scholarly journals Digitisation and the Circular Economy: A Review of Current Research and Future Trends

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okechukwu Okorie ◽  
Konstantinos Salonitis ◽  
Fiona Charnley ◽  
Mariale Moreno ◽  
Christopher Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Processes ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Industrial System ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Significant Opportunity

Since it first appeared in literature in the early nineties, the Circular Economy (CE) has grown in significance amongst academic, policymaking, and industry groups. The latest developments in the CE field have included the interrogation of CE as a paradigm, and its relationship with sustainability and other concepts, including iterative definitions. Research has also identified a significant opportunity to apply circular approaches to our rapidly changing industrial system, including manufacturing processes and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) which, with data, is enabling the latest advances in digital technologies (DT). Research which fuses these two areas has not been extensively explored. This is the first paper to provide a synergistic and integrative CE-DT framework which offers directions for policymakers and guidance for future research through a review of the integrated fields of CE and I4.0. To achieve this, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR; n = 174) of the empirical literature related to digital technologies, I4.0, and circular approaches is conducted. The SLR is based on peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and early 2018. This paper also summarizes the current trends in CE research related to manufacturing. The findings confirm that while CE research has been on the increase, research on digital technologies to enable a CE is still relatively untouched. While the “interdisciplinarity” of CE research is well-known, the findings reveal that a substantial percentage is engineering-focused. The paper concludes by proposing a synergistic and integrative CE-DT framework for future research developed from the gaps in the current research landscape.

scholarly journals Data-Driven Approaches for Circular Economy in Manufacturing for Digital Technologies: A Review of Current Research and Proposed Framework

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okechukwu Okorie ◽  
Konstantinos Salonitis ◽  
Fiona Charnley ◽  
Mariale Moreno ◽  
Christopher Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Current Trends

The Circular Economy has been of growing significance within academic, policymaking and industry groups. Latest developments in the field of Circular Economy has led to an expansion of CE studies focused on interrogating CE as a paradigm, its relationship with sustainability and concepts and definitions of the Circular Economy. Research has also identified the significant potential of applying circular approaches to areas of the economy, including manufacturing and Industry 4.0, which, with data, is enabling latest the advances in digital technologies. This is the first review paper to integrate the fields of CE and digital technologies resulting in a framework which provides directions for policymakers and guidance for future research. To achieve this, we conduct a systematic literature review of the empirical literature related to digital technologies, industry 4.0 and circular approaches, from the point of the 9 Rs. The systematic literature review (SLR) is based on peer-reviewed articles published between 2000-2018. The findings reveal that while research on the circular economy has been on an annual rise, research on digital technologies enabled circular economy is still relatively an untouched area of research across all nine (9) circular approaches. As such this is an area rife for further research. This paper also presents illustrative charts and graphs to summarize the current trends in circular economy research in manufacturing. From this, a framework for future circular economy research for manufacturing for digital technologies is proposed.

ENABLING CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN HEALTHCARE USING INDUSTRY 4.0 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Getnet Bogale Fanta ◽  
Leon Pretorius ◽  
Breno Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Digital Technologies

RFID Applications in Healthcare-State-of-the-Art and Future Trends

2016 ◽  
pp. 184-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Rfid Technology ◽  
Automatic Data ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Automatic Data Collection ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Rfid Applications

Implementation of RFID technology-based healthcare services is on the rise. The purpose of this chapter is a thorough, systematic review of the existing literature to provide a discussion of current trends and future directions in this domain. Findings indicate that tracking is the key RFID enabling function. Automatic data collection and transfer is an RFID function also frequently used in relation to assets, staff, and patients. Finally, RFID is employed for sensing, most often in relation to patients, but also to assets. The chapter concludes by highlighting future research directions where the deployment of RFID technology is likely to transform the healthcare sector.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Empirical Literature: Gifted Education in the Australian Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Luburic ◽  
Jennifer L. Jolly
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
North American ◽  
Gifted Education ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Australian Context ◽  
Research Themes

Gifted education as a field of research in Australia is relatively young when compared with its North American counterparts. A reflection of how the field of gifted education has developed from 1983 to 2017 in this context allows for observations of previous research and current trends, and how these may influence future directions for the field. Empirical research published in peer-reviewed journals is one metric that can be used to undertake this reflection, including the individuals responsible for the research, the setting where the research is undertaken, and outlets where resulting findings are published, as well as the research themes that dominate research agendas. Longitudinally, these metrics are part of the narrative that construct Australian gifted education. Reflecting on how the field developed provides an understanding of how research and practice have evolved and what future research and innovations are possible.

RFID Applications in Healthcare-State-of-the-Art and Future Trends

2017 ◽  
pp. 1490-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Rfid Technology ◽  
Automatic Data ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Automatic Data Collection ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Rfid Applications

Implementation of RFID technology-based healthcare services is on the rise. The purpose of this chapter is a thorough, systematic review of the existing literature to provide a discussion of current trends and future directions in this domain. Findings indicate that tracking is the key RFID enabling function. Automatic data collection and transfer is an RFID function also frequently used in relation to assets, staff, and patients. Finally, RFID is employed for sensing, most often in relation to patients, but also to assets. The chapter concludes by highlighting future research directions where the deployment of RFID technology is likely to transform the healthcare sector.

scholarly journals Bio-economy in Greece: Current trends and the road ahead

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Electra Papadopoulou ◽  
Konstantinos Vaitsas ◽  
Ioannis Fallas ◽  
Giorgos Tsipas ◽  
Konstantinos Chrissafis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
The Road ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Effective Growth

Abstract Economic activity that takes environmental protection into account and uses the environmental benefits of an area or country may continuously combine growth with sustainability thereby providing prosperity and societal quality. This paper aims to complement European research on Bioeconomy by reviewing current situation and future trends in Greece. Current data testify that there are significant opportunities for Greece to progress towards a lucrative economy based on renewable resources. The effective growth of such Bioeconomy in Greece depends on the successful cooperation of all stakeholders (state, business, citizens). This is the first study that provides a numerical analysis of the Bio-economy opportunities for Greece and may constitute the foundation for future research, suggestions for policy measures and strategic planning

Digitisation and Sustainable Development: The Opportunities and Risks of Using Digital Technologies for the Implementation of a Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Benjamin Kottmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Social Outcomes ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Social

Digitisation is developing a transformational potential that is profoundly changing people, our societies and the planet. Like any major societal transformation, it offers both, significant opportunities for progress and significant risks with harmful consequences for societies. This paper, therefore, addresses the question: ‘What are the critical social outcomes and concerns flowing from the advances in digitisation on our work environment?’ To discuss the broad research question in sufficient depth, this paper focuses not only on specific critical social outcomes of digitisation but also on how some of them can be mitigated by combining digital tools with the concept of a circular economy (representing the abstract idea of sustainable development). The implementation of blockchain technologies and new business models shows that digital technologies have the potential to close the realisation gap between theory and practice of the circular economy concept by enhancing the information flow and the communication between stakeholders in the value chain. Nonetheless, the implementation of these technologies also entails social and economic risks, such as power abuse or regulatory arbitrage, which should be considered in advance. To avoid jeopardising digital innovations, future research should therefore develop a more holistic and interdisciplinary understanding of the complex interactions to exploit the potential of digitisation for social progress.

scholarly journals Circular Economy and Industry 4.0: One-Way or Two-way Relationships?

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-397
Author(s):  
Marek Ćwiklicki ◽  
Magdalena Wojnarowska
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Recycle And Reuse ◽  
The Internet Of Things

The ability of Industry 4.0 to help solve complex economic and social problems and implement complex concepts is assessed. Currently, one of the greatest challenges is the integration of the circular economy (CE) into real business practices. However, the link between these two ideas is not fully recognised, causing an interpretative dilemma. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the relationships between the CE and Industry 4.0. For this purpose, we performed a systematic literature review and content analysis of selected articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO. In total, 32 papers published during the period 2017-2020 were analysed. The findings show a one-way relationship, i.e., Industry 4.0 leads to a CE, and a two-way relationship, indicating synergy between these concepts. The key spheres of the CE in terms of Industry 4.0 are the recycle and reuse strategy applied in smart production and a sustainable supply chain. This study demonstrates the importance of company (micro) and industry (meso) levels as application areas. The most promising digitalisation tools of Industry 4.0 are the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics. The article concludes with the limitations of the study and a formulation of directions for future research.

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