of the prospective LCAs, as well as problems with specifying LCIA methodologies, comprise the comparability challenge. Data availability, quality, and scaling are issues within the data challenge. Finally, uncertainty exists as an overarching challenge when applying a prospective LCA. These three challenges are especially crucial for the prospective assessment of emerging technologies. However, this review also shows that within the methodological papers and case studies, several approaches exist to tackle these challenges. These approaches were systematically summarized within a framework to give guidance on how to overcome the issues when conducting prospective LCAs of emerging technologies. Accordingly, this framework is useful for LCA practitioners who are analyzing early-stage technologies. Nevertheless, further research is needed to develop appropriate scale-up schemes and to include uncertainty analyses for a more in-depth interpretation of results.

The transport sector accounts for a large share of global Co2 emissions. To mitigate the impact of climate change, several sustainability-oriented large-scale infrastructure projects such as electric road systems and expanding rail systems have recently been on the policy agenda. A parallel development that is expected to accelerate the transition of the transport sector is digitalization, which, although ongoing for many decades, has recently been augmented by concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart city technologies. The integration of these digitalization tools at the organizational level poses not only opportunities but also some challenges for the actors involved in infrastructure projects. An approach that is currently promoted in the infrastructure sector is the Building Information Model (BIM), which is a decision-making instrument that leverages various digitalization tools and applications. However, although the economic implications of BIM are widely discussed in the literature, the (inter-) organizational dynamics involving multiple actors in infrastructure projects are not fully grasped. Large infrastructure projects are sociotechnical endeavors embedded in complex institutional frames, hence the institutional norms, practices and logics in them are significant. Responding to this, this paper adopted an institutional analysis and put the BIM approach in the (inter-) organizational context in infrastructure delivery. Drawing on empirical data from three organizations in infrastructure delivery in Spain, this paper analyzed the tensions among actors during BIM adoption and implementation.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the servitization phenomenon of product-centric companies, by identifying the resources, capabilities and organizational aspects needed to successfully deploy a servitized business model (BM).Design/methodology/approachBy adopting a literature-based approach, this paper develops a servitization maturity model (SeMM) aimed at assessing and positioning companies in the servitization journey. The paper also illustrates the model application to two small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a machinery and a forklift truck company.FindingsThe SeMM identifies a set of 85 critical requirements that are used to evaluate the servitization level of product-centric companies, through a specific five-stage measurement scale. The requirements are categorized into: five maturity dimensions (organizational approach, process management, performance management, tools, capabilities) and nine BM Canvas components. The empirical application exemplifies how the SeMM can support managers in identifying and bridging the gaps in their servitization journey.Originality/valueThe SeMM adopts an original bi-dimensional approach and provides an operationalization of the servitization process through the identification of specific critical requirements framed on established BM and maturity dimensions taken from the literature. Moreover, the model responds to a call for research to develop practitioner-oriented tools and guidelines to support the servitization process, in particular for SMEs, and to the need to go beyond to measures of servitization based on indicators about number of services offered or their turnover.

This paper reports on a statewide “Computer Science for All” initiative in Oregon that aims to democratize high school computer science and broaden participation in an academic subject that is one of the most segregated disciplines nationwide, in terms of both race and gender. With no statewide policies to support computing instruction, Oregon’s legacy of computer science education has been marked by both low participation and by rates of underrepresented students falling well-below the already dismal national rates. The study outlined in this paper focuses on how teacher education can support educators in developing knowledge and agency, and impacting policies and practices that broaden participation in computing. In particular, this research seeks to understand two questions. First, how do teachers experience equity-focused professional development in preparation for teaching an introductory course in computer science? Second, this study queries, how do teachers understand their own agency in influencing policies and practices that broaden participation in their specific schools and classrooms? To answer these questions, this inquiry employed a mixed method approach, drawing from surveys, observations, and interview data of two cohorts of teachers who participated in the Exploring Computer Science professional development program. To show the variety of school contexts and situate computer science education in local and place-based policies and practices, three teacher case studies are presented that illustrate how individual teachers, in diverse geographic and demographic settings, are building inclusive computer science opportunities in their schools. The findings reveal that centering equity-focused teacher professional development supports teachers in formulating the confidence, knowledge and skills that lead to inclusive computer science instruction, computer science content, and equity-centered pedagogy. The findings also highlight how school reform in computer science requires not only technical and pedagogical supports and structures, but also a systemic rethinking and reworking of normative and political forces that are part of the fabric of schools. Based on these findings of teacher knowledge and agency, the paper concludes with a presentation of particular statewide policies and practices that are generative in broadening belief systems and expanding political capacity of computer science education to reach all students.

This article reviews the literature related to the performance of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) in the context of the durability of concrete infrastructures. The durability of a concrete infrastructure is defined by its ability to sustain reliable levels of serviceability and structural integrity in environmental exposure which may be harsh without any major need for repair intervention throughout the design service life. Conventional concrete has relatively low tensile capacity and ductility, and thus is susceptible to cracking. Cracks are considered to be pathways for gases, liquids, and deleterious solutes entering the concrete, which lead to the early onset of deterioration processes in the concrete or reinforcing steel. Chloride aqueous solution may reach the embedded steel quickly after cracked regions are exposed to de-icing salt or spray in coastal regions, which de-passivates the protective film, whereby corrosion initiation occurs decades earlier than when chlorides would have to gradually ingress uncracked concrete covering the steel in the absence of cracks. Appropriate inclusion of steel or non-metallic fibers has been proven to increase both the tensile capacity and ductility of FRC. Many researchers have investigated durability enhancement by use of FRC. This paper reviews substantial evidence that the improved tensile characteristics of FRC used to construct infrastructure, improve its durability through mainly the fiber bridging and control of cracks. The evidence is based on both reported laboratory investigations under controlled conditions and the monitored performance of actual infrastructure constructed of FRC. The paper aims to help design engineers towards considering the use of FRC in real-life concrete infrastructures appropriately and more confidently.