There are rising interests in the utility of groundwater in various aspects,which is capable of triggering problematic issues.The excessive exploitation for anthropologic uses,without regards to aquifer capacity,will ...There are rising interests in the utility of groundwater in various aspects,which is capable of triggering problematic issues.The excessive exploitation for anthropologic uses,without regards to aquifer capacity,will decreases the water table as well as capacity of groundwater in the aquifer.This research was aimed to provide aquifer model of underground water by consideration of various environmental factors,with the propensity of being modeled,in an attempt to predict groundwater conditions in subsequent years.The purpose of this research was to forecast water requirements,availability,as well as three-dimensional model of groundwater depth in Kemuning,Indragiri Hilir Regency-Indonesia between 2015 and 2022.Furthermore,various environmental factors,from aquifer profiles to anthropologic demand,are taken into account in the evaluated model,including water requirements,encompassing recharge and aquifer parameters,which consists of storativity and transmissivity.From anthropologic side are domestic requirements,trade,public facilities,agriculture,and livestock.The results show that groundwater availability in Kemuning is to be safe condition,and average difference is 1.06×108 m3/yr.The coefficient of storativity and transmissivity are 16.514 m2/day and 9897.26 m2/day,respectively,while the average depth was recorded as 2.8965 m to 10.4927 m.展开更多
Nearly half of the world’s population comprise youths. However, addressing their Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) remains a challenge. Globally countries are mandated to continually provide Youth Friendly Sexual ...Nearly half of the world’s population comprise youths. However, addressing their Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) remains a challenge. Globally countries are mandated to continually provide Youth Friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health services (YFSRHs) to the youth. The objective of this study was to assess and describe youth’s perspectives on a sustainable model for the provision of YFSRHs in Kenya. Data was collected among 400 youths aged 18 - 24 years in Embu and Kirinyaga counties, Kenya. A structured questionnaire was utilized as the data collection tool. Collected data was analyzed using SAS statistical software version 9.4. Statistical threshold of P ≤ 0.05 was used. Overall the mean age of the study participants was ±standard deviation (SD) 21.2 ± 1.86 years. Majority of the participants’ perspective on the health care system sustainability was that the waiting time at the facility should be less than an hour, accessible geographically (less than a kilometre), affordable (≤20 Ksh.), and convenient working hours (weekday and weekends ratio 1:1). Advocacy was on health care provider’s attributes of politeness, welcoming, confidential and non-judgmental. The most preferred locations for the youth friendly centres by the participants were community and school based locations. Similarly, parental and community support was reported to highly contribute to sustained utilization and provision of the YFSRHs (P < 0.001). Unlike popular belief, 99.8% did not see the need for recreational facilities at the youth centres to ensure sustainability of the model. To ensure a sustainable model for the provision of YFSRHs, there is need for a multi-sectoral and stakeholder involvement that is;youth, health care system structure, health care service providers, parents and community. Further research is needed on parents and health care service provider’s perspectives on how to sustain the provision of YFSRH services.展开更多
The greatest service industry and income gainer throughout the world occupies a special role and position in developing geographical areas. This study attempts to use “Reynard” model to investigate the role of touri...The greatest service industry and income gainer throughout the world occupies a special role and position in developing geographical areas. This study attempts to use “Reynard” model to investigate the role of tourism and its effects on the development of rural settlements with emphasis on Pa Ggaleh Village, which is one of the environs in Mamasani, Iran. Due to its historical and religious attractions and natural and cultural landscapes, this village is highly significant and has the potential to become a tourism hub and attract tourists. The methodology applied in this research is cross-sectional. Tourism potentials of Pa Ghaleh village are identified and evaluated in this study. Geological maps, topographies and field data are used to evaluate the district attractions. Their tourism potentials are also evaluated and rated using Reynard model. According to the sub-criteria of rarity and historical geography, the research results indicate that scientific value has the highest rank. In other words, tourism places in Pa Ghaleh village include 72% of scientific value, 0.59% of added value and 0.57% of compound value.展开更多
A synopsis of political welfare concepts, which are currently discussed under labels such as ＂green growth＂, ＂zero growth＂ and ＂degrowth＂, has identified fundamental shortcomings concerning the informational bas...A synopsis of political welfare concepts, which are currently discussed under labels such as ＂green growth＂, ＂zero growth＂ and ＂degrowth＂, has identified fundamental shortcomings concerning the informational bases of the complex links between ecological, social and economic systems, which were taken into account in the creation of the concept. In the development of a concept for political action, a rationally acting environmental policy cannot neglect reflecting on which economic, ecological and social contexts have to be taken into account and on which normative statements its decisions should be grounded. The proposed sustainable welfare model consists of a positive impact and a normative decision model. The positive model provides a description of the ＂world＂ with which the effects of the various options for action on the environmental, social and the economic systems can be assessed. The normative model is a tool for selecting and assessing the options for action in pursuing the desired goal of sustainable welfare development. Principally the key environmental goals are prearranged to socio-economic goals. The model at hand provides the reference points for the development of a sustainable welfare concept, which can be used as a political action plan in the context of environmental policy.展开更多
This article aims to investigate the public's sustainability mental model(SMM), which can reveal the sustainability dilemma from the public respective, other than enterprise or government. In this article, SMM is ...This article aims to investigate the public's sustainability mental model(SMM), which can reveal the sustainability dilemma from the public respective, other than enterprise or government. In this article, SMM is defined as one's cognitive structure, thinking mode, and behavior tendency when someone deals with sustainability issues. After theoretical analysis, the authors developed reliable and valid measures systematically and conducted a typical survey with 581 participants from college students' families in Guangdong province in China. Based on those samples, the author used the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to construct a measurement model of SMM, which includes three dimensions, i.e. sustainable cognition, sustainable thinking, and sustainable behavior intention. According to SMM survey and clustering analysis, the results indicate that SMM of those participants is inactive. Even though those samples do not represent the whole country comprehensively, but this survey was sampled typically and they came from around China. So, the authors consider the SMM scores can reflect Chinese people to some extent, leading to the assumption that SMM of Chinese people is not active presently.展开更多
Dengue community capacity (DCC) is important for developing a sustainable approach to over-coming the problem of dengue. The objectives were 1) to develop and 2) evaluate a dengue community capacity building model for...Dengue community capacity (DCC) is important for developing a sustainable approach to over-coming the problem of dengue. The objectives were 1) to develop and 2) evaluate a dengue community capacity building model for the leader and non-leader group in three communities selected by purposive technique. A mixed method research design was used employing both qualitative and quantitative methods with qualitative studies conducted for community capacity building model: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. DCC level was assessed by the Dengue Community Capacity Assessment Tool (DCCAT) including larval indices, and morbidity and mortality rate. To analyze the differences of the leader and non-leader’s DCC levels both pre and post-interventions in each model, the Mann-Whitney and Independent T-test were used and to analyze the difference of the DCC level among the three models (Ban Mon, Ban Nangpraya and Ban Kang), the Kruskal-Wallis Test, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were used. The findings showed that there were some differences among the three models in dengue community capacity building in terms model. The participants consisted of leader (n = 26, 24 and 28) and non-leader groups (n = 200, 215 and 176 respectively). The DCC levels of both leader and non-leader groups increased post-intervention in each model (p < 0.001) and in all three models, showing a statistically significant difference between pre and post-intervention (p < 0.001). Ban Kang model demonstrated the highest DCC levels of leader and non-leader groups, the lowest larval indices (HI, BI, and CI), and no dengue morbidity. In contrast, Ban Mon and Ban Nangpraya model showed low DCC level in both leader and non-leader groups, a high rate of larval indices and high dengue morbidity rate. However, there was no mortality rate in three areas. The conclusion indicates that the model with a high DCC level showed low risk on the dengue index both entomological and epidemiology index. The model of dengue community capacity building for dengue solution was sustainability not only needs to be maintained DCC levels but also increased dependent upon the contexts of each community.展开更多
Blockchain technology holds significant promise for driving innovations across diverse industries, businesses, and applications. Recognized as a crucial source of competitive advantage in a fast-evolving environment, ...Blockchain technology holds significant promise for driving innovations across diverse industries, businesses, and applications. Recognized as a crucial source of competitive advantage in a fast-evolving environment, blockchain is anticipated to contribute substantially to sustainable economic and social development. Despite these high expectations, many blockchain projects currently face high failure rates, leading to negative impacts on various aspects of economic and social sustainability, including corporate governance, risk management, financial management, human resources, culture management, and competitiveness. This paper evaluates adoption models, identifying both risk and success factors. It introduces an integrated adoption model designed to operationalize, measure, and manage blockchain-driven business innovation sustainably. An empirical study involving 20 industry sectors and 125 business leaders was conducted to assess the model’s applicability. The findings indicate that the adoption model has the potential to support the sustainable implementation of blockchain technology for business innovations across various industries and applications. Future research and industry activities should continue validating this model through further case studies.展开更多
The cultivated area is an important component of land resources that has a direct impact on food security. Egyptian cultivated area was estimated to be 3.86 million hectares in 2020. Recently, there has been a decline...The cultivated area is an important component of land resources that has a direct impact on food security. Egyptian cultivated area was estimated to be 3.86 million hectares in 2020. Recently, there has been a decline in cultivated areas, which could be attributed to a number of factors, including climatic changes and urban sprawl, endangering Egyptian sustainable development. So, the aim of the current study was to forecast the values of cultivated areas in Egypt for the next five years using the ARIMA model based on data from 1990 to 2020. The model predicted a decrease in cultivated area in coming years of about 3.06, 3.19, 3.084, 3.082 and 3.21 million hectares, respectively, according to the results. This forecasting will aid the country’s policy development for future land using planning and agricultural production.展开更多
Sustainability is a key objective of water resources management and this paper describes a modelling and decision support framework that achieves this, illustrated by applications on the UK Thames and Mekong river bas...Sustainability is a key objective of water resources management and this paper describes a modelling and decision support framework that achieves this, illustrated by applications on the UK Thames and Mekong river basins. The decision support framework contains several modules, including an interactive user＇s interface linked to a GIS, a geo-database, knowledge base, simulation models and optimization procedures. Based on the analysis of scenarios and proposed interventions, efficient modelling and optimization tools form a comprehensive integrated decision support framework for the analysis and operational management of water resources in the river basin, our emphasis has been on a practical implementation through careful screening of alternatives, consideration of the institutional framework and direct involvement of stakeholders in the decision making process. Operating in this environment is transparent, reproducible and auditable, securing the trust of all interested parties. This paper discusses its applications to water utilisation on the Mekong river basin and drought management of the Lower Thames stored reservoir system.展开更多
Global concerns toward environmental issues have induced growing demand for new approaches in the construction because of its considerable impact on the environment and use of natural resources. Through using construc...Global concerns toward environmental issues have induced growing demand for new approaches in the construction because of its considerable impact on the environment and use of natural resources. Through using construction sustainability tools, methods and techniques, a greener design can be applied during various building phases. In this connection, it is argued that the analytical and integrated models applied by Building Information Modelling (BIM) may also facilitate this process to be performed more efficiently. BIM and construction sustainability are quite different initiatives, but both have received much attention in recent years in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. A rigorous analysis of the interactions between them implies that a synergy exists which, if properly it is understood that can be helpful to reduce the environmental impacts of the AEC industry. A BIM-based design model can contribute to sustainability through its three main dimensions which are environmental, economic and social. In this paper, by reviewing the existing literature on BIM and construction sustainability and using a matrix to analyze construction sustainability dimensions and BIM functionalities a number of interactions have been discussed. It can be concluded that despite there are many improvements in implementation of BIM in environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, its potential impact on social dimension has not been explicitly explored hence further studies need to be undertaken in this area.展开更多
A framework is built, wherein hydrological/water quality model is used to measure watershed sustainability. For this framework, watershed sustainability has been defined and quantified by defining social, environmenta...A framework is built, wherein hydrological/water quality model is used to measure watershed sustainability. For this framework, watershed sustainability has been defined and quantified by defining social, environmental and biodiversity indicators. By providing weightage to these indicators, a “River Basin Sustainability Index” is built. The watershed sustainability is then calculated based on the concepts of reliability, resilience and vulnerability. The framework is then applied to a case study, where, based on watershed management principles, four land use scenarios are created in GIS. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used as a hydrology/water quality model. Based on the results the land uses are ranked for sustainability and policy implications have been discussed. This results show that landuse (both type and location) impact watershed sustainability. The existing land use is weak in environmental sustainability. Also, riparian zones play a critical role in watershed sustainability, although beyond certain width their contribution is not significant.展开更多
People power is the fundamental concept of democracy and power of the people is exercised though voting. People decide who should be elected to make decisions for them. However, if people do not properly participate i...People power is the fundamental concept of democracy and power of the people is exercised though voting. People decide who should be elected to make decisions for them. However, if people do not properly participate in the voting process and only two-thirds of all eligible voters participate in an election, the democratic institution loses its credibility and becomes vulnerable. This paper investigates various changes in voting institutions throughout the USAwith a simulation model that analyzes the efficacy of such methods to attain higher voter turnout.展开更多
The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more importance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing...The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more importance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing trends in business and social environments, growing environmental consciousness in the society and government legislations to protect the environment as well as the business. In this context, this paper considers a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain network design with forward and reverse logistics components. An attempt has been made to develop a mixed integer non-linear programming model for this problem with different costs so that the sum of the total cost is minimized subject to different constraints pertaining to capacities of the entities of the system, demands of first customers and second customers. A generalized model is presented and then its application is illustrated using an example problem by solving the model using LINGO14. This model forms as a tool to compare future meta-heuristics to check the closeness of their solutions with corresponding optimal solutions.展开更多
【目的】在城市时空动态演变中,对广州市海珠区未来发展的不同情景进行模拟,探索城市动态发展和区域协同引导下城市生态网络韧性测度方法与设计响应,在中观尺度下讨论城市可持续发展的导向及规划策略。【方法】以广州市海珠区为例,提出...【目的】在城市时空动态演变中,对广州市海珠区未来发展的不同情景进行模拟,探索城市动态发展和区域协同引导下城市生态网络韧性测度方法与设计响应,在中观尺度下讨论城市可持续发展的导向及规划策略。【方法】以广州市海珠区为例,提出“城市-湿地复合体”概念并总结其特征,运用斑块级土地利用变化模拟(patch-generating land use simulation,PLUS)模型,模拟2030年自然发展、城市扩张和生态优先3种情景下的土地利用格局,结合形态学空间格局分析(morphological spatial pattern analysis,MSPA)与图论方法,构建动态演进的生态网络并量化其韧性特征。通过介数中心性分析和节点删除算法,评估生态网络结构韧性与功能韧性,揭示“城市-湿地复合体”的韧性响应机制。【结果】海珠区生态源地的分布与珠江河网、湿地公园(如海珠湿地)及城市绿地系统高度重合。自然发展情景下生态网络连通性、抗干扰能力和连接效率最高,结构韧性强;城市扩张情景下生态网络对关键节点依赖性增强,功能韧性较弱;生态优先情景下生态网络韧性阈值最高,韧性水平高。【结论】生态网络是保障城市生态韧性的关键载体。“城市-湿地复合体”生态网络韧性测度,可以为中观尺度下城市生态敏感区的生态韧性强化及设计响应提供新思路。展开更多
基金funded by Ministry of Research and Higher Education through LPPM Universitas Riau under grant number 09/UN.19/KP/2018
文摘There are rising interests in the utility of groundwater in various aspects,which is capable of triggering problematic issues.The excessive exploitation for anthropologic uses,without regards to aquifer capacity,will decreases the water table as well as capacity of groundwater in the aquifer.This research was aimed to provide aquifer model of underground water by consideration of various environmental factors,with the propensity of being modeled,in an attempt to predict groundwater conditions in subsequent years.The purpose of this research was to forecast water requirements,availability,as well as three-dimensional model of groundwater depth in Kemuning,Indragiri Hilir Regency-Indonesia between 2015 and 2022.Furthermore,various environmental factors,from aquifer profiles to anthropologic demand,are taken into account in the evaluated model,including water requirements,encompassing recharge and aquifer parameters,which consists of storativity and transmissivity.From anthropologic side are domestic requirements,trade,public facilities,agriculture,and livestock.The results show that groundwater availability in Kemuning is to be safe condition,and average difference is 1.06×108 m3/yr.The coefficient of storativity and transmissivity are 16.514 m2/day and 9897.26 m2/day,respectively,while the average depth was recorded as 2.8965 m to 10.4927 m.
文摘Nearly half of the world’s population comprise youths. However, addressing their Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) remains a challenge. Globally countries are mandated to continually provide Youth Friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health services (YFSRHs) to the youth. The objective of this study was to assess and describe youth’s perspectives on a sustainable model for the provision of YFSRHs in Kenya. Data was collected among 400 youths aged 18 - 24 years in Embu and Kirinyaga counties, Kenya. A structured questionnaire was utilized as the data collection tool. Collected data was analyzed using SAS statistical software version 9.4. Statistical threshold of P ≤ 0.05 was used. Overall the mean age of the study participants was ±standard deviation (SD) 21.2 ± 1.86 years. Majority of the participants’ perspective on the health care system sustainability was that the waiting time at the facility should be less than an hour, accessible geographically (less than a kilometre), affordable (≤20 Ksh.), and convenient working hours (weekday and weekends ratio 1:1). Advocacy was on health care provider’s attributes of politeness, welcoming, confidential and non-judgmental. The most preferred locations for the youth friendly centres by the participants were community and school based locations. Similarly, parental and community support was reported to highly contribute to sustained utilization and provision of the YFSRHs (P < 0.001). Unlike popular belief, 99.8% did not see the need for recreational facilities at the youth centres to ensure sustainability of the model. To ensure a sustainable model for the provision of YFSRHs, there is need for a multi-sectoral and stakeholder involvement that is;youth, health care system structure, health care service providers, parents and community. Further research is needed on parents and health care service provider’s perspectives on how to sustain the provision of YFSRH services.
文摘The greatest service industry and income gainer throughout the world occupies a special role and position in developing geographical areas. This study attempts to use “Reynard” model to investigate the role of tourism and its effects on the development of rural settlements with emphasis on Pa Ggaleh Village, which is one of the environs in Mamasani, Iran. Due to its historical and religious attractions and natural and cultural landscapes, this village is highly significant and has the potential to become a tourism hub and attract tourists. The methodology applied in this research is cross-sectional. Tourism potentials of Pa Ghaleh village are identified and evaluated in this study. Geological maps, topographies and field data are used to evaluate the district attractions. Their tourism potentials are also evaluated and rated using Reynard model. According to the sub-criteria of rarity and historical geography, the research results indicate that scientific value has the highest rank. In other words, tourism places in Pa Ghaleh village include 72% of scientific value, 0.59% of added value and 0.57% of compound value.
文摘A synopsis of political welfare concepts, which are currently discussed under labels such as ＂green growth＂, ＂zero growth＂ and ＂degrowth＂, has identified fundamental shortcomings concerning the informational bases of the complex links between ecological, social and economic systems, which were taken into account in the creation of the concept. In the development of a concept for political action, a rationally acting environmental policy cannot neglect reflecting on which economic, ecological and social contexts have to be taken into account and on which normative statements its decisions should be grounded. The proposed sustainable welfare model consists of a positive impact and a normative decision model. The positive model provides a description of the ＂world＂ with which the effects of the various options for action on the environmental, social and the economic systems can be assessed. The normative model is a tool for selecting and assessing the options for action in pursuing the desired goal of sustainable welfare development. Principally the key environmental goals are prearranged to socio-economic goals. The model at hand provides the reference points for the development of a sustainable welfare concept, which can be used as a political action plan in the context of environmental policy.
基金supported by Guangdong Higher Educational Promoting Program of"The Study on Emerging Mechanism of Brand Sustainability":[Grant Number 2014WTSCX120]Guangdong Natural Science Fund Program of"Research on the Complicated System of Brand Sustainability":[Grant Number 2015A030313703]
文摘This article aims to investigate the public's sustainability mental model(SMM), which can reveal the sustainability dilemma from the public respective, other than enterprise or government. In this article, SMM is defined as one's cognitive structure, thinking mode, and behavior tendency when someone deals with sustainability issues. After theoretical analysis, the authors developed reliable and valid measures systematically and conducted a typical survey with 581 participants from college students' families in Guangdong province in China. Based on those samples, the author used the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to construct a measurement model of SMM, which includes three dimensions, i.e. sustainable cognition, sustainable thinking, and sustainable behavior intention. According to SMM survey and clustering analysis, the results indicate that SMM of those participants is inactive. Even though those samples do not represent the whole country comprehensively, but this survey was sampled typically and they came from around China. So, the authors consider the SMM scores can reflect Chinese people to some extent, leading to the assumption that SMM of Chinese people is not active presently.
文摘Dengue community capacity (DCC) is important for developing a sustainable approach to over-coming the problem of dengue. The objectives were 1) to develop and 2) evaluate a dengue community capacity building model for the leader and non-leader group in three communities selected by purposive technique. A mixed method research design was used employing both qualitative and quantitative methods with qualitative studies conducted for community capacity building model: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. DCC level was assessed by the Dengue Community Capacity Assessment Tool (DCCAT) including larval indices, and morbidity and mortality rate. To analyze the differences of the leader and non-leader’s DCC levels both pre and post-interventions in each model, the Mann-Whitney and Independent T-test were used and to analyze the difference of the DCC level among the three models (Ban Mon, Ban Nangpraya and Ban Kang), the Kruskal-Wallis Test, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were used. The findings showed that there were some differences among the three models in dengue community capacity building in terms model. The participants consisted of leader (n = 26, 24 and 28) and non-leader groups (n = 200, 215 and 176 respectively). The DCC levels of both leader and non-leader groups increased post-intervention in each model (p < 0.001) and in all three models, showing a statistically significant difference between pre and post-intervention (p < 0.001). Ban Kang model demonstrated the highest DCC levels of leader and non-leader groups, the lowest larval indices (HI, BI, and CI), and no dengue morbidity. In contrast, Ban Mon and Ban Nangpraya model showed low DCC level in both leader and non-leader groups, a high rate of larval indices and high dengue morbidity rate. However, there was no mortality rate in three areas. The conclusion indicates that the model with a high DCC level showed low risk on the dengue index both entomological and epidemiology index. The model of dengue community capacity building for dengue solution was sustainability not only needs to be maintained DCC levels but also increased dependent upon the contexts of each community.
文摘Blockchain technology holds significant promise for driving innovations across diverse industries, businesses, and applications. Recognized as a crucial source of competitive advantage in a fast-evolving environment, blockchain is anticipated to contribute substantially to sustainable economic and social development. Despite these high expectations, many blockchain projects currently face high failure rates, leading to negative impacts on various aspects of economic and social sustainability, including corporate governance, risk management, financial management, human resources, culture management, and competitiveness. This paper evaluates adoption models, identifying both risk and success factors. It introduces an integrated adoption model designed to operationalize, measure, and manage blockchain-driven business innovation sustainably. An empirical study involving 20 industry sectors and 125 business leaders was conducted to assess the model’s applicability. The findings indicate that the adoption model has the potential to support the sustainable implementation of blockchain technology for business innovations across various industries and applications. Future research and industry activities should continue validating this model through further case studies.
文摘The cultivated area is an important component of land resources that has a direct impact on food security. Egyptian cultivated area was estimated to be 3.86 million hectares in 2020. Recently, there has been a decline in cultivated areas, which could be attributed to a number of factors, including climatic changes and urban sprawl, endangering Egyptian sustainable development. So, the aim of the current study was to forecast the values of cultivated areas in Egypt for the next five years using the ARIMA model based on data from 1990 to 2020. The model predicted a decrease in cultivated area in coming years of about 3.06, 3.19, 3.084, 3.082 and 3.21 million hectares, respectively, according to the results. This forecasting will aid the country’s policy development for future land using planning and agricultural production.
文摘Sustainability is a key objective of water resources management and this paper describes a modelling and decision support framework that achieves this, illustrated by applications on the UK Thames and Mekong river basins. The decision support framework contains several modules, including an interactive user＇s interface linked to a GIS, a geo-database, knowledge base, simulation models and optimization procedures. Based on the analysis of scenarios and proposed interventions, efficient modelling and optimization tools form a comprehensive integrated decision support framework for the analysis and operational management of water resources in the river basin, our emphasis has been on a practical implementation through careful screening of alternatives, consideration of the institutional framework and direct involvement of stakeholders in the decision making process. Operating in this environment is transparent, reproducible and auditable, securing the trust of all interested parties. This paper discusses its applications to water utilisation on the Mekong river basin and drought management of the Lower Thames stored reservoir system.
文摘Global concerns toward environmental issues have induced growing demand for new approaches in the construction because of its considerable impact on the environment and use of natural resources. Through using construction sustainability tools, methods and techniques, a greener design can be applied during various building phases. In this connection, it is argued that the analytical and integrated models applied by Building Information Modelling (BIM) may also facilitate this process to be performed more efficiently. BIM and construction sustainability are quite different initiatives, but both have received much attention in recent years in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. A rigorous analysis of the interactions between them implies that a synergy exists which, if properly it is understood that can be helpful to reduce the environmental impacts of the AEC industry. A BIM-based design model can contribute to sustainability through its three main dimensions which are environmental, economic and social. In this paper, by reviewing the existing literature on BIM and construction sustainability and using a matrix to analyze construction sustainability dimensions and BIM functionalities a number of interactions have been discussed. It can be concluded that despite there are many improvements in implementation of BIM in environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, its potential impact on social dimension has not been explicitly explored hence further studies need to be undertaken in this area.
文摘A framework is built, wherein hydrological/water quality model is used to measure watershed sustainability. For this framework, watershed sustainability has been defined and quantified by defining social, environmental and biodiversity indicators. By providing weightage to these indicators, a “River Basin Sustainability Index” is built. The watershed sustainability is then calculated based on the concepts of reliability, resilience and vulnerability. The framework is then applied to a case study, where, based on watershed management principles, four land use scenarios are created in GIS. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used as a hydrology/water quality model. Based on the results the land uses are ranked for sustainability and policy implications have been discussed. This results show that landuse (both type and location) impact watershed sustainability. The existing land use is weak in environmental sustainability. Also, riparian zones play a critical role in watershed sustainability, although beyond certain width their contribution is not significant.
文摘People power is the fundamental concept of democracy and power of the people is exercised though voting. People decide who should be elected to make decisions for them. However, if people do not properly participate in the voting process and only two-thirds of all eligible voters participate in an election, the democratic institution loses its credibility and becomes vulnerable. This paper investigates various changes in voting institutions throughout the USAwith a simulation model that analyzes the efficacy of such methods to attain higher voter turnout.
文摘The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more importance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing trends in business and social environments, growing environmental consciousness in the society and government legislations to protect the environment as well as the business. In this context, this paper considers a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain network design with forward and reverse logistics components. An attempt has been made to develop a mixed integer non-linear programming model for this problem with different costs so that the sum of the total cost is minimized subject to different constraints pertaining to capacities of the entities of the system, demands of first customers and second customers. A generalized model is presented and then its application is illustrated using an example problem by solving the model using LINGO14. This model forms as a tool to compare future meta-heuristics to check the closeness of their solutions with corresponding optimal solutions.
文摘【目的】在城市时空动态演变中,对广州市海珠区未来发展的不同情景进行模拟,探索城市动态发展和区域协同引导下城市生态网络韧性测度方法与设计响应,在中观尺度下讨论城市可持续发展的导向及规划策略。【方法】以广州市海珠区为例,提出“城市-湿地复合体”概念并总结其特征,运用斑块级土地利用变化模拟(patch-generating land use simulation,PLUS)模型,模拟2030年自然发展、城市扩张和生态优先3种情景下的土地利用格局,结合形态学空间格局分析(morphological spatial pattern analysis,MSPA)与图论方法,构建动态演进的生态网络并量化其韧性特征。通过介数中心性分析和节点删除算法,评估生态网络结构韧性与功能韧性,揭示“城市-湿地复合体”的韧性响应机制。【结果】海珠区生态源地的分布与珠江河网、湿地公园(如海珠湿地)及城市绿地系统高度重合。自然发展情景下生态网络连通性、抗干扰能力和连接效率最高,结构韧性强;城市扩张情景下生态网络对关键节点依赖性增强,功能韧性较弱;生态优先情景下生态网络韧性阈值最高,韧性水平高。【结论】生态网络是保障城市生态韧性的关键载体。“城市-湿地复合体”生态网络韧性测度,可以为中观尺度下城市生态敏感区的生态韧性强化及设计响应提供新思路。
