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Although the significance of technological progress in economic development is well-established in theory and policy, it has remained challenging to agree upon shared priorities for strategies and policies. This paper aims to develop a model of how policymakers can develop effective and easy to communicate strategies for science, technology and economic development.

By integrating insights from economic complexity, competitiveness and foresight literature, a replicable research framework for analysing the opportunities and challenges of technological revolutions for small catching-up countries is developed. The authors highlight key lessons from piloting this framework for informing the strategy and policies for bioeconomy in Estonia towards 2030–2050.

The integration of economic complexity research with traditional foresight methods establishes a solid analytical basis for a data-driven analysis of the opportunities for industrial upgrading. The increase in the importance of regional alliances in the global economy calls for further advancement of the analytical toolbox. Integration of complexity, global value chains and export potential assessment approaches offers valuable direction for further research, as it enables discussion of the opportunities of moving towards more knowledge-intensive economic activities along with the opportunities for winning international market share.

The research merges insights from the economic complexity, competitiveness and foresight literature in a novel way and illustrates the applicability and priority-setting in a real-life setting.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of phragmites australis ash (PAA) in cementitious systems to achieve sustainable construction.

In this paper, the properties of mortar containing PAA as partial cement replacement are determined. The PAA is produced through slow burning in a closed system to minimize the CO₂ emission. A total of four mortar mixes are prepared with PAA replacement levels ranging from 0% to 30% by weight. The water to binder and the proportions of binder to sand are 0.55 and 1:3 by weight, respectively. The properties tested are density, compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, water absorption by total immersion and capillary rise. Testing is conducted at 1, 7, 28 and 90 days.

While there is a decrease in strength as the amount of PAA increases, there is strong indication of pozzolanic reaction in the presence of PAA. This is in agreement with the results reported by Salvo et al. (2015), where they found noticeable pozzolanic activities in the presence of straw ash, which is rich in SiO₂ and relatively high K₂O content. At 90 days of curing, there is a decrease of 5% in compressive strength at 10% PAA replacement. However, at 20% and 30% replacement, the reduction in compressive strength is 23% and 32%, respectively. The trend in flexural strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity is similar to that in compressive strength. The water absorption by total immersion and capillary rise tends to increase with increasing amounts of PAA in the mix. There seems to be a linear relationship between water absorption and compressive strength at each curing age.

The Phragmites australis plant used in this investigation is obtained from one location and this present a limitation as the type of soil may change the properties. Also one method of slow burning is used. Different burning methods may alter the composition of the PAA.

This outcome of this research will contribute towards sustainable development as it will make use of the waste generated, reduce the amount of energy-intensive cement used in construction and help generate local employment in the area where the Phragmites australis plant grows.

To the best knowledge of the authors, the ash from the Phragmites australis plant has not been used in cementitious system and this research can be considered original as it examines the properties of mortar containing PAA. Also, the process of burning in a closed system using this material.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-stigma reduction programme on self-stigma.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted from November 2017 to December 2018 with 278 people diagnosed with schizophrenia (PDwS). Participants were randomly assigned to receive a self-stigma reduction programme (psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy and social skills training) or treatment as usual.

PDwS in the intervention group experienced a greater reduction in the level of self-stigma (20.19 vs −0.62; p < 0.001) at post-intervention and (37.35 vs −0.66; p < 0.001) at six-month follow-up.

The first RCT examines the problem and implements intervention in middle east country. Also, the authors have conducted high-quality RCT.

This study aims to introduce the results of a research carried out to develop a prototype of a highly energy-efficient modular detached house, called CASA+ CASA means HOUSE in spanish, adapted to the climatic features of central-southern Chile. The project enables a sustainable alternative to facilitate the reconstruction of the residential areas after the impact of the 2010 earthquake.

The methodology is based on an “integrated design process” of a case study that proposes a constructive response that quantitatively and qualitatively improves the initial data of traditional dwellings. The characteristics of the new system have been simulated with specific software to validate the final decisions, considering the cost–benefit ratio.

Simulation tools were used to assess and improve the system’s energy performance with respect to present options and to analyse its economic and construction viability. We obtained several economically competitive housing prototypes that substantially reduced energy consumption and the CO₂ footprint by between 20% and 80%.

The prototype has not been developed, as we are waiting for funding, but all its energy features have been simulated.

Furthermore, this experience also identified similar modifications made to the design of the houses, which revealed general possibilities for improving energy performance.

The origin of this research is a public call for international researchers to improve the quality of the new homes to be built in Chile after the strong earthquake of 2010. The result of the research has been put at the direct service of Chilean society and in other international projects for the construction of low-energy social housing.

These are the result of a long research aimed at establishing a new architectural model that, in addition to improving the architectural quality of the product, obtains significant improvements in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The most particular aspect is the practical vocation and its implementation with real construction with the support of construction companies.

This paper aims to describe and analyse the community’s perceptions of buren sites and how they maintain their value. Buren is a term used by locals to refer to the location of former iron ore smelting in the past. Archaeological findings at smelting sites are slags, ore fragments, tuyeres and smelting furnaces. These sites urgently need to be conserved because the expansion of oil palm plantations and coal mines is ongoing. Buren sites are on community and customary land, so site conservation and development must consider community perception.

The primary data were gathered through interviews, group discussions and observation. A literature review of previous research results obtained secondary data. Interviews and group discussions were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim as qualitative coding. Thematic content analysis was performed using the concepts of the community’s perception and heritage values.

The community initially did not care about the buren. Today, they believe the buren as ancestral heritage has historical and educational value. The community hopes the buren can be preserved and developed to reinforce identity and pride as Dayak people and may improve community welfare.

Preserving and developing buren sites necessitate serious planning involving multiple stakeholders, as well as incorporating buren sites into development plans and regional socioeconomic growth. Future research should focus on strategies for preserving and developing buren sites.

Research results are used to teach students about the history and technology of metal making, instilling a sense of patriotism, strength and pride in Dayak’s identity.

The research has an impact on attitudes and behaviour of the locals. Previously, locals did not care about the buren tend to be afraid to enter it because they believed that buren was a guarded spirit. Now, the community has become concerned, participating in preserving the buren site as providing temporary roofs and making signboards and roads to the site. The community with support from regional officials expects to conserve and utilise the buren site as a tourist destination, combining river tours and forest tourism to create economic opportunities for local tour guides, parking services and boat providers.

The authenticity of this research is the sites are archaeologically valuable and are threatened by the expansion of oil palm plantations and coal mining. This is also the first study of an iron industrial site in Indonesia that addresses this problem and uses this method.

This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties of sustainable recycled polypropylene (rPP) composite materials integrated with spherical silicon carbide (SiC) particles.

A representative volume element (RVE) analysis is employed to predict the Young’s modulus of rPP filled with spherical-shaped SiC at varying volume percentages (i.e. 10, 20 and 30%).

The investigation reveals that the highest values of Young’s modulus, tensile strength, flexural strength and mode 1 frequency are observed for the 30% rPP/SiC samples, exhibiting increases of 115, 116, 62 and 15%, respectively, compared to pure rPP. Fractography analysis confirms the ductile nature of pure rPP and the brittle behavior of the 30% rPP/SiC composite. Moreover, the RVE method predicts Young’s modulus more accurate than micromechanical models, aligning closely with experimental results. Additionally, results from ANSYS simulation tests show tensile strength, flexural strength and frequency within a 10% error range when compared to experimental data.

This study contributes to the field by demonstrating the mechanical enhancements achievable through the incorporation of sustainable materials like rPP/SiC, thereby promoting environmentally friendly engineering solutions.

The study aims to assess the efficiency of nanocomposite to improve the properties of gap-filling materials for pottery artifacts.

Five different pastes were used in the laboratory studies. The pastes consist mainly of pottery powder (grog), dental plaster, microballoons and an adhesive of Primal AC33, nano-silica and nano kaolinite in various concentrations. The prepared samples were subjected to accelerated heat and light aging. Besides, some investigations were used to evaluate the efficacy of the additive nanomaterials, such as TEM, digital and scanning electron microscopy microscopes. Contact angle, color change, shrinkage degree, physical properties and compressive strength tests were also conducted.

The results indicated that using Nano-silica considerably improves the mechanical strength and decreases the shrinkage of gap-filling materials. According to the results, a mixture of grog, microballoons and Primal AC33/Nano-silica Nanocomposites is the optimal gap-filling paste for archaeological pottery. Moreover, this paste showed a higher contact angle (120°), lower color change (ΔE = 2.62), lower shrinkage (3.3%), lower water absorption (3.36%), lower porosity (5.05%) and higher compressive strength (5124 N/mm²).

This paper attains to develop an economic polymer-nanocomposite that can be used with gap-filling materials for pottery artifacts.