Islamabad’s 2019 ban on single-use plastic shopping bags aimed to reduce plastic waste, but compliance is limited. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ban as well as other factors in curtailing plastic bag use in Islamabad. Regression modeling within a rational choice framework analyzed survey data from 406 retailers across 18 selected urban and rural markets. We found that the subjective belief that a fine was unlikely (β = −16.10; t = −3.90; p < 0.001), likely (β = −24.99; t = −4.95; p < 0.001), or very likely (β = −43.84; t = −4.07; p < 0.001) for selling bags versus very unlikely was significantly associated with lower usage. Additionally, older retailer age (β = −0.25; p < 0.001) and more education (β = −0.77; p < 0.01) were associated with lower plastic bag usage. Business registration (β = −3.94; p < 0.10) and trade membership (β = −4.04; p < 0.05) also decreased use. Rural location (zone II: β = 13.28; p < 0.001) and plastic bags stock availability (β = 16.75; p < 0.001) increased use. Awareness, viewing bags as “Good”, unlikely fines and lack of substitutes lowered use. Results provide insights to inform more effective policies for reducing plastic waste.

An alternative to CMOS VLSI called Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA) is presently being researched. Although a few basic logical circuits and devices have been examined, very little, if any, research has been done on the architecture of QCA device systems. In the context of nano communication networks, data transmission that is both dependable and efficient is still critical. The technology known as Quantum Dot Cellular Automata (QCA) has shown great promise in the development of nano-scale circuits because of its extremely low power consumption and rapid functioning. This study introduces a unique nano-communication parity-based arithmetic circuit that is reversible, error-detecting, and error-correcting. The minimal outputs are needed for the proposed structure. Based on QCA technology, the proposed nano-communication network makes use of reversible logic gates. The performance increase of the suggested parity generator and checker circuit is significant in terms of clock delay, size, and number of cells.

Creative cities as a study discipline have garnered extensive attention and research in theory and practice as a practical approach to urban revitalization and sustainable development. This study conducted a systematic review of academic research on creative cities. Utilizing the visual analysis tools Citespace and VOSviewer, a comprehensive analysis was performed on 570 relevant articles from the Web of Science database. This study analyzed the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries within the sample. The investigation spans various disciplinary domains, including geography, environment, culture, and others. Additionally, an exploration of the structure and characteristics of co-cited references was undertaken to enhance our understanding of the theoretical foundations of creative cities research further. Among these, the focal points of the study encompass urban development, urban policies, and the challenges faced. Finally, through co-occurrence analysis of keywords and examining the evolutionary process, the study forecasted that future trends will focus on the practical application of cities to enhance the urban image and improve urban governance from multi-dimensional perspectives such as creativity-related cultural places, public art, and so forth, exploring novel models of creative cities from case to universal. The results of this study can support scholars in grasping the development trends and exploring focal points.

The spread of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) in Thailand has led to a lack of liquidity and income for entrepreneurs, increasing the variety of distribution channels compared to store sales. This will be a solution for businesses struggling and creating value to raise the income levels of community enterprises in Thailand. This was an integrated and participatory action research using qualitative techniques through observation, interviews, recordings, analysis, and interpretation of the operational characteristics of community enterprises from field visits for consultation. This study aimed to examine the problems and obstacles of online selling by community enterprise entrepreneurs and to find guidelines for advising lead entrepreneurs in the Digital Market. These 25 community enterprise entrepreneurs produced community herbal products in Thailand. The research findings were analyzed using grounded theory according to the research objectives. From the research results, it is possible to summarize the problems and obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in selling products online among community enterprise entrepreneurs owing to the lack of knowledgeable administrators and the decline in demand for products affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, barriers to laws, regulations requirements related to cannabis products included legal controls only for cultivation and the production process until the product was sold, and production capacity could not be produced to meet the demand when there was a large volume of orders. Solutions were as follows: increasing skills and knowledge for entrepreneurs, especially in the potential; finding a way to pass on the business to the new generation to continue the business; using strategies to create cooperation with other enterprise networks and government agencies; creating online selling channels through various platforms; increasing funding to develop production processes; and using technology to create competitive advantages and marketing planning and delivery to make online sales an essential channel.

The quality of indoor classroom conditions influences the well-being of its occupants, students and teachers. Especially the temperature, outside acceptable limits, can increase the risk of discomfort, illness, stress behaviors and cognitive processes. Assuming the importance of this, in this quantitative observational study, we investigated the relationship between two environmental variables, temperature and humidity, and students’ basic emotions. Data were collected over four weeks in a secondary school in Spain, with environmental variables recorded every 10 minutes using a monitoring kit installed in the classroom, and students’ emotions categorized using Emotion Recognition Technology (ERT). The results suggest that high recorded temperatures and humidity levels are associated with emotional responses among students. While linear regression models indicate that temperature and humidity may influence students’ emotional experiences in the classroom, the explanatory power of these models may be limited, suggesting that other factors could contribute to the observed variability in emotions. The implications and limitations of these findings for classroom conditions and student emotional well-being are discussed. Recognizing the influence of environmental conditions and monitoring them is a step toward establishing smart classrooms.

Entrepreneurial self-efficacy has a predictive effect on entrepreneurial performance. The lithium-ion battery industry is the cornerstone of the emergency of the four emerging industries of “new energy”, “new materials”, “new technology” and “high-end manufacturing”. In the past, scholars have not considered the characteristics of entrepreneurs in their research on improving Chinese lithium-ion battery new venture growth. The personal characteristics of entrepreneurs have not received widespread attention from scholars. This article will start with the characteristics of entrepreneurs themselves and explore the path that entrepreneurs’ characteristics affect Chinese lithium battery new venture growth. This article builds a structural equation model to empirically analyze the relationship among variables. The data analysis results show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly promotes the growth of new startups and entrepreneurial resilience plays a mediating role between the two. It cannot be concluded that entrepreneurial passion plays a positive moderation role between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial resilience. Entrepreneurial passion also does not play a positive moderation effect between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and new venture growth. However, entrepreneurial passion plays a positive moderating role in the influence of entrepreneurial resilience on new venture growth. The findings of the study are beneficial for practitioners of Chinese lithium battery enterprises and will allow their strategies to promote sustainable new venture growth.