Agri-Food Industry and Environmental Impact to Ensure Sustainable Development. Factors and Threats' Awareness in the Post-Pandemic Period

The purpose of this study is to analyze the theoretical insights and formulate recommendations for improving the agro-food industry and its impact on the environment to ensure sustainable development, as well as to consider the factors and awareness of threats in the post-pandemic period. The analysis will allow to establish some conclusions about competitiveness and dependence of agro-food security of the countries as well as to identify the risks that hinder the effective functioning of the agro-industrial sector, as well as to make predictive values by building a trend model. Also, a complex of factors and key-challenges will be approached with the scope to awareness the environmental impact for a sustainable development of our society.

The Role of Animal Health Components in a Biosurveillance System: Concept and Demonstration

Biosurveillance defines the process of gathering, integrating, interpreting, and communicating essential information related to all-hazards threats or disease activity affecting human, animal, or plant health to achieve early detection and warning, contribute to overall situational awareness of the health aspects of an incident, and to enable better decision making for action at all levels. Animal health surveillance is an important component within biosurveillance systems comprising a continuum of activities from detecting biological threats, to analyzing relevant data, to managing identified threats, and embracing a One Health concept. The animal health community can strengthen biosurveillance by adopting various developments such as increasing the alignment, engagement, and participation of stakeholders in surveillance systems, exploring new data streams, improving integration and analysis of data streams for decision-making, enhancing research and application of social sciences and behavioral methods in animal health surveillance, and performing timely evaluation of surveillance systems. The aim of this paper is to explore components of a biosurveillance system from an animal health perspective and identify opportunities for the animal health surveillance community to enhance biosurveillance. Structural and operational diagrams are presented to demonstrate the required components and relevant data of animal health surveillance as an effective part within a biosurveillance system.

The Use of Cluster Analysis to Assess the Threats of Poverty or Social Exclusion in EU Countries: The Case of People with Disabilities Compared to People without Disabilities

The main research objective was to assess the range of threats related to poverty or social exclusion in EU countries among people with disabilities as compared to people without disabilities. The research used the available poverty determinants, including the percentage of low work intensity, the percentage of low income, the percentage of material deprivation, the poverty risk rate, the percentage of severe disability, living conditions and population income, and the overall risk of household poverty or exclusion, which are available in Eurostat databases. The data used in the research relates to 2018 and was published in 2021. The research used cluster analysis, more specifically one of the agglomeration clustering methods, i.e., Ward's method. Separate cluster analysis using Ward's method was carried out for people with disabilities and for people without disabilities. The analysis identifies two clusters among people with disabilities and two clusters among people without disabilities. In the group of people with disabilities, cluster 2 includes 19 countries with a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion, while cluster 1 includes eight countries with a lower risk of poverty or social exclusion. In turn, in the group of people without disabilities, cluster 2 includes nine countries with a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion, while cluster 1 includes 18 countries with a lower risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Requirements for the use of impact-based forecasts and warnings by road maintenance services in Germany

Impact-based forecasts and warnings (IBFs) are seen as important drivers for adequate anticipation and assessment of potential threats to public safety as they give a better understanding of the weather event's impacts. To prepare for impacts of weather events and prevent weather-related accidents, road maintenance services are actively using weather information in their daily work routine. This paper looks into the requirements that road maintenance services have for IBFs and how weather forecasts are used at the moment. The study is part of an interdisciplinary research project and follows a qualitative social science research approach. Findings show that the following factors are general user requirements: relevance of information, recognition of spatial and temporal requests, acceptability, comprehensibility, and technical demands. These are also applicable to IBFs with the extension to provide a benefit for road maintenance services in situations that rarely occur and where no embodied knowledge in the organization is existent.

Decarbonization and Transition to the Post-Lignite Era: Analysis for a Sustainable Transition in the Region of Western Macedonia

For many decades, the Region of Western Macedonia has been Greece’s energy hub, contributing significantly to electricity supply and national growth with the exploitation of lignite deposits for power generation. Lignite, though, has been banned from EU energy source policies towards achieving CO2 emissions reduction, with profound implications on the economy of the region. Despite the importance of this energy transition, a combinatorial analysis for the area in the coal phase-out regime is missing. Therefore, a combined analysis is performed here, and more specifically, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis in all the affected sectors, in combination with the examination of the degree of satisfaction with the EU’s energy priorities. The results of the study show that the Region of Western Macedonia has profound strengths and offers many new opportunities during its transition to a new production model. On the other hand, it has high unemployment rates and low rates of competitiveness and innovation. The main threat is the Region’s desertification due to the inability to find sufficient jobs. Considering the Energy Union’s priorities, the Region of Western Macedonia satisfactorily follows the priorities of Europe in its transition to the new production model, with plenty of room for improvement. The analysis performed allows for a just transition strategic planning to minimize social, economic and energy challenges while maximizing sustainable power generation and has implications for all relevant stakeholders, contributing to the implementation of Energy Union governance and climate actions.

One Shell of a Problem: Cumulative Threat Analysis of Male Sea Turtles Indicates High Anthropogenic Threat for Migratory Individuals and Gulf of Mexico Residents

Human use of oceans has dramatically increased in the 21st century. Sea turtles are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment because of lengthy migrations between foraging and breeding sites, often along coastal migration corridors. Little is known about how movement and threat interact specifically for male sea turtles. To better understand male sea turtle movement and the threats they encounter, we satellite-tagged 40 adult male sea turtles of four different species. We calculated movement patterns using state-space modeling (SSM), and quantified threats in seven unique categories;shipping, fishing, light pollution, oil rigs, proximity to coast, marine protected area (MPA) status, and location within or outside of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). We found significantly higher threat severity in northern and southern latitudes for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and Kemp’s ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii) in our study area. Those threats were pervasive, with only 35.9% of SSM points encountering no high threat exposure, of which 47% belong to just two individuals. Kemp’s ridleys were most exposed to high threats among tested species. Lastly, turtles within MPA boundaries face significantly lower threat exposure, indicating MPAs could be a useful conservation tool.

Research on Development Strategy of Henan Aviation Economy under the Background of Regional Economy

There is no doubt that economic globalization creates a golden opportunity for the development of aviation economy in the world;meanwhile, the world economy has entered the aviation century of the 21st century from the navigation century of the 20th century. As a new type of regional economy, the aviation economy is attracting more and more attention from all sectors of society and becoming a significant field for many countries and regions in the world. As the city that has been strategically promoted as the first pilot zone for airport economy development in China (Liang, 2013), Zhengzhou is endowed with remarkable geographic advantage. Coupled with policy advantages from Chinese government, its development is crucial to the development of regional economy in the entire province;therefore, this research paper studied its advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and threats for developing aviation economy and analyzed its possibility for developing a well-established aviation industry. Secondly, the current condition of airport logistics in Henan province was analyzed, especially the current situation and noticeable problems. Thirdly, the gray analysis was carried out to analyze the relationship between aviation industry and economy development in Henan. Finally, the according development strategy and suggestions for developing aviation economy were put forward, such as innovating industrial development models, exploring new modes of financing, establishing a sound transportation system and airport supporting facilities, and improving the talent introduction program in airport industry. Overall, this paper researched the aviation economy in Henan province from the perspective of regional economy development, analyzed the current issues occurred in the aviation economy development process, and offered suggestions accordingly.

Sustainable indigenous cattle production in Brebes Regency, Indonesia: opportunities and threats during pandemic

This study assesses the sustainability of indigenous cattle production (Jabres Cattle) during the COVID 19 pandemic in Brebes Regency, Indonesia. The sustainability of Jabres cattle production is considered from the aspects of production, socio-economic, and environmental aspects. The study was conducted on 64 Jabres farmers in 5 sub-districts (Ketanggungan, Bantarkawung, Banjarharjo, Larangan, and Salem). Respondents were taken using a simple random sampling method and data was taken using online questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The indigenous cattle farmers in Brebes Regency have a long experience as beef cattle farmers (10.7 years on average) with an average ownership scale of 7 heads. During the pandemic, there was an increase of 54.7 percent of farmers who felt it was difficult to get cattle breeds compared to before the pandemic. The number of farmers who found it difficult to get forage also showed an increase of 36 percent compared to before the pandemic. Likewise, an increase in the number of farmers (75 percent) felt that it was increasingly difficult to sell beef cattle, which resulted in not making it easy for profits. However, the COVID 19 pandemic can encourage all farmers to pay more attention to the cleanliness of cowshed and the cage environment. Most of the indigenous cattle farmers (89 percent) remain committed to continuing their business despite difficulties in obtaining calves, feed, and selling cattle. Farmers still have confidence that the difficult situation will pass, and demand slaughter cattle will recover.

Medium and large-sized mammals from Isla Santay National of Recreation Area in western Ecuador

Future research should prioritize both the preservation of ecological processes and the understanding of the negative effects of human impacts on local biodiversity. Unfortunately, Western Ecuador has suffered several environmental problems over a prolonged period, such as deforestation, illegal hunting, and rapid change in land use (Dodson & Gentry 1991, Parker & Carr 1992), causing declines in mammalian species. [...]the loss of large herbivores affects seed dispersal and recruitment, the loss of carnivores decreases predatory activity and nutrient recycling, and the decline of other mammalian species impacts pollination (Rumiz 2010). [...]to aid in mammal management and conservation, it is important to document current species richness and evaluate potential threats (Cervera et al. 2016, Lizcano et al. 2016). [...]there are 21 protected areas that include coastal-marine landscapes, mangroves, the humid forest of Chocó, and Tumbesian dry forests (MAE 2015).

Methodology for Prioritizing Best Practices Applied to the Sustainable Last Mile—The Case of a Brazilian Parcel Delivery Service Company

The ever-increasing impacts of the last mile delivery sector on the environment and the quality of life of the urban population, such as increased congestion, demand best practices to be incorporated by companies to reduce impacts such as emission of air pollutants and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and depletion of natural resources, among others. However, a myriad of strategies has been developed for this purpose but there is a lack of methodologies that allow the choice of the best ones for a specific case. Therefore, this study looks for those best practices to be employed through an innovative methodology that consists of SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), a map of strategies of the delivery service, and using the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with the differential of considering the peculiarities of each company. The results applied in a Brazilian last mile delivery service company show that best practices such as route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban deliveries, and use of information systems for fleet tracking and monitoring contribute significantly to improving performance indicators and achieving the sector’s goal to become more sustainable, and especially meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 11, and 17.

Cooperative education during Covid-19 pandemic: enhancing legal rights and professional development of interns in Thailand

Purpose>The study aims at enriching the existing cooperative education sector in Thailand. Adequate cooperative education has direct impacts upon graduates’ future professional development, employability and enhanced professional skills. The cooperative education framework in Thailand is relatively a recent concept and lacks detailed research.Design/methodology/approach>The methodology adopted in this study is mixed-method, inclusive of qualitative methodology where data were collected through key informant interviews and;quantitative methodology involving survey questionnaires with a sample of 350 respondents. The data analysis included the quantitative analysis with Chi-square and excerpts from the key informant interview respondents. Additional strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis is performed to provide for gaps at various levels of cooperative education and the potential opportunities to the graduates in Thailand.Findings>The findings depict a lack of legal framework for effective skill development, uncertain moral and physical security of the interns and absence of legal rights for interns, minimal support and assistance from the government sector, reduced future employability and insufficient financial resources among poorer students.Research limitations/implications>Lack of student and cooperative database with the government departments.Practical implications>The Thai Qualification Framework has been adopted in a majority of universities, however, the quality assurance does not cover the student’s perspectives, financial and social limitations towards attending the cooperative education.Social implications>With enhanced vulnerabilities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, adverse impacts are analysed and recommendations are provided for enhancing cooperative education opportunities towards students.Originality/value>This research aims to understand the perspectives of the students who graduated with cooperative education and are currently working professionals.

Management and Mapping Ecosystem Services in a Privately Owned Natura 2000 Site: An Insight into the Stellantis–La Mandria Site (Italy)

The Natura 2000 network is an ecological network covering the whole territory of the European Union to ensure the long-term maintenance of threatened or rare natural habitats and species of flora and fauna, including in metropolitan and rural areas. Some of the Natura 2000 sites have been subject to changes in ownership that have led to a fragmentation of the territory. Private entities may own areas within a Natura 2000 site and must ensure sustainable management of their property, especially from an ecological point of view. The case study is the Stellantis–La Mandria site, a private area owned by Stellantis, within the Natura 2000 site “ZSC IT1110079 La Mandria”, near Turin. The research proposes a participatory methodology, mainly addressed in this first phase to experts and professionals and aimed at the valorisation and management of private Natura 2000 sites previously considered as industrial sites, to allow a careful fruition and safeguarding of the natural heritage. The aim of the research is to provide a methodological approach and the first qualitative results useful to providing the owners with an indication for a more targeted management of the site;mapping the areas that provide ecosystem services (ES, especially cultural ones);mapping the areas that could be subject to future fruition;collaborating with the managing body to collect useful data for the future drafting of a new area plan. Two main research activities were carried out, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis concerning the management and possible future fruition of the site and a participatory mapping of ES. It should be emphasised that the research allowed the first results to be obtained, which, on the one hand, make it possible to validate the methodology used to achieve the objectives and, on the other hand, the results will have to be implemented over time by involving numerous stakeholders among those who can access the private area. The results of the research highlight opportunities and threats with regard to the conservation of ecological–environmental characteristics and future fruition of the site. The participatory mapping identifies areas with different ecological value and, therefore, different management needs and identifies areas that could be used differently for future fruition. Overall, the results aim to meet some of the European Commission’s wishes regarding Natura 2000 sites, with particular reference to the involvement of different stakeholders and experts for the conservation of biodiversity and the integration of ecological and social aspects into the management and fruition plans.

Importance of cyber security awareness and e-learning motivation for cyber security in reshaping the education

Everyday use of information and communication technologies by the global society that was accelerated by the virus COVID-19 pandemic has led to a drastic increase in the number of cyber-attacks, frauds and other security threats in cyberspace. Society as a whole has faced lack of cyber security professionals, low knowledge of threats in the cyber spaces and depths of the web with no existence of effective way of gathering cyber security intelligence and informing and warning the public on the threats. This paper will present the possibilities of boosting information security and cyber security awareness in the education and e-learning that will motivate future cyber security professionals to take their career path. We will also preview how we can use information on cyber-attacks and with machine learning models for security analytics that will contribute to better understanding of threats and threat intelligence. The aim of this paper is to show the possibilities of cyber security education and importance of awareness on the security threats in the process of reshaping the education. Paper should provide an overview of current state in cyber security area and technologies in this area as well as a proposal for the possible development of cyber security educational strategies based on machine learning and security analytics models.

Pyrolysis-Based Municipal Solid Waste Management in Poland—SWOT Analysis

Poland’s management of municipal waste, which amounts to over 13 million tons/year, is not efficient—about 60% of the waste is subjected to recovery processes, about 20% of all municipal waste is converted into energy, and almost 40% is landfilled. The authors of this article recognize the potential of pyrolysis as a method of the thermal processing of waste allowing the potential of the energy contained in the waste to be utilized. Pyrolysis is an economically attractive alternative to incineration, with a significantly lower environmental impact, allowing efficient waste management and the use of pyrolysis by-products in the energy sector (pyrolysis gas), or in the building materials sector (biochar). Despite so many advantages, this method is not employed in Poland. The aim of the paper is to indicate a recommended strategy for the application of pyrolysis in Poland as a method of the thermal processing of municipal solid waste. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis was used as a research method. In the first step, on the basis of the literature review, the factors which may affect the use of pyrolysis in Poland were identified. In the second step, five experts evaluated the weights of those factors and the interactions between them. The products of the weights and interactions allowed, in accordance with SWOT analysis methodology, the most desirable strategy of pyrolysis application in Poland to be determined, which turned out to be an aggressive one. This means that pyrolysis as a thermal waste processing method should be implemented on a large scale in Poland to improve the indicators of municipal waste management.

Threats from the Dark: A Review over Dark Web Investigation Research for Cyber Threat Intelligence

From proactive detection of cyberattacks to the identification of key actors, analyzing contents of the Dark Web plays a significant role in deterring cybercrimes and understanding criminal minds. Researching in the Dark Web proved to be an essential step in fighting cybercrime, whether with a standalone investigation of the Dark Web solely or an integrated one that includes contents from the Surface Web and the Deep Web. In this review, we probe recent studies in the field of analyzing Dark Web content for Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), introducing a comprehensive analysis of their techniques, methods, tools, approaches, and results, and discussing their possible limitations. In this review, we demonstrate the significance of studying the contents of different platforms on the Dark Web, leading new researchers through state-of-the-art methodologies. Furthermore, we discuss the technical challenges, ethical considerations, and future directions in the domain.