Revealing circular material flow in Terrazzo making process

This paper investigates the value in material expression that reveals the material resource flow through terrazzo making process. The potential of the patterning process as a vital practice in terrazzo making is posed through attention to the use of salvaged elements and fragmented pieces of the material. They are an essential part of circular economy practice knowledge. The patterning process, such as reinforcement and recombination of salvaged materials is decreasing carbon emissions produced by fabricating new components of the terrazzo. Besides, the patterning process enables the materialization of the design intention and locals’ interests and particularities; in which it adds value to the material. This study was conducted through a workshop in Lombok, Indonesia, as part of an exhibition of architectural materials that were produced locally from earth-based ingredients. It is found that the value of sustainability lies in its ability to promote such circular strategies that can enable improved material resource efficiency as well as generate material value.

Extractivisms

This chapter discusses the rise of extractivisms in the material resource economy, and as a critical discourse in both activism and academe. Drawing on fieldwork in the Brazilian Amazon, it situates the extractivist turn of the global economy within national and local contexts. Likewise, by analyzing developments in these settings, it offers lessons for transitioning away from economic practices that take more from these ecosystems than they could ever possibly return.

A comparative analysis of quantification and validation methods for prospecting the anthropogenic mine as material reserve for circular construction

Globally, buildings account for at least 39% of CO2 emissions and more than 50% of resource extraction and solid waste production. Therefore, any transition to carbon neutral buildings must be paired with new resource sensibilities and a shift from linear models of material consumption to continuous material use within a circular economy. Prospecting the (urban) anthropogenic mine represents an essential step towards circular construction and requires a robust methodology for data collection and interpretation. This paper presents a comparative analysis of survey methods, evaluated by parameters of time, accuracy, equipment, and labor to determine the ability of each tool in providing the necessary data to activate the existing built environment as a material resource. Chosen methods span from on-site manual and analog surveys to off-site digital technologies on a variety of case study scales. In all cases, the output’s data format (sketch book, images, mesh or point cloud outputs) can be cumbersome to process with CAD and BIM software, increasing time to results and limiting the technology’s potential, introducing the call for a new generation of survey tools specifically addressing the needs of deconstruction and salvage in circular construction.

Effects of hectorite loading on tear properties and biodegradability of thermoplastic starch films

Development of bio-based polymers can reduce human dependence on fossil fuel and move to a sustainable material resource. In this work, thermoplastics starch (TPS) films were produced by plasticization process, in which the crystalline structure of the starch granules was destroyed and reformed by water and glycerine through mechanical stirring and heating process. Hectorite was employed as filler to reinforce the TPS films. The hectorite was subjected to ultrasonication process for reducing the size and aggregation of particles. The ultrasonicated hectorite was added into the TPS solution to produce the TPS/hectorite bio-composite by film casting method. The TPS films with hectorite loading in the range of 1% to 5% were prepared. The morphology, tear strength and soil biodegradability of the TPS/hectorite bio-composite films were studied by altering the loading of hectorite incorporated into the TPS films. Results showed that the TPS/hectorite bio-composite films have higher tear strength compared to the pure TPS films. The tear strength of the bio-composite films slightly increased with hectorite content 1% and 2%. However, as the filler loading increased to 3%, there was a drastic increase of the tear strength. The maximum tear strength value was achieved by the TPS film when 4% hectorite filler was employed. The TPS/4% hectorite (ultrasonicated) has the lowest rate of soil biodegradation due to its lower moisture uptake and greatest interface interaction between starch and hectorite, inhibiting diffusion of bacteria into the films.

Challenges and Prospects of Development of Herbal Biomaterial Based Ethical Wound Care Products—A Scoping Review

Total wound care is an unmet therapeutic need considering the morbidity and mortality associated with the rising prevalence of nonhealing/chronic wounds. Current wound management fails to address all aspects/types of wounds despite the availability of scores of traditional and modern, investigational products. Traditional medicine drugs of wound healing repute validated to target multiple biological pathways and key events in the mammalian wound healing cascade, reportedly affecting wound healing phases. Advances in the development of biocomposite matrices and their analytical characterization warrant a relook at consolidating time-tested wound healing properties of herbal bioactives for prospective development as ethical wound care products. Aside from the bottlenecks of their multiconstituent profiling and clinical trial data generation, regulatory hurdles also cloister any systematic attempts at their re-engineering into clinical deliverables. In the context of national policy changes to bring in totally indigenous solutions, countries with a huge knowledge/material resource on wound healing bioactives need to essentially facilitate the same.

Material Scarcity and Unethical Economic Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Individuals around the globe experience different forms of material resource scarcity in terms of aspects such as hunger, thirst, or financial strains. As experiences of material scarcity have been found to make individuals more risk-taking, impulsive, and focused on regaining resources in the short-term, a growing body of research has investigated how such scarcity affects moral economic behavior. Yet, findings remain mixed and at times contradictory, thus calling for a systematic meta-analytical review on this overarching topic. In this pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively how material resource scarcity affects moral economic behavior. We analyze a comprehensive dataset including 44 published and unpublished studies comprising a total of 6,921 respondents across four distinct types of material scarcity: financial scarcity, physiological scarcity, scarcity reminders, and lower social class. Our findings show that acute scarcity significantly increases the propensity to engage in unethical economic behavior (gfinancial = .24, gphysiological = .39, greminders = .32). Importantly, we find no evidence that chronic experiences of scarcity in the form of low social class affect unethical economic behavior (gsocial class = .02). These results appear robust to the influence of publication bias and contextual sensitivity. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of the psychological and moral consequences of scarcity and elaborate on implications for public policy.

Sustainable Alternative Routes versus Linear Economy and Resources Degradation in Eastern Romania

This paper reveals the linear economy contribution to resource degradation and environmental pollution in eastern Romania that could further feed environmental crimes and conflicts, such as in the Pungesti shale gas case. Preservation of material and water resources in the region is required through various circular mechanisms under a cross-sectoral approach including solid waste as a material resource for industry and agriculture; wastewater treatment and water reuse; composting and organic agriculture; and using renewables. Six non-conflictual sustainable alternative routes related to circular economy mechanisms, water preservation, and to the clean energy transition are proposed in this paper, which are further examined through key statistics and indicators, current best practices, and local development pathways in both urban and rural communities.

Strategic Process of Recovery and Development of the Romanian Economy

The sequence of rapid transformations from a material resource-based society to a society based on intelligence and creativity demonstrates the need to accept, integrate and implement knowledge-based management in any organization, regardless of its status. Major changes, both globally and nationally, oblige us to reflect carefully on the diversity of requirements and to identify the best strategies for the recovery of the Romanian economy. A critical assessment of the situation of Romanian organizations in all fields of activity, compared to changes at international level, will lead to the approach of new strategies and rapid measures for the recovery and development of the economy, with a view to maintaining the pace of competitiveness, with the major players in the international market. Change and economic evolution mean intelligence, information and creativity. The external environment is a competitive, and in need of survival. It depends on the social, legal, economic evolution, the technologies and services used, but also on the adaptation to evolutionary changes in order to resist the competitive market. We must be aware, however, that each country has its peculiarities, and I am referring here to the mentality, customs, but also to the relief, demographic state, national and human resources that Romania has. We're looking to keep up to date with the new research on the respective domain. The research of the literature, in order to identify the most effective and affordable strategies for the recovery of the Romanian economy, are extremely beneficial, but we must have the capacity to adapt them to the existing reality both nationally and globally.