COVID-19, Digital Transformation of Banks, and Operational Capabilities of Commercial Banks

The development of financial technology has promoted the innovation and digital transformation of commercial banks. Through digital transformation, commercial banks can improve bank efficiency and operational capabilities. Through empirical analysis, this study explored the relationship between digital bank transformation and commercial bank operating capabilities and how COVID-19, bank categories, and enterprise life cycles affect the relationship between digital bank transformation and commercial bank operating capabilities. This study selected data from China's commercial banks from 2011 to 2021 and used the regression method of fixed effects to conduct an empirical analysis. The research results show that the digital transformation of banks has improved the operational capabilities of commercial banks. Further analysis showed that the emergence of COVID-19 has negatively affected their relationship. At the same time, compared with rural commercial banks and commercial banks in the recession and phase-out periods, non-rural commercial banks and commercial banks in the growth and maturity stages play a more vital moderating role in the impact of the digital transformation of banks on the financial performance of commercial banks. The main research object of this study is Chinese commercial banks, and this study examines the results of banks' digital transformation and enriches the research on digital transformation. At the same time, this study is helpful to investors who like investment banks and has good practical significance.

Managing risk in commercial property development projects during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from China

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest global health crisis in years. China is the first market primarily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with unprecedented lockdown measures bringing real estate and other economic activities to a standstill. This study has two objectives: (1) to identify the risks critical to the risk management of commercial real estate (CRE) development projects based on the project life cycle stages and (2) to identify the stages most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk factors at different stages. Three rounds of the Delphi study were conducted with nine experts involved in the construction project. The findings indicate that the construction, lease and sale phases are prone to significant risks. Additionally, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) identified ‘health and safety risk' as the most critical risk factor during the construction phase and ‘marketing and payback risk' as the most critical risk factor during the lease and sale phase. This study enhanced the effectiveness of risk management practices for implementing CRE development projects in China.

Festival hiatus, resilience and innovation during COVID-19: learnings from the Edinburgh festivals

PurposeIn this paper, the authors explore how Edinburgh's key Festivals have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their response presents the emergence of more innovative festival delivery models and a different imagining of the festival space.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a qualitative mixed methods research design involving 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Edinburgh's Festival Directors and other cultural and policy stakeholders as part of a University-funded stand-alone research project. The interviews were supplemented with participant observation at festivals virtually and in-person to experience new and emerging formats of festival content delivery, adherence to Scottish Government guidelines on COVID-19 safety, and to experience attending festivals during a pandemic.FindingsThe authors present findings on how Edinburgh's Festivals have responded to Covid-19 and how they have adapted – and in some cases reimagined – their business models to survive.Originality/valueThe authors propose a new theoretical framework that establishes a model for how festivals can approach risk management within their business model, focused on the ‘3R's' – respond, resilience and reimagine –with communication and support being central to this framework.

Carbon Footprint Analysis of Tourism Life Cycle: The Case of Guilin from 2011 to 2022

Low-carbon tourism is an important way for the tourism industry to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In order to promote the development of Guilin as a world-class tourism city and ensure the sustainable development of the tourism industry in Guilin, this paper combines the concept of carbon footprint and the theory of life cycle to build a tourists' carbon footprint life cycle analysis model of Guilin. Taking tourists in Guilin as an example, the composition and changes of tourists' carbon footprint are dynamically analyzed. The research shows that: (1) The overall tourism carbon footprint of Guilin showed an upward trend during 2011–2019. From 2020 to 2022, due to the impact of COVID-19, Guilin's tourism carbon footprint has decreased significantly. The per capita carbon footprint of tourism in Guilin showed a downward trend from 2011 to 2022;(2) The order of the size of Guilin's tourism carbon footprint is tourism transportation > tourism catering > tourism accommodation > tourism activities;(3) From 2011 to 2022, the carbon footprint of tourism transportation in Guilin showed an obvious narrowing state, while the carbon footprint of tourism accommodation, tourism activities, and tourism catering showed an obvious expanding trend. Based on the characteristics of the carbon footprint of Guilin's tourism and the current situation of the development of Guilin's tourism, this paper puts forward suggestions on reducing carbon emissions, forms a new tool for evaluating and constructing low-carbon tourism, and provides a scientific basis and practical reference significance for the sustainable development of low-carbon tourism in Guilin.

The Impact of Perceived Benefits on Blockchain Adoption in Supply Chain Management

Globalization has prompted enterprises worldwide to increasingly seek the optimal supply chain configuration. However, outsourcing, shortened product life cycles, and a reduced supply base severely weaken supply chain risk tolerance. With the emergence of blockchain, enterprises see an opportunity to mitigate supply chain risks. The purpose of our research is to explore supply chain managers' intention to adopt blockchain technology from the perspective of supply chain risk management. Using a survey sample of 203 managers in China and the USA, we explored the impact of four perceived benefits of blockchain technology on supply chain risk resistance by extending the technology acceptance model. The results show that the traceability, transparency, information sharing, and decentralization of blockchain can enhance the perceived usefulness of blockchain in supply chain resilience and responsiveness, and the ability to withstand disruption risks and supply and demand coordination risks encountered in the supply chain, thus promoting the adoption of the technology. In addition, the relationships between supply chain resilience and blockchain technology adoption and between supply chain responsiveness and blockchain technology adoption are more salient for managers with high levels of uncertainty avoidance.

Green Commercial Aviation Supply Chain—A European Path to Environmental Sustainability

The last century has witnessed European commercial aviation flourishing at the cost of environmental degradation by boosting greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. However, the outcry for net-zero emissions compels the sector's supply chain to a minimum 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below the 1990 level by 2030 and zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This study examines a European environmental sustainability path toward a green commercial aviation supply chain. Driven by literature and a review of related documents, two propositions were advanced to orient perspectives on the relationship between pollution and the commercial aviation supply chain and actions being taken toward environmental sustainability. In semi-structured interviews, seventeen aerospace associates endorsed pollution sources in the commercial aviation supply chain during the four stages of the aircraft life cycle, including extracting the raw materials, manufacturing, ground and flight operations, and end-of-service. They recommended transitioning into green commercial aviation through the widespread deployment of innovative technologies, from modifying airframes to changing aviation fuel, utilizing alternative propulsion systems, adopting circular manufacturing, and improving air traffic management.

CONSEQUENCES OF INTEGRATION PROCESSES FOR BUSINESS CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT

The modern business environment in which the world economy operates brings increasing unpredictability, which makes it difficult to plan and implement business continuity management. Recent examples are the emergence and spread of the corona virus and the war in Ukraine. Market-oriented economies are characterized by a reduction in the life cycle of companies and competition in saturated industrial sectors. Integration processes, takeovers and mergers, represent one of the ways of implementing development strategies of organizations and most often take place in waves and in crisis periods due to economic shocks and the influence of internal and external factors on the organization. Mentioned strategy is used by companies in order to acquire the necessary capital and resources in an effort to establish their position on the market more quickly and efficiently and to carry out activities of greater volume and income for the purpose of survival and faster progress. Due to the trends of M&A and the growing inconsistency and uncertainty in business, the aim of this paper is to highlight the consequences that M&A brings when it comes to managing the business continuity of a "newly integrated" organization. The impact on employees, business processes and general functioning and management of business continuity during and especially after integration will be observed. In order to fulfill the objective of the paper, the empirical part of the paper uses the Delphi method, in which the source of data is based on statistical collection and then the interpretation of the answers to the set questionnaire from a number of experts in the field of business continuity management, the banking sector, auditing and several business units that have recently passed M&A activities in order to consolidate attitudes about the consequences that integration processes bring for business continuity management and the organization as a whole. The paper will analyze the consequences of mergers and acquisitions for the management of business continuity, identify its advantages and disadvantages, and present recommendations for future such processes in the concluding remarks.

Rethinking North–South Research Partnerships Amidst Global Uncertainties: Leveraging Lessons Learned from UK GCRF Projects during COVID-19

International research and development projects (or grand challenge projects) consist of multicultural, multi-country, multi-sectoral, and multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at poverty reduction. They are usually conceived as partnerships between actors in the global north–south. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major unexpected disruption to ongoing projects and challenged their already complex management. The aim of this paper is to present evidence on how international development projects were impacted by COVID-19 with a particular focus on the relationship between research institutions in the north and south. We conducted a mixed-methods research study, combining a reflective exercise with the co-author team and a survey with principal investigators, project managers, and capacity development leads drawn from 31 Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) projects funded through the UK government's Official Development Assistance (ODA) and focused on social–ecological system research. The survey contained closed- and open-ended questions in order to (i) demonstrate how those involved in managing projects adapted to risks, including both threats and opportunities, presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and (ii) consider the implications for tailoring adaptive management approaches in international research projects amidst uncertainties, with a special focus on enhancing equities in global north–south partnerships. The paper offers the following recommendations on designing, planning, and implementing international research and development projects: (i) devolve project management in order to enhance project resilience and improve north–south equities;(ii) allocate dedicated resources to enable equitable north–south research partnerships;(iii) rely more on hybrid and agile approaches for managing a project's life cycle;and (iv) improve resource flexibility, transparency, and communication through enhanced funder–implementer collaboration.

SARS-CoV-2 morphology, genome, life cycle and our bodies' immune response: a review Ilyes Zatla, Lamia Boublenza, Hafida Hassaine

A novel coronavirus strain has been testing the capabilities of our modern world and suffocating health care systems, while bringing together scientist's researches and governmental powers, to fight off its robust viral disease. A new zoonotic pathogenic member of the human coronaviruses, that was first documented in Wuhan, China, has crossed the species barrier to infect humans and caused an outbreak of viral pneumonia. In this brief review, we'll discuss the virology of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, covering the general structure of the virus, its genetics and its process of replication. SARS-CoV-2 gets into the cell through the recognition of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors by the spike glycoprotein, with the aid of the priming protein transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), which is important for its activation, and replicates as a result of a complex process that involves RNA synthesis, proofreading and capping.

Overview of the Market of Electric Cars by Multilogistic Curves

Sigmoid functions (growth function, logistic function, evolution function, etc.) are used to describe, study and forecast several phenomena of the life. In some cases (for example, in case of the COVID-19 disease), the phenomenon has several waves, which needs to apply multilogistic (multiwave logistic) curves in order to perform realistic investigation. In product design, the logistic curve can describe the lifecycle of a product. A product lifecycle can be finished by the significant decrease of the market, but in some cases, several new developments and innovations can regenerate the increase of the market by starting a new boom. This renewing process can invoke several waves of the phenomenon, which will make necessary the application of multilogistic curves for the correct study. This multiwave behaviour of the product lifecycle makes this phenomenon very similar to the time history of the COVID-19 disease which also has several waves, because of the newer and newer virus variants. Analysis and comparison of several phenomena described by logistic curves, or bi- logistic, tri- logistic or multilogistic curves can be made easier by the application of the EBSYQ (Evolutionary Based SYstem of Qualification and comparison of group achievements) comparison and qualification system. The similarity between the multiwave characteristics of the product lifecycle and coronavirus time history makes possible to apply several results, skills and methods of comparison and investigation, which were developed and used previously during the analysis of several waves of the disease also for the case of product lifecycle analysis. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Crisis lifecycle, policy response, and policy effectiveness

The dimension of time has been neglected in the practice and research of public administration for decades. By developing a framework to guide the quantification and operationalization of the crisis lifecycle model, this study explores how the timing, sequence, and tempo of government policy response impact policy effectiveness. Quantitative analysis of COVID-19-related data in 152 countries/regions from 1 January to 31 July 2020 shows that direct policies on curtailing infection sources in the early outbreak stage are key to controlling the pandemic. This article concludes by identifying different time tactics that may help policymakers improve strategic decision-making.

Life cycle assessment teaching innovation: experiences from a Brazilian higher education institution

Purpose>The inclusion of sustainability in higher education courses has been debated in recent decades and has gained particular emphasis throughout the COVID-19. This paper aims to show how the context of the pandemic, which demanded the transition from in-person classes to virtual classes, was used to illustrate better the concepts of life cycle assessment (LCA) for Production Engineering students in a Brazilian University.Design/methodology/approach>The research strategy used was action research. Throughout the discipline offering, the environmental impacts resulting from in-person and remote classes were comparatively assessed through a practical activity using LCA. Students' behaviour and perception of the activities were recorded by the professor and discussed with the other researchers on the team. At the end of the course, students answered a questionnaire to assess their satisfaction with different aspects of the discipline, and these data were analysed via Fuzzy Delphi.Findings>The results focus on discussing the pedagogical aspects of this experience and not the environmental impacts resulting from each class modality. It was possible to notice a greater engagement of students when using a project that directly involved their daily activities (food, transportation, use of electronics, etc.) compared to the traditional approach of teaching LCA concepts. In this traditional approach, the examples focussed on the industrial sector, a more distant context from the reality of most students. Student feedback demonstrated great acceptance by them regarding the approach adopted.Originality/value>This study contributes to expanding debates about sustainability insertion in higher education and the training of professionals more aligned with the sustainable development agenda.

SOCIETY MATTERS

This section offers Amateur Entomologists Society (AES)-related news briefs as of December 1, 2022. The society held its Annual Exhibition and Insect Fair in October 2022 after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members are encouraged to apply for a couple of vacancies on Council. AES has changed its banking arrangements for membership renewals for 2023.

Where will we take old age? – Thoughts in the aftermath of Covid-19

The socio-anthropological study of old age has been captured by the concept of ageism that accords values of discrimination and inequity to the attitude towards and the treatment of the elderly. This reflects cultural sentiments of modern liberal values of the desire for the equality of human rights alongside the recognition of shame and guilt as guiding principles in the construction of the social status of the old in a youth oriented milieu. The underlying narrative generating this stance is the overview of the life cycle as a continuous developmental process that stretches from cradle to grave in a cumulative manner of yielding life overview and temporal build-up of memory and identity. The fight against ageism is thus an attempt to avoid disjuncture and interruption in the integral conception of ageing, hence denying the boundaries that divide life stages from one another. This endeavor is underpinned by the assumption that cultural categories are bound to be mixed and hybridized as part of the spirit of globalization that is conditioned upon exchange, transformation and conversion. The emergence of the third age is an example for such hybridized phenomenon consisting of once separated age classes. The fourth age, however, defies the notion and possibility of blended categories as it is an undecipherable, irreversible and existential space beyond understanding, translation and temporality. Thus, the modern bound, mobility geared conceptual language of social gerontology is ill equipped to tackle the properties of the fourth age, hence confounding the two into one indivisible epistemological unit of old age. The thrust of the Covid-19 era catalyzed a critical change in the social standing of the old, separating and excluding it from the rest of society while rendering it a race apart. The globalization of the pandemic exiled the whole elderly category to an island of the disenfranchised, the condemned and the contaminated who are subject to compassionate demonization as less than humans. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Development of Physical Activity Guidelines for a Healthy China Using the Life Cycle Concept: The Perspective of Policy Tools from Five Countries

Developing physical activity guidelines based on the life cycle concept is conducive to accelerating the realization of the goal of “all-round, full-cycle maintenance and protection to greatly improve people’s health” in the Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline. Based on a policy tools perspective, this study uses the text analysis method to collect and analyze physical activity guidelines based on the life cycle concept from five economically developed countries: the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the UK. The policy tools, country data, and stages of the life cycle were used to develop physical activity guidelines in China to accelerate the realization of the Healthy China 2030 strategy based on the following principles: (1) Strengthen sectoral cooperation and establish a system of policy instruments;(2) increase publicity and scientific awareness of physical activity and exercise;(3) focus on talent cultivation and improve guideline research and development;and (4) mobilize the power of all sectors to promote the implementation of physical activity guidelines.

Overview of the Market of Electric Cars by Multilogistic Curves

Sigmoid functions (growth function, logistic function, evolution function, etc.) are used to describe, study and forecast several phenomena of the life. In some cases (for example, in case of the COVID-19 disease), the phenomenon has several waves, which needs to apply multilogistic (multiwave logistic) curves in order to perform realistic investigation. In product design, the logistic curve can describe the lifecycle of a product. A product lifecycle can be finished by the significant decrease of the market, but in some cases, several new developments and innovations can regenerate the increase of the market by starting a new boom. This renewing process can invoke several waves of the phenomenon, which will make necessary the application of multilogistic curves for the correct study. This multiwave behaviour of the product lifecycle makes this phenomenon very similar to the time history of the COVID-19 disease which also has several waves, because of the newer and newer virus variants. Analysis and comparison of several phenomena described by logistic curves, or bi- logistic, tri- logistic or multilogistic curves can be made easier by the application of the EBSYQ (Evolutionary Based SYstem of Qualification and comparison of group achievements) comparison and qualification system. The similarity between the multiwave characteristics of the product lifecycle and coronavirus time history makes possible to apply several results, skills and methods of comparison and investigation, which were developed and used previously during the analysis of several waves of the disease also for the case of product lifecycle analysis. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Paving the way towards circularity in the building sector. Empa’s Sprint Unit as a beacon of swift and circular construction

In order to achieve the CO2 targets stipulated within the Paris Agreement, future buildings must be constructed in such a way, that their emission profile will be close to zero. In order to achieve this, a radical shift towards a circular construction manner which encompasses topics like material reuse (i.e. design for multiple lifecycles), design-for-disassembly (allowing for maximum recovery of materials and minimization of construction waste) must be promoted against todays, conventional construction practices. Furthermore, the current Covid-19 pandemic has shown that buildings must be constructed in a more flexible manner, in order to be adaptable to changing needs as quickly as possible – including new types of needs. A transition to such a circular construction practice requires also new approaches for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), taking into account issues such as the circularity or multiple life cycle of materials. Conventional LCA methods fail to deliver trustworthy results as they are designed to assess products and buildings that have only a single life cycle. In this context, a newly constructed unit, set to be the embodiment of the circular construction principle that incorporates all the above-mentioned concepts in the form of a cluster of flexible office spaces, has been integrated into the research building NEST (Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies) – a platform located at the Empa campus in Dübendorf (Switzerland), where novel building technologies can be tested and validated under realistic conditions. Its name: Sprint. In this paper, the environmental performance of Sprint is assessed through LCA, using three different approaches – the EN15804 method, the Product Environmental Footprint method and the Linear Degressive approach – with the latter two approaches considering the circularity of materials, while each one having an own, distinctive allocation rule for the split of the impacts between the current, the previous and the subsequent lifecycles.

Circular Economy of Construction and Demolition Wood Waste—A Theoretical Framework Approach

A considerable amount of construction and demolition wood waste (CDWW) is generated, mostly landfilled, contributing to severe environmental effects. The management of CDWW is a significant challenge as it is a hazardous contaminated waste. In this context, the circular economy (CE) concept is a solution as it comprises waste minimisation and efficient recovery of resources. Although much research is found in the literature on CDWW end-of-life management, research on CE implementation considering every life cycle stage is still scarce. In this review, we endeavour to integrate CE in CDWW to identify the waste management strategies involved in the life cycle phases. The databases were searched from 2009 to 2020 and were analysed using CiteSpace version 5.7.R1 software. Forty-nine articles were identified, and the six life cycle stages were explored. The analysis shows that CE for wood waste is essential and has greater growth potential. While the LCA studies are limited to environmental viewpoints, combining economic and social perspectives is necessary for sustainable development. Overall, based on the research findings, a theoretical framework was proposed. This study, as a consequence, promotes the application of recycled wood into multiple valuable products and thus encourages waste management to boost CE and sustainability.

Sustainable Building Standards, Codes and Certification Systems: The Status Quo and Future Directions in Saudi Arabia

Sustainable building practices are a response to environmental issues. Businesses and industries are assessing how their activities affect the environment. The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries have significant impacts on the environment and economy, while the industry is considered one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has, therefore, been highlighted by researchers as a key area of intervention with a great potential to reduce environmental impacts. This paper critically reviews and evaluates the current state of sustainable building certification systems with the purpose of having a good understanding of the status quo and possibilities for future directions in Saudi Arabia. It reviews the academic literature on Saudi Arabia’s green/sustainable building codes, standards, certification systems, methods and tools. It starts by addressing sustainability in the broadest sense. Then, it investigates sustainability strategies and evaluates the building certification systems in Saudi Arabia, followed by an introduction to the new practice of sustainable healthcare building assessment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and building information modelling (BIM) techniques have also been investigated. The paper introduces the updated Saudi Building Code (SBC) with further evaluation of the Saudi Green Building Code (SBC 1001-CR). Finally, the paper clearly highlights the key role of sustainable building practices and the need to develop a certification system that considers the new trends and the local context.

Exploring the pH dependence of the SARS‐CoV‐2 complete fusion domain and the role of its unique structural features

SARS‐CoV‐2 may enter target cells through the process of membrane fusion at either the plasma (~pH 7.4–7.0) or endosomal (~pH 6.5–5.0) membrane in order to deliver its genetic information. The fusion domain (FD) of the spike glycoprotein is responsible for initiating fusion and is thus integral to the viral life cycle. The FD of SARS‐CoV‐2 is unique in that it consists of two structurally distinctive regions referred to as the fusion peptide (FP) and the fusion loop (FL);yet the molecular mechanisms behind how this FD perturbs the membrane to initiate fusion remains unclear. In this study via solution NMR, we witnessed only a slight conformational change in the FD between pH 7.4 and pH 5.0, resulting in a minor elongation of helix 1. However, we found that the FD's ability to mediate membrane fusion has a large and significant pH dependence, with fusion events being more readily induced at low pH. Interestingly, a biphasic relationship between the environmental pH and fusogenicity was discovered, suggesting a preference for the FD to initiate fusion at the late endosomal membrane. Furthermore, the conserved disulfide bond and hydrophobic motif “LLF” were found to be critical for the function of the complete FD, with minimal activity witnessed when either was perturbed. In conclusion, these findings indicate that the SARS‐CoV‐2 FD preferably initiates fusion at a pH similar to the late endosome through a mechanism that heavily relies on the internal disulfide bond of the FL and hydrophobic LLF motif within the FP.