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Dec 18, 2024

Sustainability performance and communication of the greenest Hungarian Universities

Universities play a crucial role in supporting sustainable development. In recent decades, indicator-based assessment tools have emerged to quantify universities’ efforts towards sustainability. The most widely known is the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings (UI-GWUR): In our paper, we examine the sustainability performance of the three greenest Hungarian universities. The University of Pécs, the University of Szeged and the University of Sopron were among the top 200 higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UI-GWUR in 2023, which proves that they have successfully integrated sustainable development into the components of their system. The aim of the paper is to identify the sustainability measures implemented by the three-top Hungarian HEIs. Their experiences shed light on how it is possible to move forward in the UI GWUR for a Hungarian higher education institution. In order to evaluate the sustainability efforts of the universities, the UI GWUR database was first examined. The websites and sustainability reports of the three universities were also analyzed to gain insight into their activities. Identifying the sustainability actions of the three institutions will help other universities to successfully plan and implement their sustainability initiatives. In the last part of our paper, we evaluate how the three Hungarian universities communicate sustainability through their websites. The results show that advancement in the UI Green Metric World University Rankings primarily requires conscious planning, which means a deeper understanding of the ranking methodology on the one hand, and a clear strategy creation and implementation on the other hand.

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Nov 18, 2024

Green infrastructural development of tourism to mitigate the ecological footprint of economic growth: A comparative study across Asian nations

This research examines the intricate connection between tourism and environmental destruction in 28 Asian countries, concentrating on the non-linear impacts of tourism. Moreover, this study contemplates how tourism can mitigate the effects of economic growth on environmental decline. Westerlund, Johansen-Fisher, and Pedronico-integration tests are necessary to detect the co-integration connection between the proposed factors. The research also uses the Augmented Mean Group; the dynamic system generalized method of moments, and fully changed Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). These tools help address econometric and economic problems such as co-integration, dynamism, variation, inter-sectional dependence, and endogeneity. The results demonstrate a U-shaped non-linear connection between ecological footprint and Tourism in Asian nations. Primarily, the tourism industry can initially decrease environmental damage. However, as it increases in size, it can worsen the harm. Additionally, the study suggests that tourism negatively influences how economic growth affects ecological footprint. This research contributes to the existing literature on tourism’s effects on the environment. The research suggests that tourism significantly impacts the environment; therefore, initiatives to reduce damage should be aimed at tourism.

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Oct 29, 2024

Sustainability assessment with the green retrofitting concept for building: A study case in the Gresik regency, Indonesia

In green construction, sustainable resources are essential. One such material is copper, which is widely utilized in electronics, transportation, manufacturing, and residential buildings. As a very useful material, it has many beneficial impacts on human life. Observed from the recent demand spike is in line with the overall trend and the current growing smelter construction in Indonesia. Researchers intend to adapt the existing Copper Smelting Plant Building into an environmentally friendly building as a part of the production chain, in addition to reducing public and environmental concerns about the consequences of this development. We have identified a disparity in cost, where the high cost of green buildings is an obstacle to its implementation to enhance the cost performance with increased renewable energy of the Smelter Construction Building, this study investigates the application of LEED parameters to evaluate green retrofit approaches through system dynamics. The most relevant features of the participant assessments were identified using the SEM-PLS approach, which is used to build and test statistical models of causal models. We have results for this Green Retrofitting study following significant variables according to the following guidelines: innovation, low-emission materials, renewable energy, daylighting, reducing indoor water usage, rainwater management, and access to quality transit.

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Aug 23, 2024

Current and emerging trends in the use of AI for community surveillance

This study conducted a systematic literature review on current and emerging trends in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for community surveillance, using the PRISMA methodology and the paifal.ai tool for the selection and analysis of relevant sources. Five main thematic areas were identified: AI technologies, specific applications, societal impact, regulations and public policy. Our findings revealed exponential growth in the development and implementation of AI technologies, with applications ranging from public safety to environmental monitoring. However, this advancement poses significant challenges related to privacy, ethics and governance, driving a debate on the need for appropriate regulations. The analysis also highlighted the disparity in the adoption of these technologies among different communities, suggesting a need for inclusive policies to ensure equitable benefits. This study contributes to the understanding of the current scenario of AI in community policing, providing a solid foundation for future research and developments in the field.

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Sept 2, 2024

Evaluating how and why the Government of Rwanda failed to achieve middle-income status (MICS) in 2020: Lessons for other African countries

In the 1960s, many East Asian Tiger countries, such as Taiwan, Malaysia, China, etc., faced unfavourable socio-economic conditions like those facing many African countries such as Rwanda. For example, in the 1960s, Singapore was classified as an undeveloped country, with its GDP per capita standing at less than $320. However, all these countries managed to reach a development level like that of Western and North American countries (such as the U.S. and Canada), within a space of less than 15 years. Today, Singapore’s GDP per capita has risen to an incredible $84,501, making it the sixth highest GDP per capita in the world. With Vision 2020, President Kagame promised that Rwanda, which he referred to as “the African lion”, would cruise faster to the middle-income country status faster than Singapore and other middle income status countries, most of which are in East-Asia in less than 20 years. Thirteen years after the introduction of Rwanda’s Vision 2020, President Kagame dashed off the Wall Street Journal and other western media which often referred to Rwanda’s economic development as “the economic tiger of Africa” in his 2013 famous statement as follows: “There is a view that development is a marathon, not a sprint. We do not agree. Development is a marathon that must be run at a sprint. In our pursuit of progress, we have, of course, looked to East Asia’s so-called “tiger” economies for inspiration. But Africa’s experience is unique, and we must now define our own destiny. So, while being described as an “African tiger” is a welcome recognition of how far Rwanda has come, perhaps it isn’t quite right. After all, our continent has its own big cat. Step forward, the new lions of Africa.”. To achieve this objective between 2000 and 2020, Rwanda’s GDP per capita needed to increase from 254.94 USD (2000) to $1240 (in 2020), and the GDP growth rate was to grow consistently between 7% and 10% for a period of 20 years (2000–2020). The objective of this article is to critically analyse how the Government of Rwanda failed to achieve its promise of achieving a middle-income status (MICS) between 2000 and 2020. In 2000 the Rwandan president Paul Kagame launched Rwanda’s Vision 2020. This was a long-term framework for Rwanda’s development in 20 (i.e., 2000–2020). The idea behind Rwanda’s leadership was to imitate whatever Singapore did to become a developed country in just 15 years after its independence in 1965. Blatantly stated, President Paul Kagame wanted to turn his country into the Singapore of Africa. The IMF states that “Vision 2020 was the longer-term socio-economic development framework that sought to transform Rwanda into a middle-income country by 2020”. There is no doubt that Rwanda has made some developmental strides through the implementation of Vision 2020 as an instrument for operationalisation for the Singaporean-modelled developmental state over the past 20 years and has succeeded in some areas. However, the Government of Rwanda has failed in many areas and has failed to achieve the prestigious MICS in 2020. Therefore, among the many gaps in the current literature that this research seeks close is to find out what were some of the accomplishments that Rwanda’s Vision 2020 was unable to achieve? Why did the Government of Rwanda fail to achieve middle-income status within 20 years? What insights can other developing countries gain from Rwanda’s Vision 2020 experience? This study is a significant contribution to the current theoretical knowledge as it sheds light on the reasons behind the Government of Rwanda’s failure to achieve middle-income country status in 2020, a topic that has been largely ignored by the Government’s documents and the media. Despite Rwanda’s Vision 2020, there has been no scientific study to date that has attempted to deal with this topic. Therefore, this study, titled “Why the Government of Rwanda failed to achieve middle-income status (MICS) in 2020” is likely the first of its kind. By addressing

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Jun 5, 2024

Measuring the consumer’s choice for edible cutlery: A sustainable lifestyle perspective

Edible cutlery is a safe alternative that, if adopted, can act as a panacea to plastic pollution. Consumers who believe in a lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS) can motivate others by taking the lead in this direction. This study has explored the psychological variables associated with LOHAS consumers in conjunction with the product attributes of edible cutlery to check whether these variables can influence lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS) consumers to adopt edible cutlery. An empirical study on 210 LOHAS consumers using Partial Least Squares Structure Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Importance Performance Matrix Analyses (IPMA) showed that social consciousness and subjective norms motivate them to adopt edible cutlery in restaurants. This finding has an implication for hospitality businesses using edible cutlery that can target LOHAS consumers with strategies that affect their social consciousness and subjective norm belief for better adoption intentions.

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