Urban River Interventions in São Paulo Municipality (Brazil): The Challenge of Ensuring Justice in Sociotechnical Transitions

The paper aims to discuss the sociotechnical transitions regarding urban rivers policy in São Paulo Municipality by focusing on programs and projects conducted since 2000. Accordingly, we use a theoretical reflection on sociotechnical transitions and just transitions in interventions related to water and cities. Our work is based on a documental analysis of programs and projects for urban rivers in the municipality conducted via theoretical discussion. The primary focus is on the current sociotechnical regime, the channeling of streams and construction of road systems on its banks, and disputes and pressures brought by the technological landscape and niches, which lead to the construction of linear parks and leisure areas along with the bodies of water. It also shows how the issue of justice has been losing ground in this transition, which although is “in the making,” already presents many factors of injustice. This is due to the low presence of the theme of precarious settlements, in innovative speeches and practices, and the different treatment given by the programs and projects for rivers in the consolidated middle- and upper-class regions and for those located on the peripheries.

Socially Irresponsible Employment in Emerging-Market Manufacturers

Are socially irresponsible employment practices, such as abusive discipline and wage theft, systematically tied to manufacturing outcomes in emerging-market countries? Drawing on a stream of stakeholder theory that emphasizes economic interdependencies and insights from the fields of industrial relations and human resource management, we argue that working conditions within a firm are facets of a systemic approach to value creation and value appropriation. Some manufacturers operate “low road” systems that rest on harmful practices. Others operate “high road” systems in which the need to develop employees’ human capital deters socially irresponsible employment practices. To test the theory, we conduct a large-scale study of labor violations and manufacturing outcomes by analyzing data on over four thousand export-oriented small manufacturers in 48 emerging-market countries. The analysis demonstrates that socially irresponsible employment practices are associated with inferior firm-level manufacturing outcomes even after controlling for the effects of firm size, industry, product mix, production processes, host country, destination markets, and buyer mix. The theory and results suggest an opportunity for multinational corporations to improve corporate social performance in global value chains by encouraging their suppliers to transition to systems of value creation that rely on the development of worker human capital.

A GIS-Based Modeling Approach for Determining the Efficiency of the Traffic System between Ancient Military Castles

Ancient Chinese military castles were equipped with rapid transportation routes for mutual aid, and this was an essential indicator of regional defense capability. However, since the sites of these transportation routes have mostly disappeared, it is not easy to examine the actual distribution of these routes. It is necessary to speculate the trend and position of military routes on the basis of the castle locations. In this study, the geographic features of each castle location were extracted as factors affecting the efficiency of the intercastle transportation system using the ArcGIS cost path function. By analyzing the fit of each factor for screening and weight assignment, a time cost path was established, and a model was generated for calculating the efficiency of this transportation system. The Weihai area, a typical representation of sea defense during the Chinese Ming Dynasty, was taken as an example for simulation. Overall, five ancient military transportation routes were restored. The establishment of the Ming Dynasty Wendengying transformed the linear defense layout of the Weihai region into a longitudinal network layout, and its site selection was of great benefit to the overall defense of the coastal citadel of Weihai. This model breaks the traditional limitations of relying on subjective speculation for ancient road restoration and dramatically improves its accuracy and credibility. Moreover, it makes a significant contribution to judging the road systems of ancient cities in different regions and provides a new idea to quantify the efficiency of ancient castle defenses.

Behavioral dynamics of pedestrian’s movements: Theoretical aspects of commercial arterial road frontage activities

The common scientific approaches to the reasoning of problems are mathematical reasoning or statistical reasoning. Mathematical or formal reasoning is usually deductive, therein one reason from general assumptions to specifics using symbolic logic and axioms for multi criteria decision-making. Mathematical probability, which is the basis of all statistical theories, had its beginning in the past. The aim of this paper is to explore a number of the mathematical and statistical aspects of the disposition and behavior of road frontage activities, which are of importance in pedestrian behavior as considered. It's shown that number of crossings from right to left is proportional to the pedestrian on the right (PXRL ∝ NR) and therefore, the number of crossings left to right is proportional to the pedestrians on the left (PXLR ∝ NL). Frequency distributions of the pedestrians generated for a given shopping string arterial were of 4 kinds, one related to pedestrians passing through not crossing the road, not going into and out of outlets. The second kind related to pedestrians crossing the road for the aim of going into and out of outlets, etc. the third kind related to pedestrian going into shops and eventually, the fourth kind related to others, e.g. Pedestrians generated from parking vehicles, buses, etc. A formula is given for the frequency with crossing from left to right and right to leave based on the land-use activities on the left and right. In considering the capacity of road systems it should be remembered that increases in traffic flow generally produce corresponding decreases in speed. However, it's an assumption that a rise in population generated along the footpath can cause the crossing the road, and usually produce corresponding decreases in vehicle speed. The paper concludes with a constatation of the pedestrian movements at a continuing rate that expressed in mathematical form.

Situational Analysis of the Production of Milk and Cheese in Several Productive Sectors of Ecuador and Its Quality Under Ecuadorian NTE INEN Regulations

Nationwide there are higher levels of dairy product consumption compared to eight years ago, when the production of dairy products was sectorized in several provinces. This has spread around the country either by hand or on an industrial level. Some of the most outstanding include Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Bolívar and Chimborazo. Other southern ones include Cañar, Azuay and Loja. Most of the production, trade, and industrialization of milk and its derivatives has been developed in these mountain areas, which have similar climatic characteristics. Current regulations are not complied with in many of these sectors. The public regulatory institutions include INEN (Ecuadorian Standardization Service), ARCSA (Agency for Sanitary Regulation and Control), AGROCALIDAD, MIPRO (Ministry of Industry and Productivity, SRI (Internal Revenue Services), MT (Ministry of Labor), GAD's (Decentralized Autonomous Governments); these work to ensure the well-being of consumers. Minimum compliance of the regulations must be obtained for legal and sanitary operation. The minimum technical regulations specified for cheeses that artisans must comply with are the PCH's, HACCP and the BPM's. Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are common in rural areas, which often lack important factors, such as basic services, adequate education, road systems, and proper facilities for industrialization. The COVID-19 pandemic makes the future even more uncertain and an accentuated crisis will persist for many years in Ecuador. Keywords: quality, Covid 19, INEN, milk, production. RESUMEN Existe un alto consumo de Lácteos a nivel nacional con relación hace ocho años, donde la producción de dicho producto era sectorizada en varias provincias. Esto se ha extendido alrededor del país ya sea artesanalmente o a nivel industrial. Siendo entre las más destacadas: ‘Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Bolívar y Chimborazo, y los demás australes de: Cañar, Azuay y Loja. En estas zonas de la serranía, con sus características climáticas similares, es donde se ha desarrollado la mayor parte de la producción, comercio, e industrialización de la leche y sus derivados. en muchos de estos sectores no se cumple con las normativas vigentes, para ello existen instituciones públicas reguladoras como son INEN (Servicio Ecuatoriano de Normalización), ARCSA (Agencia de Regulación y Control Sanitario), AGROCALIDAD, MIPRO (Ministerio de Industrias y Productividad, SRI (Servicios de Rentas Internas), MT (Ministerio del Trabajo), GAD’s (Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados), las cuales deben velar por el bienestar de los consumidores, dichas normativas son de cumplimiento mínimo que deben obtener para el funcionamiento legal, y sanitario, en cuanto a normativas técnicas especificadas para los quesos siendo las mínimas para los Artesanos las PCH’s, HACCP y las BPM’s para las MIPYMES (Micro, Pequeñas, y Medianas Empresas), La mayor cantidad de empresas están asentadas en las zonas rurales, donde carecen entre muchas factores, entre las más importantes son servicios básicos, educación adecuada, sistemas viales, instalaciones adecuadas propias para la industrialización. Lo cual hace un futuro más incierto después de que la pandemia COVID 19 deje una crisis acentuada por muchos años en Ecuador. Palabras clave: calidad, Covid 19, INEN, leche, producción.

Impacts of Electric Road Systems on the German and Swedish Electricity Systems—An Energy System Model Comparison

This study analyses the impacts of electrification of the transport sector, involving both static charging and electric road systems (ERS), on the Swedish and German electricity systems. The impact on the electricity system of large-scale ERS is investigated by comparing the results from two model packages: 1) a modeling package that consists of an electricity system investment model (ELIN) and electricity system dispatch model (EPOD); and 2) an energy system investment and dispatch model (SCOPE). The same set of scenarios are run for both model packages and the results for ERS are compared. The modeling results show that the additional electricity load arising from large-scale implementation of ERS is mainly, depending on model and scenario, met by investments in wind power in Sweden (40–100%) and in both wind (20–75%) and solar power (40–100%) in Germany. This study also concludes that ERS increase the peak power demand (i.e., the net load) in the electricity system. Therefore, when using ERS, there is a need for additional investments in peak power units and storage technologies to meet this new load. A smart integration of other electricity loads than ERS, such as optimization of static charging at the home location of passenger cars, can facilitate efficient use of renewable electricity also with an electricity system including ERS. A comparison between the results from the different models shows that assumptions and methodological choices dictate which types of investments are made (e.g., wind, solar and thermal power plants) to cover the additional demand for electricity arising from the use of ERS. Nonetheless, both modeling packages yield increases in investments in solar power (Germany) and in wind power (Sweden) in all the scenarios, to cover the new electricity demand for ERS.

Comparative Perspectives on Modern Logistics Transportation Based on Green Logistics in Europe and Indonesia: Concept of Sustainable Economy

The concept of logistics is a supply chain system to facilitate the movement of goods and resources (raw materials), delivery scheduling, storage, and marketing to consumer endpoints that support economic growth. The increase in logistics transportation also has a negative impact, especially environmental problems, the effectiveness of logistics transportation, and the quality of materials and goods which will eventually involve economic problems. This article aims to compare the implementation of modern logistics transportation systems in the European Union and Indonesia with the application of green logistics. This study uses a comparative study method with a qualitative descriptive approach to modern logistics transportation that applies the concept of green logistics. The problem of European Union logistics transportation is only in the human resources sector and congestion in a certain period. The solution is to add regulations related to alternative or manipulated road systems to reduce congestion. On the other hand, the problems that exist in Indonesia are related to the low facilities, regulations, and investment for logistics transportation. As a solution, several regulations and programs have been implemented as a green logistics concept such as anti-ODOL regulations, and the sea toll program.

Road Freight Transport Electrification Potential by Using Battery Electric Trucks in Finland and Switzerland

Medium and heavy-duty battery electric trucks (BETs) may play a key role in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road freight transport. However, technological challenges such as limited range and cargo carrying capacity as well as the required charging time need to be efficiently addressed before the large-scale adoption of BETs. In this study, we apply a geospatial data analysis approach by using a battery electric vehicle potential (BEVPO) model with the datasets of road freight transport surveys for analyzing the potential of large-scale BET adoption in Finland and Switzerland for trucks with gross vehicle weight (GVW) of over 3.5 t. Our results show that trucks with payload capacities up to 30 t have the most potential for electrification by relying on the currently available battery and plug-in charging technology, with 93% (55% tkm) and 89% (84% tkm) trip coverage in Finland and Switzerland, respectively. Electric road systems (ERSs) would be essential for covering 51% trips (41% tkm) of heavy-duty trucks heavier than 30 t in Finland. Furthermore, range-extender technology could improve the trip electrification potential by 3–10 percentage points (4–12 percentage points of tkm).

Modeling Urban Futures: Data-Driven Scenarios of Climate Change and Vulnerability in Cities

Cities are complex systems where social, ecological, and technological processes are deeply coupled. This coupling complicates urban planning and land use development, as changing one facet of the urban fabric will likely impact the others. As cities grapple with climate change, there is a growing need to envision urban futures that not only address more frequent and intense severe weather events but also improve day-to-day livability. Here we examine climate risks as functions of the local land use with numerical models. These models leverage a wide array of data sources, from satellite imagery to tax assessments and land cover. We then present a machine-learning cellular automata approach to combine historical land use change with local coproduced urban future scenarios. The cellular automata model uses historical and ancillary data like existing road systems and natural features to develop a set of probabilistic land use change rules, which are then modified according to stakeholder priorities. The resulting land use scenarios are evaluated against historical flood hazards, showcasing how they perform against stakeholder expectations. Our work shows that coproduced scenarios, when grounded with historical and emerging data, can provide paths that increase resilience to weather hazards as well as enhancing ecosystem services provided to citizens.