• Energy Research
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The big-health industry is an emerging industry with huge market potential, which plays an important role in economic growth and industrial structure adjustment. After years of development, the big-health industry in the Binhai New Area has begun to take shape and become an important force to promote the high-quality development of regional economy. This paper tries to use the SWOT and gray correlation degree analysis method to explore the correlation degree between the big-health industry and its sub-industries, so as to provide a reference for the Binhai New Area to create deep health resources, release the development potential of the big-health industry, and promote the sustainable development of the regional economy and its people. It is estimated that in the next five years, the per-capita GDP of Beijing and Tianjin will exceed USD 15,000, and the life expectancy of the population will exceed 80 years. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region will enter the high level of human development (human development index greater than 0.8). With the improvement of living standards, people’s demand for health will rise sharply, and the market prospects are broad. The Binhai New Area should seize this opportunity to accelerate the development of the big-health industry, to create momentum for regional sustainable development, and to create happiness for its people. The main objective of this study is to ascertain the sustainable development status of the big-health industry in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, as well as the direct relationship between the level of economic development and the development of the big-health industry, to lay a good economic foundation for the vigorous development of the big-health industry.

Global population is aging, particularly in developed countries and cities. Through the “Friendly Elderly Cities” and “Aging in Place” initiatives, various countries are making great efforts to improve the welfare and quality of life of the elderly, with the aim of catering to the physical and spiritual health as well as social welfare of the elderly. In this regard, the improvement of the housing environment of the elderly is one of the key factors in their quality of life and health. This study aims to effectively assess and improve the housing environment of the elderly in order to enhance their quality of life; it also aims to contribute the knowledge about improving elderly housing by applying an assessment framework using expert interviews and data collected from relevant literature. Using a mixed Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis model, a combination of the DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory)-based ANP (Analytic Network Process) (DANP) and the modified VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) methods, and the investigations and assessments in the case study, this study proposes strategies and directions for improving elderly housing. The study results indicate that, as distinct from using traditional methodologies where the hypothesis criteria are mutually independent, the proposed hybrid model (examining real-life problems by considering the mutual influences of factors) identifies a priority sequence wherein emphasis is placed on improving ventilation and air quality rather than adjustment of temperature. The systemic way of thinking shifts the focus from the most apparent problems to the root cause of the problems. Doing so avoids any mismatch of resource allocation in decision-making and thus maximizes the efficiency and sustainability of the improvement.

The 21st century world never anticipated a scenario in which it would be thrown into disarray by a fast-spreading viral disease, during which governments hastily had to enforce curfews by imposing travel and social gathering restrictions in order to contain it. The coronavirus disease of 2019 disrupted global supply chains and economies and caused death in every part of the world. Health departments and hospitals became the centres of attention as healthcare workers battled to save the lives of the infected. Governments struggled to calm citizens as the spread of incorrect and, sometimes, malicious information dominated all social media channels. The absence of established knowledge-sharing strategies and channels, knowledge about the disease or how to deal with the pandemic exacerbated the situation. This study investigates knowledge management systems as a sustainability strategy during a pandemic from three perspectives: understanding the disease, sourcing the required drugs and communicating with the citizens during a pandemic. The researchers adopted a survey research strategy for the study. The study makes an essential contribution to the value of KMS and the need to adopt them in the healthcare sector, particularly when faced with pandemics such as COVID-19.

Academic stress and burnout are the predominant factors that can negatively affect student performance and sustainable learning. Therefore, it is important to analyze the factors related to student academic burnout in preservice teachers in western China. 212 respondents from public universities in Guangxi Province participated, and the data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to check reliability, validity, and initial hypothesis testing. The results show that perfectionism, excessive self-efficacy, and workload are the main factors causing academic stress and burnout in preservice teachers. These problems can be reduced by increasing self-efficacy and coping strategies of preservice teachers. In addition, this study provides important knowledge to universities based on factors related to preservice teachers’ academic stress and burnout, as well as strategies and solutions to reduce these problems in students.

This paper explores the potential of concrete material to accumulate toxic trace elements using ablative laser technology (ICP-MS). Concrete existing in offshore structures submerged in seawater acts as a sink for hazardous metals, which could be gradually released into the ocean creating pollution and anoxic conditions for marine life. Ablative laser technology is a valuable tool for depth profiling concrete to evaluate the distribution of toxic metals and locate internal areas where such metals accumulate. Upon rapid degradation of concrete these “hotspots” could be suddenly released, thus posing a distinct threat to aquatic life. Our work simulated offshore drilling conditions by immersing concrete blocks in seawater and investigating accumulated toxic trace metals (As, Be, Cd, Hg, Os, Pb) in cored samples by laser ablation. The experimental results showed distinct inhomogeneity in metal distribution. The data suggest that conditions within the concrete structure are favorable for random metal accumulation at certain points. The exact mechanism for this behavior is not clear at this stage and has considerable scope for extended research including modeling and remedial studies.

The relationship between physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and academic achievement in young people is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between PA, CRF and academic achievement in 152 children according to sex (average age of 8.6 ± 0.3 years) in southern Spain. A tri-axial accelerometer was used to measure PA; the 20-m Shuttle Run Test was performed to assess the CRF; and to know the academic achievement, the official school records were considered. The results showed a weak correlation between moderate PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with CRF in boys (all, 0.2 > r < 0.4; p < 0.05), whereas the vigorous PA showed a moderate and weak correlation with CRF (all, p < 0.05), in both boys (r = 0.537) and girls (r = 0.382), respectively. In addition, a weak inverse correlation between moderate PA and MVPA with academic achievement showed in girls (all, 0.2 > r < 0.4; p < 0.05). Finally, the CRF weakly correlated with academic achievement only in boys (all, 0.2 > r < 0.4; p < 0.05). Our study showed a relationship between PA and CRF in both sexes. Nonetheless, the PA was inversely related to academic achievement in girls, whereas the CRF was related to academic achievement in boys.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the spread of COVID-19 is explored using a social-ecological systems (SES) framework. From an SES perspective, the pandemic is the outcome of feedback loops and cascading interactions within an anthropologically disturbed system. However, the SES framework tends to overemphasize human agency as drivers of system disequilibrium. Drawing on posthumanism theory in social science, the agency of the non-human world also plays a critical role in disturbances in SES. Non-human agency is incorporated into the SES framework, applying it to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the spread of COVID-19, and public health responses. The paper is interdisciplinary, and a non-systematic literature review was combined with Socratic dialogue to examine how human-induced changes trigger feedbacks in SES, such as SARS-CoV-2. The non-human world, embedded within a coupled system of material relations; the natural/biological element, that finds expression in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and in generating the genome novel recombinant, which aligns with the conceptualization of the non-human as “vibrant”, all play a role in shaping systems dynamics. This calls into question the anthropocentric view that human agency has the capacity to drive ecosystem dynamics. The implications for SES theory are discussed and we conclude with a case for a new ethics of interdependency to better serve SES analysis. The implications for practice, particularly considering projected future novel virus outbreaks, are discussed.

To be “connected” is “to care”, because how and what we care about is influenced, and influences, what we are connected with. Emotional connection predicts environmental concern and children exposed to green environments take this appreciation of nature with them into adulthood. However, the majority of the human population is now living within urban areas, where opportunities for people to interact and bond with nature are greatly diminished, thereby potentially threatening the liveability of cities into the future. Connection with nature has been shown repeatedly to benefit human wellbeing and predict pro-environmental behaviours. By definition “nature” includes urban agriculture, which is also an integral component of a city’s foodscape, thereby providing opportunities to improve the wellbeing of city inhabitants as well as help ensure food security. This will only be attainable if the next generation has an emotional connection to nature, and the necessary life skills to help them enter adult life as informed food citizens who make healthy and sustainable decisions for themselves as well as others. This paper reviews existing literature on foodscape (or one’s food environment) and biophilia (the love of life or living systems) to highlight the need for inter-disciplinary research that combines urban agriculture and food literacy to ensure future food security and wellbeing of urban inhabitants.