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The prevalent practice of construction supply chain (CSC) in developing countries with a focus on Africa was presented in this chapter. Two African countries (South Africa and Ghana) were selected due to the extensive literature on the CSC emanating from the countries. The impediment to the effective management of the CSC in the two African countries was also examined in this chapter. It was discovered that the vital inhibition to the performance of CSC in developing countries is the adoption of culture from developed countries without a proper model for ensuring its implementation in developing countries. Also, no model has incorporated the principles and technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to manage the CSC. The failure to adopt the 4IR technologies like block chain, big data and the internet of things has prevented the proper application of CSC practices in developing countries. CSC practices like collaboration, integration, lean supply chain, information sharing, financial management and communication are the primary practice in developing countries. Finally, this chapter called for the development of a model for managing the CSC in developing countries in alignment with the principles of the 4IR.

Smart cities require data governance to articulate data sharing and use among relevant stakeholders. Given the lack of a comprehensive examination of this research topic, this study aims to review data governance publications to detect and categorize endeavors backing up data sharing in smart cities.

A systematic literature review was conducted, and 568 academic and professional sources were identified, but finally, only 10 relevant papers were selected.

Results reveal that data governance must be based on well-defined mechanisms, procedures and roles to achieve accountability and responsibility in a multi-actor environment. Moreover, data governance should be adapted to address power imbalances among all interested parties.

The main limitation is the list of sources considered for the literature review. However, this study provides a holistic overview for researchers and professionals willing to know more about smart city data sharing.

This review identifies the data governance approaches supporting data sharing in smart cities, analyzes their data dimension, enhances the state-of-the-art literature on this topic and suggests possible areas for future research.

The Purpose of this paper is to identify statistical relationships between visual environment and occupant productivity. Visual environment is one of the most important indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters, and it directly impacts occupant productivity in offices. The literature outlines the significance of the impact. Still, there is a lack of investigation, statistical analysis and inter-relationships between the independent variables (IEQ factors), especially in the hot and arid climate.

This study presents a research study investigating the effects and shows statistical relationships between IEQ on occupant comfort and productivity. The study was conducted in the Middle East, and data was collected for 12 months. It used the response surface analysis to perform analysis.

This study outlined seven unique relationships highlighting the recommended range, inter-dependencies. Results include that illumination has maximum effect on visual comfort and temperature, daylight having direct influence and relative humidity, wall type next to the seat and kind of workspace also impact visual comfort and productivity. These findings would help to improve occupant comfort and productivity in office buildings. It is recommended to include results and recommendations on design guidelines for office buildings.

This study presents the unique effects of non-visual IEQ parameters on visual comfort and productivity. This investigation also provides a unique method to develop the statistical relationship between various indoor environmental factors and productivity in different contexts and buildings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the dynamic relationship that exists between energy consumption, environmental pollution and per capita economic growth in Tanzania. The energy consumption is represented by electricity usage in kilowatt hours (kWh) per capita, while environmental pollution is represented by carbon emission per metric tons and economic growth by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

This investigation is made based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve using time series annual data from 1975 to 2013 by applying the more robust causality technique of Toda and Yamamoto non-Causality test (1995), Impulse response and Variance Decomposition, Augumented and Dickey–Fueller test and Philips and Perron Test of unit root tests.

Economic growth rate (LGDP) and energy consumption per capita (LENGY), both being unidirectional, cause environmental pollution through carbon emission (LCO₂) in Tanzania. Interestingly, after using impulse response, a significant and positive economic growth (GDP per capita) was found due to shocks from electricity per capita (energy consumption) and carbon emission (LCO₂) with time. The Variance Decomposition suggested that the percentage of the variations due to shocks or innovations of economic growth (LGDP) and energy consumption (LENGY) to carbon emission is very high and significant, accounting to 46 and 41 per cent, respectively, in 10 years to come.

The study recommends that, in the future, the relationship be examined using super-exogeneity causality tests that takes into consideration the changes in policy or regime in contrast to Toda and Yamamoto. Furthermore, the addition of other variables such as fixed capital formation and labor force, which were not considered in this study, may result in strong correlation.

The results imply that the government of Tanzania can adopt environment conservation and energy saving policies without affecting its economic growth. As a matter of fact, to put a stop to persistent environmental pollution in Tanzania, the energy saving policy should be put in place rather quickly. It is imperative that the government implements policies and strategies that ensure continuous economic growth without forsaking the environment.

Despite the increase in carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Tanzania since 2000, to date, no previous work has been done to investigate their multivariate relationship. This is the first study that uses the Toda and Yamamoto non-Causality test, Impulse Response and Variance Decomposition Analysis to investigate a trivariate relationship of the variables mentioned above.

A more efficient land and property market is fundamental to solving Africa’s apparently endemic problems with real property development. Despite similar problems in other developing countries, they are more pronounced in sub‐Saharan Africa and, in the absence of appropriate remedial measures, will inevitably escalate as population growth gathers momentum. This paper highlights the need for Africa to develop the necessary institutions to support the property and construction sectors, to facilitate infrastructure delivery and promote sustainable growth and development.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the linear and nonlinear effects of market integration on carbon emissions and explore the direct and indirect paths of market integration on carbon emissions through path analysis.

The authors first conduct a measurement and contrastive study of the market integration and carbon emissions of China’s 28 provinces from year 1995 to 2015. Then, the linear effect of market integration on carbon emissions is analyzed by using the fixed-effect model. Next, based on the path analysis method, the direct and indirect paths of market integration’s impact on carbon emissions are explored. Finally, the panel threshold regression model is used to evaluate the effect of market integration on carbon emissions under different situations of geographic distance.

The results show that first, the improvement of market integration can increase carbon emissions in the form of a linear relationship. Second, market integration not only has a direct and positive impact on the carbon emissions, but also has an indirect and positive impact on carbon emissions through the level of economic development, and a negative impact on carbon emissions through technological level. Third, an increase in market integration can reduce its positive effect on carbon emissions, but the improvement of economic growth and technology level can both enhance the positive effect of market integration on carbon emissions.

This paper focuses on the impact of market integration on carbon emissions in 30 provinces in China, while, the authors do not conduct a comparative analysis of different regions, so there are certain limitations. In addition, policy interaction between regional governments is also a key factor affecting carbon emissions, but this paper does not consider the effect of policy interaction, future follow-up research will try to incorporate it into the analytical models.

An important practical implication of this research is that market integration should be regarded highly in China’s energy conservation and emission reduction efforts. The research results have important reference value for policy authorities to formulate relevant policies. That is, the government can play a more active role in the process of integration through breaking the regional blockade and interest barriers to comprehensively improve resource utilization efficiency and technical level, and ultimately achieve regional low-carbon development.

This paper explores the effects of market integration on China’s carbon emissions based on different methods and perspectives, and confirms that market integration plays a vital role in China’s carbon emissions through economic growth and technological progress. Notably, based on the studied results, some specific and practical suggestions are proposed in this paper so as to reduce carbon emission and realize the sustainable development of economy and society in China.

This study aims to examine the effects of energy consumption on economic growth by means of a panel data analysis of 75 net energy-importing countries for the period 1990 to 2012.

For the purpose of the analysis, the countries are classified into two groups, and each group is then classified into subgroups. The first group is formed based on the energy import dependence of the countries and is classified into two subgroups according to whether their dependence is greater than or less than 50 per cent. The second group is formed based on the income level of the countries and is classified into four subgroups, specifically, low-income economies, lower-middle-income economies, upper-middle-income economies and high-income economies.

The findings obtained for both panel data and for each country indicate that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between energy consumption and economic growth over the long term such that energy consumption contributes more to economic growth as the import dependence of the country decreases. Moreover, the effect of energy consumption on economic growth decreases as the income level of the country increases. This indicates that the efficient use of energy is as important as energy consumption, which is regarded as an important indicator of economic development.

The authors expect that these findings will make a valuable contribution to the results of future studies, as they analyze the relationships among the variables by including the energy intensities of the countries.

Este estudio examina los efectos del consumo de energía en el crecimiento económico, mediante un análisis de datos de panel de 75 países importadores netos de energía para el período 1990-2012.

A los efectos del análisis, los países se clasifican en dos grupos y cada grupo luego se clasifica en subgrupos. El primer grupo se forma en base a la dependencia de los países en materia de importación de energía y se clasifica en dos subgrupos según su dependencia sea superior o inferior al 50%. El segundo grupo se forma sobre la base del nivel de ingresos de los países y se clasifica en cuatro subgrupos: economías de ingresos bajos, economías de ingresos medios-bajos, economías de ingresos medios-altos y economías de ingresos altos.

Los hallazgos obtenidos, tanto para los datos de panel como para cada país, indican que existe una relación positiva y estadísticamente significativa entre el consumo de energía y el crecimiento económico a largo plazo, de modo que el consumo de energía contribuye más al crecimiento económico a medida que disminuye la dependencia de las importaciones del país. Además, el efecto del consumo de energía en el crecimiento económico disminuye a medida que aumenta el nivel de ingresos del país. Esto indica que el uso eficiente de la energía es tan importante como el consumo de la misma, que se considera un indicador importante del desarrollo económico.

Los autores esperan que estos hallazgos aporten una valiosa contribución para estudios futuros, ya que analizan las relaciones entre las variables mediante la inclusión de las intensidades de los países.

Consumo de energía, Crecimiento económico, Importadores netos de energía, Panel de datos

Artículo de investigación

Ecological economics is a multidisciplinary endeavour to connect the social sciences and nature in general. It also connects aspects of ecology and economics to a particular understanding. The created concept centred on the mission to acquire a more advanced albeit better scientific understanding of the complex interconnections between humans, animals and the rest of nature. This is driven towards utilising the obtained knowledge to establish policies that will lead to a more environmentally sustainable world, with a fair resource distribution (both across human groups and generations, as well as between humans, the environment and other species), and also efficiently allocates limited resources such as ‘natural’ and ‘social’ capital. This practice necessitates the development of new methodologies that are comprehensive, adaptive, integrative, multi-scale, pluralistic and evolutionary, while also acknowledging the enormous uncertainties involved.

Sustainability of construction project is incomplete without putting into consideration the health and safety of the workforce and other stakeholders working on a project environment. One of the criteria used to evaluate the performance of a sustainable construction project is health. This chapter gives an insight on health as a yardstick for measuring the success of a sustainable construction project, with respect to the health of the personnel working on a project, meaning of health, what constitutes health and health in construction. It also buttresses value of the health of workforce in construction and the need to see health as an important project performance index, as a healthy construction manpower on a construction project will determine and translate the quick delivery of construction project and on time.

The purpose of the study is to determine website quality, materialism, psychological factors, hedonic value and social media as factors that influence the young adults’ impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior in India. In addition, this study also measures the mediating effects of social media influence between psychological factors and hedonic value and young adults’ impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior.

Related literature, quantifiable variables with a five-point Likert Scale, hypothesis testing and mediators are used to study the model. A systematic questionnaire that was divided into six sections was used. A total of 385 valid responses were collected and analyzed through a structural equation model.

The results suggest that materialism, psychological factors and social media have a considerable impact on young adults’ impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior. The findings also ascertained that website quality and hedonic value do not have a considerable impact on young adults’ impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior.

This study is limited to the responses of young consumers from a limited number of brokers and regions in India. Future studies could be more widespread across the globe.

As per the review of existing literature, this research is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to determine the factors affecting the impulse buying decision mainly in the housing and real estate sector with the target consumers being young.