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Many European businesses are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), contributing significantly to the well-being of local economies and regions. Even so, SMEs face many challenges in fostering innovation and improving performance. Furthermore, the raw material consumption is increasing globally, necessitating the development of strategies that will reduce the number of raw materials extracted and imported while improving the sustainability of small and medium-sized businesses. Consequently, promoting circular economy (CE) strategies, such as industrial symbiosis (IS) partnerships, whereby waste products from other industries serve as a source of raw materials for companies, is critical. Identifying and analysing enablers or drivers that support IS collaborations among SMEs is necessary to achieve this goal. In this regard, the purpose of this study will explore the enablers of IS among SMEs considering sustainability dimensions (environmental, social and economic). As facing a decision-making (DM) problem, the multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) approach was applied in a hesitant fuzzy (HF) environment in this research to answer the research questions. In this regard, in phase 1, IS enablers were identified and extracted using a literature review and experts’ opinions. In phase 2, the hesitant fuzzy Delphi (HFD) method was implemented to screen and finalise the enablers identified. In phase 3, casual relations among final enablers were determined using the hesitant fuzzy ANP (HF-ANP) method. Finally, in phase 4, the relative importance of enablers was calculated using the hesitant fuzzy best–worst method (HF-BWM). Consequently, this study provided potential strategies for IS that can be implemented quickly and used by local authorities to support SMEs in achieving circular waste management.

Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the broad applicability and effectiveness of the technique from different aspects and providing a new means to solve agricultural science problems. The analysis of the connotation and trend of the application of grey modeling technique in agricultural science research contributes to the enrichment of grey technique and the development of agricultural science in multiple dimensions.

Based on the relevant literature selected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Web of Science, SpiScholar and other databases in the past 37 years (1985–2021), this paper firstly applied the bibliometric method to quantitatively visualize and systematically analyze the trend of publication, productive author, productive institution, and highly cited literature. Then, the literature is combed by the application of different grey modeling techniques in agricultural science research, and the literature research progress is systematically analyzed.

The results show that grey model technology has broad prospects in the field of agricultural science research. Agricultural universities and research institutes are the main research forces in the application of grey model technology in agricultural science research, and have certain inheritance. The application of grey model technology in agricultural science research has wide applicability and precise practicability.

By analyzing and summarizing the application trend of grey model technology in agricultural science research, the research hotspot, research frontier and valuable research directions of grey model technology in agricultural science research can be more clearly grasped.

This study aims to improve the offshore wind farm (OWF) site selection evaluation index system and establishes a decision-making model for OWF site selection. It is expected to provide helpful references for the progress of offshore wind power.

Firstly, this paper establishes an evaluation criteria system for OWF site selection, considering six criteria (wind resource, environment, economic, technical, social and risk) and related subcriteria. Then, the Criteria Importance Though Intercrieria Correlation (CRITIC) method is introduced to figure out the weights of evaluation indexes. In addition, the cumulative prospect theory and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (CPT-TOPSIS) method are employed to construct the OWF site selection decision-making model. Finally, taking the OWF site selection in China as an example, the effectiveness and robustness of the framework are verified by sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis.

This study establishes the OWF site selection evaluation system and constructs a decision-making model under the spherical fuzzy environment. A case of China is employed to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the model.

In this paper, a new decision-making model is proposed for the first time, considering the ambiguity and uncertainty of information and the risk attitudes of decision-makers (DMs) in the decision-making process.

The finite element method (FEM) is used to calculate the two-dimensional anti-plane dynamic response of structure embedded in D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered soil on the rigid bedrock. This paper aims to research a time-domain absorbing boundary condition (ABC), which should be imposed on the truncation boundary of the finite domain to represent the dynamic interaction between the truncated infinite domain and the finite domain.

A high-order ABC for scalar wave propagation in the D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered media is proposed. A new operator separation method and the mode reduction are adopted to construct the time-domain ABC.

The derivation of the ABC is accurate for the single layer but less accurate for the multilayer. To achieve high accuracy, therefore, the distance from the truncation boundary to the region of interest can be zero for the single layer but need to be about 0.5 times of the total layer height of the infinite domain for the multilayer. Both single-layered and multilayered numerical examples verify that the accuracy of the ABC is almost the same for both cases of only using the modal number excited by dynamic load and using the full modal number of infinite domain. Using the ABC with reduced modes can not only reduce the computation cost but also be more friendly to the stability. Numerical examples demonstrate the superior properties of the proposed ABC with stability, high accuracy and remarkable coupling with the FEM.

A high-order time-domain ABC for scalar wave propagation in the D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered media is proposed. The proposed ABC is suitable for both linear elastic and D’Alembert viscoelastic media, and it can be coupled seamlessly with the FEM. A new operator separation method combining mode reduction is presented with better stability than the existing methods.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a booming sector that has profoundly influenced every walk of life, and the education sector is no exception. In education, AI has helped to develop novel teaching and learning solutions that are currently being tested in various contexts. Businesses and governments across the globe have been pouring money into a wide array of implementations, and dozens of EdTech start-ups are being funded to capitalise on this technological force. The penetration of AI in classroom teaching is also a profound matter of discussion. These have garnered massive amounts of student big data and have a significant impact on the life of both students and educators alike.

Purpose: The prime focus of this chapter is to extensively review and analyse the vast literature available on the utilities of AI in health care, learning, and development. The specific objective of thematic exploration of the literature is to explicate the principal facets and recent advances in the development and employment of AI in the latter. This chapter also aims to explore how the EdTech and healthcare–education sectors would witness a paradigm shift with the advent and incorporation of AI.

Design/Methodology/Approach: To provide context and evidence, relevant publications were identified on ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar using keywords like AI, education, learning, health care, and development. In addition, the latest articles were also thoroughly reviewed to underscore recent advances in the same field.

Results: The implementation of AI in the learning, development, and healthcare sector is rising steeply, with a projected expansion of about 50% by 2022. These algorithms and user interfaces economically facilitate efficient delivery of the latter.

Conclusions: The EdTech and healthcare sector has great potential for a spectrum of AI-based interventions, providing access to learning opportunities and personalised experiences. These interventions are often economic in the long run compared to conventional modalities. However, several ethical and regulatory concerns should be addressed before the complete adoption of AI in these sectors.

Originality/Value: The value in exploring this topic is to present a view on the potential of employing AI in health care, medical education, and learning and development. It also intends to open a discussion of its potential benefits and a remedy to its shortcomings.

This chapter is building conceptual background of psychological risk for international tourists. Drawing on Place Attachment Theory, Moral Disengagement Theory, Followership Theory, Job Demands-Resources, Acculturation Theory and Goal Progress Theory of Rumination, this chapter proposes a framework of psychological risks with six psychological risks that tourists could encounter in foreign destination: destination detachment risk, moral disengagement risk, risk of false risk assessment, burnout risk, risk of loneliness and risk of rumination. High destination detachment could lead tourists to behave less environmentally friendly, while high moral disengagement could lead tourists to behave less ethically friendly. Followership to the influencers in social media could lead tourists to engage in risk-taking behaviours and false risk assessment, leading to burnout risk, risk of loneliness and risk of rumination, where negative autobiographical memory is created and forming memory-related distress when they arrive homes. Place detachment and moral disengagement risk local environmental and social health, while burnout, loneliness and rumination pose risks for the tourists' psychological health. Several studies propose suggestions for the destination manager and tourists to manage the risk effectively and adequately, including place attachment and moral engagement campaign, careful travel planning and social support.

This chapter examines China’s corporate governance and accounting environment that shapes the adoption of internationally acceptable principles and standards. Specifically, it examines international influences, including supranational organizations; foreign investors and international accounting firms; domestic institutional influences, including the political system, economic system, legal system, and cultural system; and accounting infrastructure. China’s convergence is driven by desired efficiency of the corporate sector and legitimacy of participating in the global market. Influenced heavily by international forces in the context of globalization, corporate governance and accounting practices are increasingly becoming in line with internationally acceptable standards and codes. While convergence assists China in obtaining legitimacy, improving efficiency is likely to be adversely affected given that corporate governance and accounting in China operate in an environment that differs considerably from those of Anglo-American countries. An examination of the corporate governance and accounting environment in China suggests heavy government involvement within underdeveloped institutions. While the Chinese government has made impressive progress in developing the corporate governance and accounting environment for the market economy, China’s unique institutional setting is likely to affect how the imported concepts are interpreted and implemented.

In this paper, the standard Peridynamic Timoshenko beam model accounting for the shear deformation is chosen to describe the thick beam kinematics. Unfortunately, when applied to very thin beam structures, the standard Peridynamics (PD) encounters the shear locking phenomenon, leading to incorrect solutions.

PD differs from classical continuum mechanics and other nonlocal theories that do not involve spatial derivatives of the displacement field. PD is based on the integral equation instead of differential equations to handle discontinuities and other singularities.

The shear locking can be successfully alleviated using the developed selective integration method. In particular, this technique has been implemented in the standard PD, which allows an accurate result for a wide range of slenderness from very thin to thick (10 < L/t < 10³) structures. It can also accelerate the computational time for particular dynamic problems using fewer neighboring integration particles. Several numerical examples are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for modeling beam structures.

The paper highlights the severe shear locking phenomenon in the Peridynamic Timoshenko beam available in the literature, especially for very thin structures. A new alternative for the alleviation of shear locking in the Peridynamic Timoshenko beam, using selective integration. Hence the developed Peridynamic Timoshenko beam model is effective for thin and thick structures. A new peridynamic formulation for the low-velocity impact beam models is presented and validated.

1. The paper highlights the severe shear locking phenomenon in the Peridynamic Timoshenko beam proposed in the literature, especially for very thin structures.

2. The developed Peridynamic Timoshenko beam model based on selective integration is effective for thin and thick structures.

3. A new peridynamic formulation for the low-velocity impact beam models is presented and validated.

The paper highlights the severe shear locking phenomenon in the Peridynamic Timoshenko beam proposed in the literature, especially for very thin structures.

The developed Peridynamic Timoshenko beam model based on selective integration is effective for thin and thick structures.

A new peridynamic formulation for the low-velocity impact beam models is presented and validated.