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1 – 10 of 562Tien-Chi Huang, Shin-Jia Ho, Wen-Hui Zheng and Yu Shu
The importance of multidimensional and engaging instruction for sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education cannot be overstated. Such instructions should motivate…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of multidimensional and engaging instruction for sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education cannot be overstated. Such instructions should motivate students not only to memorize and contemplate these goals but also to actively participate in addressing SDG-related challenges. Consequently, this study aims to develop practical and appropriate instructional approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education to enhance students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors concerning sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
By using a quasi-experimental design, this ESD study was conducted at a university in central Taiwan. A total of 121 students from diverse academic backgrounds participated in the 16-week experiment, which was divided into three groups. Lecturing, thematic teaching and design-thinking strategies were applied to these respective groups.
Findings
The thematic-teaching and design-thinking groups displaying improved cognitive performance. However, the quantity results revealed that the design-thinking group surpassed the other two groups in sustainability knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and mind map tasks. The qualitative findings further indicated that design thinking – through multiple practical problem-solving activities – guided college students to think independently and sustainably, as well as enabled them to internalize the value of sustainable development. By implementing these effective approaches, the core goals of ESD-related personal and societal transformations may be realized.
Practical implications
This study proposed a goal-oriented ESD instructional model for educators, demonstrating the efficacy of design thinking in cultivating higher-order thinking and affection for ESD in students. Additionally, this study introduced an innovative evaluation approach – mind mapping – to the ESD domain, which may compensate for the limitations of the survey method.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of design thinking and thematic-based pedagogies in sustainable development higher education. Additionally, it also offers a practical ESD instructional model with reference value for scholars and multi-domain instructors. Moreover, the study highlights that by examining organizational governance from the perspectives of design thinking and higher-order affection, sustainable and economic development need not be mutually exclusive concepts. Instead, pursuing SDGs can be viewed as investment opportunities for organizations rather than mere costs.
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Bo Zhou, Abu Bakkar Siddik and Zheng Guang-Wen
One of the best ways to assist China is through infrastructure investment. China might become more resilient to natural calamities by pouring more money into its transport…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the best ways to assist China is through infrastructure investment. China might become more resilient to natural calamities by pouring more money into its transport network. Analyzing the relationship between China's degree of planned expansion and the country's current network of transport hubs can help with city development estimates. A wide range of factors were taken into consideration while evaluating China's dominance and the caliber of its transportation infrastructure. Using a geographical autocorrelation model and a coupling coordination model, the dynamic link between China's adaptability and the caliber of its transportation infrastructure is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
China's northwest is underdeveloped in comparison to the southeast, which has a high level of resilience and development of its transportation infrastructure. The relationship between the levels of resilience upheld by China's transport infrastructure is suggested to be coordinated.
Findings
The authors find a positive geographical autocorrelation between the degree of coupling coordination and the degree of agglomeration, despite the fact that the distance between cities increases with time. They now believe that there is a connection between an area's population density and the degree of interspousal cooperation within. The consequence is an improvement in both national security and economic prosperity. The facilities for disaster management and transportation in China have received several proposals for improvement.
Practical implications
The authors' Practical Implications suggests that scale inefficiency is a major contributor to the relatively poor efficiency of China's primary inland river ports. Different types of inland river ports may have vastly different water system efficiencies. Input and output congestion at China's important interior river ports has reached 51%, making it very clear that massive amounts of valuable port resources are being wasted.
Originality/value
Many variables, such as climate and human error, affect the total amount of goods that can be moved via inner river ports. Ports situated either higher up or lower down the same canal may perform better or worse, respectively, depending on the circumstances.
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Bowen Zheng, Mudasir Hussain, Yang Yang, Albert P.C. Chan and Hung-Lin Chi
In the last decades, various building information modeling–life cycle assessment (BIM-LCA) integration approaches have been developed to assess the environmental impact of the…
Abstract
Purpose
In the last decades, various building information modeling–life cycle assessment (BIM-LCA) integration approaches have been developed to assess the environmental impact of the built asset. However, there is a lack of consensus on the optimal BIM-LCA integration approach that provides the most accurate and efficient assessment outcomes. To compare and determine their accuracy and efficiency, this study aimed to investigate four typical BIM-LCA integration solutions, namely, conventional, parametric modeling, plug-in and industry foundation classes (IFC)-based integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The four integration approaches were developed and applied using the same building project. A quantitative technique for evaluating the accuracy and efficiency of BIM-LCA integration solutions was used. Four indicators for assessing the performance of BIM-LCA integration were (1) validity of LCA results, (2) accuracy of bill-of-quantity (BOQ) extraction, (3) time for developing life cycle inventories (i.e. developing time) and (4) time for calculating LCA results (i.e. calculation time).
Findings
The results show that the plug-in-based approach outperforms others in developing and calculation time, while the conventional one could derive the most accuracy in BOQ extraction and result validity. The parametric modeling approach outperforms the IFC-based method regarding BOQ extraction, developing time and calculation time. Despite this, the IFC-based approach produces LCA outcomes with approximately 1% error, proving its validity.
Originality/value
This paper forms one of the first studies that employ a quantitative and objective method to determine the performance of four typical BIM-LCA integration solutions and reveal the trade-offs between the accuracy and efficiency of the integration approaches. The findings provide practical references for LCA practitioners to select appropriate BIM-LCA integration approaches for evaluating the environmental impact of the built asset during the design phase.
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Fangli Hu, Jun Wen, Danni Zheng and Wei Wang
This paper aims to introduce an under-researched concept, travel medicine, to the hospitality field and proposes future research directions. This paper also highlights the need to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce an under-researched concept, travel medicine, to the hospitality field and proposes future research directions. This paper also highlights the need to acknowledge the missing link between hospitality and medical science and encourages research on the health of hotel guests, especially those with mental disorders.
Design/methodology/approach
By synthesizing relevant literature, this study proposes a conceptual framework focused on identifying and filling knowledge gaps between hospitality and medical science. Pathways for empirical research on hotel guests’ travel health are suggested accordingly.
Findings
This paper reveals that the topic of travel medicine has been neglected in hospitality, especially in relation to vulnerable hotel guests. Additionally, this study suggests that researchers should move beyond the confines of social science and conduct interdisciplinary hospitality studies. In-depth analyses of hotel guests’ health and safety are also recommended.
Research limitations/implications
This conceptual piece serves as a “provocation” that is exploratory, thus laying a foundation for future interdisciplinary studies bridging hospitality and medical science. This paper offers practical significance for hospitality stakeholders (i.e. academics, practitioners, hotel guests and society) and also provides guidelines on how to create vulnerability-friendly hospitality environments.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study takes an important step toward interdisciplinary research between hospitality and medical science through the lens of travel medicine. This paper offers insight to bridge these disciplines and extend hospitality research into medical science. This paper further identifies an under-investigated topic and feasible research avenues that can offer timely solutions for hospitality academics and practitioners.
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The environment of uncertainty that emerged due to COVID-19 brought the need for the creation of new policies and strategies. In this aspect, it has been observed that various…
Abstract
The environment of uncertainty that emerged due to COVID-19 brought the need for the creation of new policies and strategies. In this aspect, it has been observed that various recovery strategies have been adopted by policymakers. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the efforts of destinations for senior tourism and to determine the development and change in the academic studies and related strategies. The methodology was based on a literature review and examining policy documents linking senior tourism, tourism destinations, and post-COVID-19 strategies. In this vein, this study is exploratory and displays a conceptual foundation for future research.
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Wenhong Luo and Nelson Graburn
China has been going through a “museum boom” paralleling the domestic tourism boom since 2000; such growth changed the cultural landscape; museums became a vital characteristic of…
Abstract
Purpose
China has been going through a “museum boom” paralleling the domestic tourism boom since 2000; such growth changed the cultural landscape; museums became a vital characteristic of some Chinese cities for both residents and tourists. Encouraged by this growth, the more ambitious “All-for-one Museum (全域博物馆)” was proposed. The physical boundary between museums and living spaces is infinite ambiguity, challenging the idea of museums as “heterotopias.” This study aims to explore the musealization of urban spaces in the context of anthropology and museology, scrutinizing the cultural-political intentions and meanings of these developments, and seeks to ignite further investigation into the reconstruction of historical imaginaries for tourists and urban populations across related disciplines.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines two cases in Chinese metropolises, Beijing and Shanghai, to illustrate this development of musealization, that is, how the cities actively leverage museological values and methods to connect with their past. In the Beijing case, the authors explore how the local government is leading the effort to musealize the city; in the Shanghai case, they will see how tourists, especially dweller-tourists, navigate through a curated past story in the city and connect their own experience, memory and identity with the place.
Findings
The all-for-one museum creates a museal layer projected onto the bigger urban space, even though the authenticity of the “past” is challenged by the modernization development of the city. The authors also find out that for some tourists (especially dweller-tourists), an existential sense of authenticity plays a more significant role as they not only seek to sightsee the past of the city but also to take part in its creation.
Originality/value
This paper discusses two kinds of musealization in cosmopolitan cities of Beijing and Shanghai: top-down and bottom-up. It approaches questions about the musealization of urban spaces from the perspectives of anthropology and museology, and discusses musealization in the specific historical context of China’s modernization process.
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Wenjing Li and Zhi Liu
In 2016, the Chinese central government decentralized the responsibilities of housing market regulation to the municipal level. This paper aims to assess whether the decentralized…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2016, the Chinese central government decentralized the responsibilities of housing market regulation to the municipal level. This paper aims to assess whether the decentralized market regulation is effective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study first investigates the fundamental drivers of urban housing prices in China. Taking into consideration the factors driving housing prices, the authors further investigate the effectiveness of decentralized housing market regulation by a pre- and post-policy comparison test using a panel data set of 35 major cities for the years from 2014 to 2019.
Findings
The results reveal heterogenous policy effects on housing price growth among cities with a one-year lag in effectiveness. With the decentralized housing market regulation, cities with fast price growth are incentivized to implement tightening measures, while cities with relatively low housing prices and slow price growth are more likely to do nothing or deregulate the markets. The findings indicate that the shift from a centralized housing market regulation to a decentralized one is more appropriate and effective for the individual cities.
Originality/value
Few policy evaluation studies have been done to examine the effects of decentralized housing market regulation on the performance of urban housing markets in China. The authors devise a methodology to conduct a policy evaluation that is important to inform public policy and decisions. This study helps enhance the understanding of the fundamental factors in China’s urban housing markets and the effectiveness of municipal government interventions.
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The identification of network user relationship in Fancircle contributes to quantifying the violence index of user text, mining the internal correlation of network behaviors among…
Abstract
Purpose
The identification of network user relationship in Fancircle contributes to quantifying the violence index of user text, mining the internal correlation of network behaviors among users, which provides necessary data support for the construction of knowledge graph.
Design/methodology/approach
A correlation identification method based on sentiment analysis (CRDM-SA) is put forward by extracting user semantic information, as well as introducing violent sentiment membership. To be specific, the topic of the implementation of topology mapping in the community can be obtained based on self-built field of violent sentiment dictionary (VSD) by extracting user text information. Afterward, the violence index of the user text is calculated to quantify the fuzzy sentiment representation between the user and the topic. Finally, the multi-granularity violence association rules mining of user text is realized by constructing violence fuzzy concept lattice.
Findings
It is helpful to reveal the internal relationship of online violence under complex network environment. In that case, the sentiment dependence of users can be characterized from a granular perspective.
Originality/value
The membership degree of violent sentiment into user relationship recognition in Fancircle community is introduced, and a text sentiment association recognition method based on VSD is proposed. By calculating the value of violent sentiment in the user text, the annotation of violent sentiment in the topic dimension of the text is achieved, and the partial order relation between fuzzy concepts of violence under the effective confidence threshold is utilized to obtain the association relation.
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Aditi Sushil Karvekar and Prasad Joshi
The purpose of this paper is to implement a closed loop regulated bidirectional DC to DC converter for an application in the electric power system of more electric aircraft. To…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to implement a closed loop regulated bidirectional DC to DC converter for an application in the electric power system of more electric aircraft. To provide a consistent power supply to all of the electronic loads in an aircraft at the desired voltage level, good efficiency and desired transient and steady-state response, a smart and affordable DC to DC converter architecture in closed loop mode is being designed and implemented.
Design/methodology/approach
The aircraft electric power system (EPS) uses a bidirectional half-bridge DC to DC converter to facilitate the electric power flow from the primary power source – an AC generator installed on the aircraft engine’s shaft – to the load as well as from the secondary power source – a lithium ion battery – to the load. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries are used because they allow the primary power source to continue recharging them whenever the aircraft engine is running smoothly and because, in the event that the aircraft engine becomes overloaded during takeoff or turbulence, the charged secondary power source can step in and supply the load.
Findings
A novel nonsingular terminal sliding mode voltage controller based on exponential reaching law is used to keep the load voltage constant under any of the aforementioned circumstances, and its performance is contrasted with a tuned PI controller on the basis of their respective transient and steady-state responses. The former gives a faster and better transient and steady-state response as compared to the latter.
Originality/value
This research gives a novel control scheme for incorporating an auxiliary power source, i.e. rechargeable battery, in more electric aircraft EPS. The battery is so implemented that it can get regeneratively charged when primary power supply is capable of handling an additional load, i.e. the battery. The charging and discharging of the battery is carried out in closed loop mode to ensure constant battery terminal voltage, constant battery current and constant load voltage as per the requirement. A novel sliding mode controller is used to improve transient and steady-state response of the system.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce an innovative strategy for the approximate solution of the heat flow problems in two- and three-dimensional spaces. This new strategy is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce an innovative strategy for the approximate solution of the heat flow problems in two- and three-dimensional spaces. This new strategy is very easy to implement and handles the restrictive variable that may ruin the physical nature of the problem.
Design/methodology/approach
This study combines Sawi transform (ST) and the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) to formulate the idea of Sawi homotopy perturbation transform method (SHPTM). First, this study implements ST to handle the recurrence relation and then incorporates HPM to derive the series solutions of this recurrence relation. ST has the advantage in that it does not require any assumptions or hypothesis for the evaluation of series solutions.
Findings
This strategy finds the results very accurate and close to the precise solution. The graphical observations and the surface solution demonstrate that SHPTM is a reliable and powerful scheme for finding the approximate solution of heat flow problems.
Originality/value
The study presents an original work. This study develops SHPTM for the approximate solution of two- and three-dimensional heat flow problems. The obtained results and graphical representation demonstrate that SHPTM is a very authentic and reliable approach.
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