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Introducing private capital into the public transport system for its sustainable development has been increasing around the world. However, previous research ignores emissions and energy consumption impacts, which are important for private capital investment policy-making. To address this problem, the system dynamic (SD) approach was used to quantitatively analyze the cumulative effects of different private capital investment models in public transport from the environmental perspective. The SD model validity was verified in the case study of Jinan public traffic. Simulation results show that the fuel consumption and emission reductions are obvious when the private capital considering passenger value invests in public transport compared with the no private capital investment and traditional investment models. There are obvious cumulative reductions for fuel consumption, CO2, CO, SO2, and PM10 emissions for 100 months compared with no private capital investment. This research verifies the superiority of the passenger value investment model in public transport from the environmental point of view, and supplies a theoretical tool for administrators to evaluate the private capital investment effects systematically.

Global trends and factors, such as the increased level of globalization, climate change, resource scarcity, and awareness of social and environmental responsibilities, as well as fiercer competition and lower profit margins in all industries, force organizations to act to retain, regain, or sustain their competitive advantages for long-term survival. These trends and factors are historically known to bring about innovations that drive the evolution of industries. Sustainability is considered to be such an innovation to achieve fiscally sound, environmentally conscious, and socially progressive organizations and supply chains. This study reviewed 477 past articles published in five major databases from 1990 to 2018. The purpose of the study was to assess the current state-of-the art in the subject of lean-driven sustainability. Based on the exhaustive descriptive and contextual analysis, synergies, divergences, and the extent of two-way permeability of lean and sustainability concepts from the perspective of intra- and inter-organizational operations were identified along with future research opportunities. Fundamental strengths and weaknesses of both concepts, existing strong synergies and untapped potential, along with their key contributors, the potential-use cases of lean tools to derive sustainable solutions are highlighted in this review.

Contamination of surface waters with microbial pollutants from fecal sources is a significant human health issue. Identification of relative fecal inputs from the mosaic of potential sources common in rural watersheds is essential to effectively develop and deploy mitigation strategies. We conducted a cross-sectional longitudinal survey of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations associated with extensive livestock grazing, recreation, and rural residences in three rural, mountainous watersheds in California, USA during critical summer flow conditions. Overall, we found that 86% to 87% of 77 stream sample sites across the study area were below contemporary Escherichia coli-based microbial water quality standards. FIB concentrations were lowest at recreation sites, followed closely by extensive livestock grazing sites. Elevated concentrations and exceedance of water quality standards were highest at sites associated with rural residences, and at intermittently flowing stream sites. Compared to national and state recommended E. coli-based water quality standards, antiquated rural regional policies based on fecal coliform concentrations overestimated potential fecal contamination by as much as four orders of magnitude in this landscape, hindering the identification of the most likely fecal sources and thus the efficient targeting of mitigation practices to address them.

Transportation justice studies have largely focused on metropolitan areas, and the transportation disparities in rural areas and their most disadvantaged population are not well understood. Our study explored transportation injustices in high environmental risk communities in Vermont. We found that low-income communities and people of color disproportionately face inequitable access to transportation services: they are more likely to be concerned about lack of transportation, more likely to not own or lease a personal vehicle and rely more heavily on public transportation. Our study also found that those without a personal vehicle and those largely dependent on public transportation have less access to healthy food, are likely to go hungry, have greater reports of asthma, and have less access to primary care physicians and jobs. The transportation policies in the state are also procedurally unjust. These disadvantages, combined with higher exposures to environmental risks, also pose implications for public health and well-being. A combined transition toward sustainable mobility and transportation justice should prioritize greater equity in the distribution of transportation investment in infrastructure and services; recognition of historical patterns that inform current uneven and unequal mobilities; procedural and democratic engagement of the marginalized in transportation design, planning and policy-making; a capabilities approach to plan transportation systems that improve opportunities, wellness, and quality of life for the most disadvantaged population. Consideration should also be given to designing a sustainable transportation transition that prioritizes attention for all modes of transport accessibility and mobility, including non-motorized and public transit modes, in planning and policies so that streets are not dominated by a single mode of transportation, such as cars.

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles are predicted to drive in a platoon with the aid of communication technologies to increase traffic flow efficiency while improving driving comfort, safety, fuel consumption, and exhaust emissions. However, some vehicles in a group may face communication failures. Such potential risks may even worsen the efficiency and safety of traffic flow and increase fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Therefore, there is a need to propose an alternative scheme to control traffic flow effectively through vehicle-based information without the aid of communication technologies. In this paper, a deterministic acceleration model was developed considering the sensor’s detection range to capture the underlying process of a car following the dynamics of autonomous vehicles. A delayed-feedback control was proposed based on the current and previous states of throttle angle to increase traffic flow stability and improve fuel consumption and exhaust emissions without the aid of communication technologies. Numerical simulations were carried out to study the impact of sensor detection range on micro-driving behavior and explore the effect of the proposed delayed-feedback control on the fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of autonomous vehicles in large-scale traffic flow. The numerical results certified that using delayed feedback with proper gains and delay time improved the total fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of autonomous vehicles.

Groundwater accounts for half of Indian urban water use. However, little is known about its sustainability, because of inadequate monitoring and evaluation. We deployed a dense monitoring network in 154 locations in Bengaluru, India between 2015 and 2017. Groundwater levels collected at these locations were analyzed to understand the behavior of the city’s groundwater system. At a local scale, groundwater behavior is non-classical, with valleys showing deeper groundwater than ridge-tops. We hypothesize that this is due to relatively less pumping compared to artificial recharge from leaking pipes and wastewater in the higher, city core areas, than in the rapidly growing, lower peripheral areas, where the converse is true. In the drought year of 2016, groundwater depletion was estimated at 27 mm, or 19 Mm3 over the study area. The data show that rainfall has the potential to replenish the aquifer. High rainfall during August–September 2017 led to a mean recharge of 67 mm, or 47 Mm3 for the study area. A rainfall recharge factor of 13.5% was estimated from the data for 2016. Sustainable groundwater management in Bengaluru must account for substantial spatial socio-hydrological heterogeneity. Continuous monitoring at high spatial density will be needed to inform evidence-based policy.

Livelihood strategies are a combination of activities and actions that individuals undertake to accomplish their desired goals. The current study aimed to examine the impacts of livelihood strategies on business performance. This study explored social capital as a mediator between livelihood strategies and business performance. This study further investigated how environmental perception strengthens livelihood strategies and business performance. For data collection, a quantitative research method and a random sampling technique were used. Data were collected through 550 questionnaires from small–medium enterprises (SMEs) in China. To test the study hypotheses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed. The findings confirm the notion that livelihood strategies are positively associated with business performance. The results also corroborate the notion that social capital mediates the association between livelihood strategies and business performance. The outcome validates the notion that livelihood strategies and business performance are further articulated when environmental perception is higher. Environmental perception moderated the impacts of livelihood strategies on business performance via social capital. The current research provides a better understanding of how livelihood strategies facilitate amplified business performance via social capital and the valuable role of environmental perception in research models.

Online support groups provide members a space to express emotions and gain emotional support, contributing to individual and organizational sustainability. Communication in these virtual spaces organizes and is simultaneously organized by member interactions and emotion expressions. To better understand how communication contributes to emotion, organizing, and meaning making, this study draws on Weick’s communication sensemaking theory and uses qualitative netnographic methods to analyze interactions in an online pet loss support group. Following pet loss, many American caregivers share their grief over the loss of a pet through online support groups, which help bereaved individuals acquire support, make sense of their experiences, and support similar others. Importantly, existing research indicates that virtual support groups provide members a safe space to engage their emotions. However, competing communication discourses uphold restrictive emotion rules across organized settings and can challenge how individuals perform their emotions. This study uses qualitative netnographic data gathered over 5 months from 106 participants, to better understand how virtual support group members used communication to understand, resist, reify, and reimagine emotions. We found that organizational members grappled with their grief at work and at home, often regulating their negative emotions in pursuit of advancing their workplace productivity and deferring to others’ expectations. Furthermore, although grieving members used communication processes to legitimize the virtual support group as an organizational safe space for displaying authentic emotions, site members controlled their emotions and reinforced managerialist discourses in their communication, demonstrating that emotion discourses are far-reaching and can contribute to or distract from sustainable healing practices. We offer implications regarding how online experiences complicate emotion rules, how safe spaces reinforce professionalism and managerialism, and how organized spaces can promote sustainable practices to support members.