This study investigates the performance assessment of methanol and water as working fluid in a solar-powered vapour absorption refrigeration system. This research clarifies the system’s performance across a spectrum of operating conditions. Furthermore, the HAP software was utilized to determine and scrutinize the cooling load, facilitating a comparative analysis between software-based results and theoretical calculations. To empirically substantiate the findings, this research investigates methanol-water as a superior refrigerant compared to traditional ammonia- water and LiBr-water systems. Through experimental analysis and its comparison with previous research, the methanol-water refrigeration system demonstrated higher cooling efficiency and better environmental compatibility. The system’s performance was evaluated under varying conditions, showing that methanol-water has a 1% higher coefficient of performance (COP) compared to ammonia-water systems, proving its superior effectiveness in solar-powered applications. This empirical model acts as a pivotal tool for understanding the dynamic relationship between methanol concentration (40%, 50%, 60%) and system performance. The results show that temperature of the evaporator (5–15 ℃), condenser (30 ℃–50 ℃), and absorber (25 ℃–50 ℃) are constant, the coefficient of performance (COP) increases with increase in generator temperature. Furthermore, increasing the evaporator temperature while keeping constant temperatures for the generator (70 ℃–100 ℃), condenser, and absorber improves the COP. The resulting data provides profound insights into optimizing refrigerant concentrations for improved efficiency.
Global warming is a problem that affects humanity; hence, crisis management in the face of natural events is necessary. The aim of the research was to analyze the passage of Hurricane Otis through Acapulco from the theoretical perspective of crisis management, to understand the socio-environmental, economic, and decision-making challenges. For data collection, content analysis and hemerographic review proved useful, complemented by theoretical contrastation. Findings revealed failures in communication by various government actors; the unprecedented growth of Hurricane Otis led to a flawed crisis management. Among the physical, economic, environmental, and social impacts, the latter stands out due to the humanitarian crisis overflow. It is the first time that Acapulco, despite having a tradition in risk management against hydrometeorological events, faces a hurricane of magnitude five on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Ultimately, the city was unprepared to face a category five hydrometeorological event; institutional responses were overwhelmed by the complexity of the crisis, and the community came together to improve its environment and make it habitable again.
This study validates the Intercultural Competence and Inclusion in Education Scale (ICIES), a novel instrument designed to assess students’ perceptions of inclusivity and intercultural competence in multiethnic secondary schools. Using a sample of 276 high school students from Western Romania, the ICIES identified three dimensions: ethnic appreciation and support, intercultural engagement and integration, and school unity and cohesion. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the scale’s structural validity, while network analysis revealed key interconnections among its components. Findings highlight the critical role of inclusive teaching strategies and school cohesion in fostering intercultural competence. The ICIES provides educators and policymakers with actionable insights for designing interventions that promote empathy, mutual respect, and a sense of belonging in diverse school settings. These results contribute to the development of educational policies aimed at fostering inclusion and addressing the needs of increasingly multicultural classrooms.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of online education in primary education has exhibited an upward trajectory. Relative to traditional learning environments, online instruction has evolved into a pivotal pedagogical modality for contemporary students. Thus, to comprehensively comprehend the repercussions of environmental changes on students’ psychological well-being in the backdrop of prolonged online education, this study employs an innovative methodology. Founded upon three elemental feature sequences—images, acoustics, and text extracted from online learning data—the model ingeniously amalgamates these facets. The fusion methodology aims to synergistically harness information from diverse perceptual channels to capture the students’ psychological states more comprehensively and accurately. To discern emotional features, the model leverages support vector machines (SVM), exhibiting commendable proficiency in handling emotional information. Moreover, to enhance the efficacy of psychological well-being prediction, this study incorporates an attention mechanism into the traditional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture. By innovatively introducing this attention mechanism in CNN, the study observes a significant improvement in accuracy in identifying six psychological features, demonstrating the effectiveness of attention mechanisms in deep learning models. Finally, beyond model performance validation, this study delves into a profound analysis of the impact of environmental changes on students’ psychological well-being. This analysis furnishes valuable insights for formulating pertinent instructional strategies in the protracted context of online education, aiding educational institutions in better addressing the challenges posed to students’ psychological well-being in novel learning environments.
Smallholder paprika farmers in Zimbabwe contribute to local economies and food security but face supply chain challenges like limited market access and poor infrastructure which lead to post harvest losses and unpredictable prices. To survive, these farmers must adopt sustainable value networks to reduce operational costs and improve performance. This study sought to establish the effect of sustainable value networks on the operational performance of smallholder paprika farming in Zimbabwe. This study, using a positivist research philosophy and a quantitative approach, surveyed 288 smallholder paprika farmers in Zimbabwe. Exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling were used to validate the constructs and test the hypothesised relationships. Results demonstrate a moderate level of implementation of value networks in smallholder paprika farming characterised by successes and challenges. The findings illustrated resource sharing among smallholder farmers, facilitated by initiatives, such as recycled seed exchanges and financial support through village savings and loan associations. However, results show that challenges persist, particularly with market access and financial support. Results indicate that there is a significant awareness and implementation of green supply chain management practices among smallholder paprika farmers even though they do not have access to resources and live in rural areas. The findings demonstrate that value networks significantly influence the adoption of green supply chain management practices, which in turn positively impact operational performance, environmental performance, and social performance. Green supply chain management practices were found to mediate the relationship between value networks and environmental performance, social performance, and operational performance, underlining the critical role of sustainable practices in enhancing performance outcomes. While environmental performance showed a positive effect on operational performance, the direct influence of social performance on operational performance was found to be statistically insignificant, suggesting the need for further exploration of the factors linking social benefits to operational efficiency. The research contributes to both theory and practice by presenting a sustainable value network model for smallholder paprika farmers, integrating value network, green supply chain management practices and environmental performance to enhance operational performance. Practical implications include policy recommendations to strengthen collaboration between smallholder farmers and other stakeholdersand address power imbalances with intermediaries. Future research should extend the study to other agricultural sectors and incorporate more diverse stakeholder perspectives to validate and generalise the proposed sustainable value network model.
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