scholarly journals The Unknown Potential of Blockchain for Sustainable Supply Chains

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9400
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Varriale ◽  
Antonello Cammarano ◽  
Francesca Michelino ◽  
Mauro Caputo

The growing attention to emerging technologies has raised several doubts regarding the sustainability aspects. Among the new technologies, blockchain has laid the foundations for a revolution in the financial field but also in the energy, tourism, medical, industrial and supply chains sectors. Through a systematic literature review, 37 documents were analyzed to describe the sustainable aspects generated using blockchain in supply chains. Therefore, the results achieved provide two levels of analysis. The former highlights the impact of the adoption of blockchain in supply chains based on the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. The latter shows the positive and negative impacts of each form of sustainability. The purpose of the work is to summarize the current state of the art in order to propose a future development agenda based on the need to simulate and define a measurability for each dimension of sustainability. Finally, the study provides a broad overview of practical and managerial implications for entrepreneurs and researchers. On the one hand, the work shows how the use of blockchain improves the profits and reputation of companies. On the other hand, it highlights several research gaps to be investigated and considered by researchers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6372
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Varriale ◽  
Antonello Cammarano ◽  
Francesca Michelino ◽  
Mauro Caputo

The digital transformation of supply chains should revolutionize entire management processes and improve various aspects of sustainability. In particular, the plans of Industry 4.0 aim towards a digitization of several procedures by exploiting emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, RFID and blockchain. The purpose of this study is to highlight how order and disruption events processes can be improved with the adoption of emerging technologies and how this reflects on the improvement of sustainability aspects. The study is based on the comparison of two simulation scenarios between three actors in the cheese supply chain. In particular, a first traditional scenario “as is” is simulated without the use of new technologies and is compared to a second scenario “to be” that adopts IoT, RFID and blockchain. The results show an improvement in time performance for managing both perfect and non-compliant orders. The developed framework highlights the impact of new technologies on sustainability aspects, showing further managerial implications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 244-261
Author(s):  
Mariola Tracz ◽  
Małgorzata Bajgier-Kowalska ◽  
Radosław Uliszak

Podkarpackie Voivodeship is one of the regions of Poland in which the number of agritourism entities is very high. Therefore tourism plays a significant role in its development strategy. The aim of the paper is to identify the current state of agritourism and the changes that have occurred in the region in the years 2000–2016. Specific objectives are to determine the distribution of agritourism farms and their offer, together with a comprehensive analysis of the environmental and socio-economic factors, as well as the impact of the Slovak-Ukrainian border. The report was developed on the statistical materials from the Polish Central Statistical Office, Podkarpackie Agricultural Advisory Centre in Boguchwała and data collected from municipalities and district offices that is published on their websites, as well as through interviews with 100 owners of agritourism farms in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The research has shown, on the one hand, the decline in the number of farms in the region and, on the other hand, the increase in the diversity of the tourist offer of these entities. Distribution of agritourism farms is closely linked to the attractiveness of natural environment and quality of secondary tourism resources. Traditional agritourism has not yet fully used its countryside, as well as cross-border advantages of its location.


Horticulturae ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Athanasios Koukounaras

Greenhouse horticulture is one of the most intensive agricultural systems, with the advantages of environmental parameter control (temperature, light, etc.), higher efficiency of resource utilization (water, fertilizers, etc.) and the use of advanced technologies (hydroponics, automation, etc.) for higher productivity, earliness, stability of production and better quality. On the other hand, climate change and the application of high inputs without suitable management could have negative impacts on the expansion of the greenhouse horticulture sector. This special issue gathers twelve papers: three reviews and nine of original research. There is one review that focuses on irrigation of greenhouse crops, while a second surveys the effects of biochar on container substrate properties and plant growth. A third review examines the impact of light quality on plant–microbe interactions, especially non-phototrophic organisms. The research papers report both the use of new technologies as well as advanced cultivation practices. In particular, new technologies are presented such as dye-sensitized solar cells for the glass cover of a greenhouse, automation for water and nitrogen deficit stress detection in soilless tomato crops based on spectral indices, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and gibberellic acid supplementation on potted ornamentals, the integration of brewery wastewater treatment through anaerobic digestion with substrate-based soilless agriculture, and application of diatomaceous earth as a silica supplement on potted ornamentals. Research studies about cultivation practices are presented comparing different systems (organic-conventional, aeroponic-nutrient film technique (NFT)-substrate culture), quantitative criteria for determining the quality of grafted seedlings, and of wild species as alternative crops for cultivation.


Author(s):  
Urszula Jaremba ◽  
Machiko Kanetake ◽  
Ingrid Koning

This Europe and the World: A law review special issue comprises selected papers presented at a RENFORCE workshop on the theme of tensions between the EU’s trade and non-economic values, held at Utrecht University in November 2017. The symposium addresses normative dilemmas underlying the EU’s trade law and policy. Normative dilemmas subsist between, on the one hand, the EU’s basic pursuit of its commercial interests and trade liberalization, and, on the other hand, the EU’s mandate to promote and safeguard a number of non-economic values, including human rights and sustainable development. The journal symposium aims to unveil normative tensions existing in the EU’s trade and investment policy, and understand some of the key actors and processes through which normative tensions are created and also mitigated. While the tensions between economic and non-economic values in the EU’s trade law and policy have been extensively discussed in literature, the present symposium highlights some of the recent developments in the EU’s trade relations, analyses not only human rights but also sustainable development, and examines the impact of new technologies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (9) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Anatolii MAZARAKI ◽  
◽  
Liudmyla KHARSUN ◽  

Transformational processes in modern supply chains are experiencing a significant impact of global environmental problems and are focused on increasing the level of efficiency of the supply chains’ operation and ensuring the competitiveness of goods passing through them towards the end consumer. On the one hand, the parameters of all parts of the logistics chains must be in line with the international environmental requirements; on the other hand, compliance with the principles of environmental friendliness serves as a prerequisite for meeting the needs of modern consumers with a high level of environmental awareness. Logistics operations are a source of negative impacts on the natural environment. First of all, this concerns greenhouse gas emissions during transportation, waste products and packaging materials, noise and dust pollution, landscape changes and the use of natural resources. Therefore, environmental challenges stipulate the cooperation of all participants in supply chains, aimed at creating and implementing the effective environmental strategies and logistics concepts. The need for ecologization of Ukraine’s transport and logistics system is dictated by the need to achieve a high level of its competitiveness as an element of the global supply chain network. And although the domestic logistics system by a number of indicators is characterized by a low level of environmental friendliness, there is a consoling positive tendency to realize the need for an environmental orientation of its development both among the state authorities, and the logistics operators themselves.


Author(s):  
Clare Lockhart ◽  
Sam Vincent

This chapter examines the challenge of ending extreme poverty and attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in fragile and conflict-affected countries by 2030. It first describes the background context in which fragility and conflict exist before discussing the current state of lessons learned as well as policy agreement and divergence regarding international approaches to peace and security. It then considers the centrality of institutions both as constraints and as foundations to development. It also offers suggestions on what key elements are needed in laying institutional foundations for development in countries emerging from conflict, and how responsibilities for implementing the goals might be assigned in practice. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the impact of the MDGs in fragile and conflict-affected settings, along with the implications of current understandings of conflict and fragility for the objectives of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 142-152
Author(s):  
Sifat Ullah ◽  
Quazi Farzana

In this an era of technology, new technologies particularly computer, multimedia, mobile phone and the internet offer possibilities for overcoming geographical and cost barriers in teaching and learning. This study attempts to trace the use of technology in teaching English at the S.S.C. (Secondary School Certificate) level in Bangladesh. It also focuses on the impact of using technology in teaching and learning English. Eight teachers and 60 students from four private schools in Dhaka city were selected to survey the use of technology in teaching the English Language. The researchers employed the mixed methods research to carry out the study where two sets of questionnaires for the teachers and the students and a semi-structured interview only for the teachers were used to collect data. The findings showed that using technology in teaching has both the positive and the negative impacts. Teachers like to use technology in their classroom but limited time and lack of training and technical support from the authority hamper the mode of teaching. The students also feel comfortable in technology affiliated classroom, but sometimes they fail to catch the concept clearly as they become inattentive due to the lack of proper engagement of the teachers in the classroom.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonu Bhaskar ◽  
Jeremy Tan ◽  
Marcel L. A. M. Bogers ◽  
Timo Minssen ◽  
Hishamuddin Badaruddin ◽  
...  

The tragic failure of the global supply chain in the face of the current coronavirus outbreak has caused acute shortages of essential frontline medical devices and personal protective equipment, crushing fear among frontline health workers and causing fundamental concerns about the sustainability of the health system. Much more coordination, integration, and management of global supply chains will be needed to mitigate the impact of the pandemics. This article describes the pressing need to revisit the governance and resilience of the supply chains that amplified the crisis at pandemic scale. We propose a model that profiles critical stockpiles and improves production efficiency through new technologies such as advanced analytics and blockchain. A new governance system that supports intervention by public-health authorities during critical emergencies is central to our recommendation, both in the face of the current crisis and to be better prepared for potential future crises. These reinforcements offer the potential to minimize the compromise of our healthcare workers and health systems due to infection exposure and build capacity toward preparedness and action for a future outbreak.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 12682
Author(s):  
Samudi Perera ◽  
Sukhbir Kaur Sandhu ◽  
Claudine Soosay

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changjie Zheng ◽  
George P. Kouretzis ◽  
Xuanming Ding ◽  
Hanlong Liu ◽  
Harry G. Poulos

The interpretation of low-strain integrity tests of piles is commonly based on methods developed around the one-dimensional wave propagation theory. In reality, waves resulting from the impact of a hammer on a pile head propagate in three dimensions, and the validity of the plane-front assumption is rather questionable for cases where the size of the hammer is small relative to that of the pile. This paper presents an analytical model of the dynamic response of a pile to an impact load on its head, considering propagation of waves in both vertical and radial directions. The proposed formulation applies to a pile of finite length embedded in multilayered elastic soil, and allows for considering both shape and material pile defects, by reducing locally the radius of the pile cross section or the Young’s modulus of its material. Arithmetic examples are used to depict the effect of high-frequency interferences on the interpretation of pile integrity tests, which can only be accounted for in the three-dimensional formulation of the problem, and lead to practical suggestions for the interpretation of such tests.


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