Can Dance and Music Make the Transition to a Sustainable Society More Feasible?

Transition to sustainability is a process that requires change on all levels of society from the physical to the psychological. This review takes an interdisciplinary view of the landscapes of research that contribute to the development of pro-social behaviors that align with sustainability goals, or what we call ‘inner sustainability’. Engaging in musical and dance activities can make people feel trust and connectedness, promote prosocial behavior within a group, and also reduce prejudices between groups. Sustained engagement in these art forms brings change in a matter of seconds (such as hormonal changes and associated stress relief), months (such as improved emotional wellbeing and learning outcomes), and decades (such as structural changes to the brains of musicians and dancers and superior skills in expressing and understanding emotion). In this review, we bridge the often-separate domains of the arts and sciences by presenting evidence that suggests music and dance promote self-awareness, learning, care for others and wellbeing at individual and group levels. In doing so, we argue that artistic practices have a key role to play in leading the transformations necessary for a sustainable society. We require a movement of action that provides dance and music within a constructive framework for stimulating social sustainability.

Recrystallization of Triple Superphosphate Produced From Oyster Shell Waste for Agronomic Performance and Environmental Issue

Calcium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate [Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O] (a fertilizer) was successfully synthesized by the recrystallization process by using a prepared triple superphosphate (TSP) that derived from oyster shell waste as starting material. This bio-green, eco-friendly process to produce an important fertilizer can promote a sustainable society. The shell-waste-derived TSP was dissolved in distilled water and kept at 30, 50, and 80 °C. Non-soluble powder and TSP solution were obtained. The TSP solution fraction were then dried and the recrystallized products (RCP30, RCP50, and RCP80) were obtained and confirmed as Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O. Whereas the non-soluble products (NSP30, NSP50, and NSP80) were observed as calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate (CaHPO4·2H2O). The recrystallized yields of RCP30, RCP50, and RCP80 were found to be 51.0%, 49.6%, and 46.3%, whereas the soluble percentages were 98.72%, 99.16%, and 96.63%, respectively. RCP30 shows different morphological plate sizes, while RCP50 and RCP80 present the coagulate crystal plates. X-ray diffractograms confirm the formation of both the NSP and RCP. The infrared adsorption spectra confirmed the vibrational characteristics of HPO42‒, H2PO4‒ and H2O existed in CaHPO4·2H2O and Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O. Three thermal dehydration steps of Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O (physisorbed water, polycondensation, and re-polycondensation) were observed. Ca(H2PO4)2 and CaH2P2O7 are the thermodecomposed products from the first and second steps, whereas the final product is CaP2O6.

Effect of gas flow rate and discharge volume on CO2 methanation with plasma catalysis

CO2 methanation can be a key technology for realizing a sustainable society. CH4 is used as an energy carrier and raw material for chemical products, thereby contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Methanation with plasma catalysis lower the process temperature, which can improve the throughput and stability. In this study, we investigated the effect of the gas flow rate and the discharge volume on CO2 methanation, using a low- pressure CCP reactor. Higher gas flow rates can increase the rate of CO2 throughput, but the CH4 selectivity decreases owing to the reduced transportation rate of the reactants to the catalyst surface. Increasing the discharge volume is effective in improving the transportation rate. This study suggested that the structure of the reactor significantly affect the CH4 generation rate.

European Universities Initiative: How Universities May Contribute to a More Sustainable Society

The European Universities initiative, launched by the European Commission in 2018, has its origin in the concept of Civic Universities (CivUs) and consists of transnational higher education alliances throughout the European Union that share long-term strategies. They are expected to become universities of the future, to promote European ideals and character, and to revolutionize the competitiveness and excellence of European higher education. European universities add 41 alliances, involving 31 different countries. This article presents an early quantitative evaluation of this initiative. This paper addresses the coverage of the 41 alliances and selects five of the most advanced for a deeper evaluation of their best practices and their contribution to the realization of CivUs. This paper also outlines the criteria for evaluating the extent to which good practices implemented by these alliances are aligned and can contribute to the attributes of CivUs, based upon state-of-the-art educational standards. A quantitative framework, based on application of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), is also provided to rank the good practices developed by these alliances against the previous evaluation criteria. Furthermore, by applying a sensitivity analysis, this paper also addresses the robustness of this approach.

Towards a Sustainable Circular Economy

The circular economy (CE) is a new paradigm that helps create convergence into a more sustainable society. This chapter shows the main findings of a systematic literature review examining the state of the art of the business concept of sustainability and CE and how scholars have focused on the implementation of circular and sustainable principles in sectors and firms. The main findings show a lack of consensus on definitions related to CE, creating confusion among firms. Final findings also show the challenges that businesses face and the main obstacles that explain why some organisations fail in the transition. Additionally, this review helps to highlight the main research gaps on the topic to encourage sustainability and circularity among firms. Whilst there are an increasing number of papers related to circularity and supply chains, few papers concern with dematerialising products and services. Another gap is the lack of quantitative studies measuring the impact of transitioning to sustainable and circular economies.

Digital Strategy for a Sustainable Civilization

This chapter analyzes aspects of a digital strategy aimed at developing a sustainable civilization. The chapter begins by examining the arrangement and configuration of a green state. Specifically, core values and critical subsystems of this configuration are considered. Next, the chapter suggests a digital format for computerizing a wise civilization. The chapter then presents sustainable society indices for Norway, the US, Russia, China, and India. After this, the Geoinformatic Management System (GMS) of 8D Civilization is introduced. It is followed by a discussion of some of the existential dangers that face civilization. The chapter concludes by discussing the GMS 8D Civilization architecture for the world, continents, countries, and enterprises.

A transition to Circular Economic Environment

The circular economy is progressively a way towards a sustainable society. The shift from linear to circular business models concerns the entrepreneurs to adopt new practices. The purpose of this research is to propose circular business models to make the worlds three of the most wasteful industries food, plastic, and fashion more sustainable. This paper is developed based on an extensive literature review and case studies. The proposed framework analyses the challenges of these three industries and prescribes relevant business models and sustainable practices. The findings in circular economy business models suggest elements of businesses that can be adopted by entrepreneurs in any industry to create a circular activity. This research paper gives the entrepreneurial spirit with business tools to achieve sustainability ambition.

Designing Ultratough, Malleable and Foldable Biocomposites for Robust Green Electronic Devices

Polymers from renewable resources plays a key role in the paradigm shift towards a sustainable society. However, two common bioplastics polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) still lack the toughness...

MCDM Approach to Assess Dropping Out of Education by Children

A lifelong process to learn new things is education which has a continuous focus on the learners. In the life as well as evolution of mankind, the education plays a significant role through the creation of knowledge, attitudes and awareness among the children as learners for the betterment and sustainable society. In the present study, different significant reasons for dropping out of education by the children in the province of Odisha in India were found through literature and experts’ opinions. Then, the “Step Wise Assessment and Ratio Analysis (SWARA)” method was utilized to rank these significant reasons based on their preferences.