Development and Synergetic Evolution of the Water–energy–food Nexus System in the Yellow River Basin

The water–energy–food nexus is a complex system which is especially difficult to achieve as a trade-off in resource-deficient areas. As an area where the shortage of water leads to water–energy–food conflict, investigating the evolution state and spatial characteristics of water–energy–food in the Yellow River Basin is essential for the resource management and sustainable development orientation of the region’s water–energy–food nexus system. This study proposed an integrated assessment framework by using synergy theory and the integrated index system method. The improved Lotka–Volterra symbiotic model was used to elucidate the development and synergy evolution status of the water–energy–food nexus system in prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin between 2004 and 2019. The results show that the development level of water and energy subsystems in the Yellow River Basin increased by 0.12 and 0.42 on average respectively, whereas that of the food subsystem only increased by approximately 0.004 on average compared to the initial year. Furthermore, most prefecture-level cities experienced subsystem degradation for one or two subsystems during the system evolution of the water–energy–food nexus. Based on the uniqueness and evolution process of each city, there are eight possibilities for system evolution and three types of feedback state between each pair of subsystems, which may lead to a certain spatial aggregation. Additionally, the interaction and competition states are more common than synergy states in the water–energy–food nexus system of the Yellow River Basin. This study provides an important basis and suggestions for the internal relationship and sustainable orientation of water–energy–food nexus systems in such water-deficient areas.

Involvement in Renewable Energy in the Organization of the IR 4.0 Era Based on the Maturity of Socially Responsible Strategic Partnership with Customers—An Example of the Food Industry

The purpose of this study is to explain the determinants of the process of investing in renewable energy sources (RES) from the perspective of enterprises, with particular emphasis on the strength of their orientation on such strategic issues as sustainable development, orientation towards innovation, as well as the level of maturity of their partnership with the client. The research method was carried out on a sample of 157 industrial enterprises in the food industry. The research process was conducted with the consideration of making these decisions dependent on the strength of companies’ commitment to several strategic issues: sustainable development, innovation orientation, and the maturity of their partnership with the customer. The results of the data analysis collected during the quantitative research show a strong correlation between the level of openness of the organization of the IR 4.0 era to RES and (a) orientation towards sustainable development, (b) orientation towards intelligence, and (c) maturity of strategic partnering with customers.

A new type of hollow-shallow steel and concrete composite floor beam

Recently in Vietnam, steel-concrete composite structures especially composite beams are widely constructed in high-rise buildings. To apply broader in construction field mainly in secondary beam systems, the new type of slim-floor composite beam is proposed to aim at reducing the cost, saving the raw material, and decreasing the overall floor depth for sustainable development orientation. This type of floor beam structure consists of built-up hollow-shallow steel beam mandatory connected with cast in situ concrete slab through the openings at both side of web along the beam. The shear connection level of composite beam is depended on not only the friction at the connected surface between hollow steel section and concrete but also the shear resistance of concrete dowels, which go through the openings. The paper deals with an innovative shape of cross-section and design philosophy of composite beam according to EN 1994-1-1.

Resilience Training of Preschool Children Based on Traditional Folk Games

Traditional folk games inherit the history, culture and identity of a country and nation, and they have even more important meanings for China, which has a long history and many ethnic groups. However, with the rapid globalization of modern technology and economy, many Chinese traditional folk games are facing the crisis of disappearing. This article discusses how to develop and utilize the new functions of traditional folk games. That is to use them to train the resilience of preschool children, thus to initiate a new understanding of traditional folk games by teachers and parents. The article firstly discusses the importance of cultivating preschool children’s resilience, then analyzes the role of games in cultivating preschool children’s resilience, studies the traditional folk game classification method for preschool children’s resilience, and gives the development orientation traditional folk game teaching strategies and steps for the cultivation of resilience. This research not only inherits Chinese traditional culture in preschool education, but also trains preschool children’s resilience and strengthens their minds. It has important practical significance and reference value for the current training and education of preschool children in China and East Asia.

ACADEMIC RETENTION, RESEARCH CAPACITY, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

There is a shift of interest towards the current pace of development in Africa especially with regard to science and technology. The rate at which advancements are being recorded in this and other sectors has not been encouraging, as evident from official records. Scholars and researchers in various disciplines have correlated development to education and identified close associations between the level of performance of any citizenry or manpower, and the quality of its education. Accordingly, the quality of life and experience on the African continent has, to an appreciable extent, been characterised as the output variable and the quality of education including that of the teachers, as the input variable. The antecedent variable, too, which in this context is the totality of experience that informs educational directions in Africa, is arguably a product of the input variable. Consequently, the tertiary educational level especially the university system, unlike both the primary and the secondary, may be more strongly associated with the quality of performance. This may be explained through the dominant thinking that the tertiary system is primarily concerned with the production of manpower for various sectors. While there is evidence of research into this question, there is insufficient evidence of research into the interplay of the academic retention system and research capacity development orientation in African universities. This paper is an attempt to investigate that hitherto underrepresented dimension. The study employs a combination of the historical method and analytic philosophy. Its significance lies in its potential to expose, with evidence, the association between the dominant academic retention system and research capacity development orientation in African universities, as well as the implication of such an association for sustainable development in Africa. The study ultimately offers an ameliorative proposal for revitalizing an outcome-oriented research capacity development system in African universities.

Management of gender incongruence and gender affirmation surgeries – The Indian perspective, from a large volume gender identity clinic

A mismatch between the birth sex of a person and psychological recognition of self (gender) leads to a gender expression, which is at variance with the societal norms, and thus gives rise to a persistent distress, which is known as gender incongruence (GI) (previously gender dysphoria). These persons are known as trans genders. A subset of these individuals feels that they are trapped in the wrong sexed body and need to bring their physical sex into alignment with their gender. The “gender” is already imprinted into the brain at birth, and hence cannot be changed, but the physical sex of a person can be, through gender affirmation surgeries (GAS). There has been relative paucity of data from India regarding medical and surgical affirmative management of trans-persons, and hence, the authors present their experience in GAS together with current demography, hypothesis regarding etiology and management, as carried out in India. Authors have been providing comprehensive affirmative management to trans persons, through their multi-specialty gender identity clinic (GIC) sited in a tertiary care hospital. Over past 27 years, the senior author has performed over 3,000 GAS. The authors have noticed a 20- fold rise in presentation of these cases (from six cases per year in 1993 to now around 150 cases in the year 2019), an observation, which is similar to the experience of large volume GICs worldwide, as well as many recent publications. There has been a steep rise in the number of persons with GI worldwide, and those reporting at GICs. In the face of this rising number, authors present their experience, together with current demographics and management. Authors have also contributed to the first version of Indian Standards of Care for persons with GI and people with differences in sexual development/orientation Indian standards of care 1in November 2020.

Process quality management and operational performance: exploring the role of learning and development orientation

PurposeThe paper aims to assess the influence of process quality management (PQM) practices on a firm's operational performance (OP) and investigate the mediating role of a firm's learning and development orientation (LDO) in the PQM–OP relationship. The paper also assesses the extent to which the proposed mediation is moderated by senior management support (SMS).Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the sociotechnical system theory to carry out a survey study of 278 functional managers from various manufacturing firms in India through a postal mail survey approach. The response rate has been improved by frequent telephone follow-ups. The collected data was analyzed for mediation of LDO and moderated mediation of SMS in the proposed framework using Hayes's PROCESS Macro in statistical package for social sciences.FindingsThe research findings show that both PQM and LDO lead to better performance and should be encouraged. LDO was found to partially mediate the effect of PQM on the firm's OP. The results also show that an enhanced learning capability of an organization can significantly influence improvement in OP through a stronger support of senior management.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study explored the mediating role of LDO in the relationship between PQM and OP, while providing a future research opportunity for an empirical review of the mediating effect of LDO between the effects of just-in-time, maintenance and process benchmarking activities on OP.Practical implicationsTo transform PQM activities into a competitive advantage, firms need to develop learning capabilities. Senior managers in the manufacturing industry should strongly focus upon creating a learning-centered work culture to improve performance and productivity.Originality/valueThe study provides insights into the type of people-related activities that manufacturing firms should undertake to enhance their OP. Few studies in the extant literature have used SMS as a moderator to improve LDO's impact on business operations. The study aims at bridging this gap.

Assessment and Spatial-Temporal Evolution Analysis of Urban Land Use Efficiency under Green Development Orientation: Case of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomerations

Rapid urbanization has provided a strong impetus for the economic growth of China, but it has also caused many problems such as inefficient urban land use and environmental pollution. With the popularization of the concept of green and sustainable development, the Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) assessment concept is widely accepted. The government and residents are paying more and more attention to environmental issues in urban development, and environmental protection has formed an important part of urban development. In this context, this study takes 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta as examples to build an evaluation system for urban land-use efficiency under green development orientation. The evaluation system takes into account the inputs of land, capital, labor, and energy factors in the process of urban development. Based on emphasizing economic output, the social benefits and undesired outputs brought about by urban development are taken into account. This paper measures urban land use efficiency by the super-efficiency SBM model, and on this basis, analyses the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urban land-use efficiency. Further, this paper measures urban land use efficiency without considering undesired outputs and compares the two evaluation methods. Again, the comparison illustrates the rationality of urban land use efficiency evaluation system under green development orientation.

Managing conflicting ethical concerns in modern small animal practice—A comparative study of veterinarian’s decision ethics in Austria, Denmark and the UK

Small animal veterinarians frequently have to manage conflicting interests. Beside the key consideration of the patient’s interests, small animal veterinarians are often challenged to consider not only client’s emotional needs, but also their own personal aspirations to provide quality patient care and to make a good living as a professional. Further, veterinarians have an interest in continuous professional development and the use of the newest treatments, which may influence their decision-making process. Based on published work, we hypothesize the existence of four decision ethics orientations that veterinarians can use to manage potentially conflicting concerns. These are: the patient-focused, the client-empathetic, the client-devolved and the development-oriented decision ethics orientations. We surveyed small animal veterinarians in Austria, Denmark, and the UK using a questionnaire (N = 648), and successfully identified the four decision ethics orientations in all three countries. The patient-focused and client-empathetic decision ethics orientations are salient in all countries, whereas Danish and UK veterinarians are slightly more client-empathetic and client-devolved compared to their Austrian colleagues. Across countries our findings show that experienced and older veterinarians tend to be more client-empathetic. Younger and less experienced professionals are more development-oriented compared to their older and more experienced colleagues. In contrast to other studies investigating ethical issues in small animal practice, we found no evidence that gender plays a decisive role in the tendency towards any decision ethics orientation. We also show that veterinarians with a higher client-empathetic orientation and development-orientation more often discuss the possibility of health insurance with clients who do not have it. The present study provides a first empirical insight into how veterinarians manage challenging expectations and ethical concerns as part of decision making in modern small animal practice.

High-Quality Development and Institutionalization of the BRI

After the BRI enters a new stage, high-quality development is becoming its main goal, but there is no consensus among Chinese academic circles on how to achieve high-quality development. Based on the assumption that the BRI is a development-oriented regional economic cooperation mechanism, the author proposes that the connotation of its high-quality development lies in sustainability, and the path to achieve sustainability lies in its institutionalization. The development orientation of the BRI determines that it does not set rules as a threshold during its initial stage, thus providing opportunities for developing countries to participate in international economic cooperation. However, this does not mean that the BRI does not need rules and institutionalization. Institutionalization is an endogenous requirement for deepening the BRI cooperation, an inevitable choice for addressing exogenous challenges, and a prerequisite for docking with the existing global governance system. It should be pointed that the institutionalization cannot duplicate the existing institutionalization model of regional integration, but needs to follow the principles of mutual consultation, gradualism and the Viewpoint of Righteousness and Benefit. Therefore, high-quality development of the BRI requires the establishment of a sustainable cooperation system, a benefit distribution system and a support system.