A new approach to predicting carbon emissions at tourist attractions is discussed in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution. The tool developed by Xiumei Feng of Northeast Petroleum University in Qinhuangdao, China, uses a fuzzy support vector machine (SVM) to peak emissions in a way that improves significantly on conventional methods. The work could offer more precise and reliable forecasts of carbon emissions and so allow stakeholders to improve on how they manage the environmental impact of tourism.

Tourism is a major industry and a major contributor to carbon emissions, not least because of the energy-intensive activities such as transportation, energy consumption, and the operation of infrastructure that are involved. As we attempt to address the problem of climate change, there is a pressing need to manage and mitigate against the so-called carbon footprint of tourism. Peak carbon emissions represent the highest levels of emissions from a given tourist site and are an important measure of the potential impact of a given tourist trap on the environment. Understanding these peaks might allow stakeholders to devise more effective strategies to shrink the carbon footprint.

The models commonly used to predict carbon emissions often struggle with issues such as low stability, poor sensitivity, and inaccurate predictions. This, of course, limits their capacity to support effective climate action. To address the shortcomings, Feng has turned to an advanced statistical technique known as fuzzy SVM. This method is an enhancement of the traditional support vector machine model, which is widely used in machine learning to classify and predict data. The "fuzzy" aspect refers to a system that accounts for uncertainty, allowing the model to handle ambiguous or incomplete data more effectively.

Feng has applied the new approach to data on carbon emissions, tourist numbers, meteorological data, and resource usage and demonstrated that the model can make more accurate predictions regarding peak emissions. Understanding peak emission times will allow for better planning in terms of energy use, transportation schedules, and waste management—factors that collectively contribute to emissions at tourist destinations.

Feng, X. (2024) 'Peak carbon emission prediction of tourist attractions based on fuzzy support vector machine', Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 74, Nos. 1/2/3/4, pp.66–78.
DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2024.142553

The Internet of Things, which includes environmental sensor networks, industrial monitoring systems, home automation, and wearables, has brought with it an ever-increasing demand for computational power in smart mobile devices. Research in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology, discusses how mobile edge computing might meet these demands.

Yujie Li, Yaoyao Xu, and Fangfang Cao of the Nanchang Institute of Science and Technology, and Xiang He of Jiangxi Flight University also in Nanchang, China explain how cloud computing served as the backbone for data processing in mobile devices. However, these systems have their shortcomings, such as the requisite connectivity, the likely bottlenecks and delays and the ever-present security and privacy risks associated with having one's data on a third party system.

Mobile edge computing (MEC) could address many of these issues by decentralizing computation so that instead of a system being reliant on remote data centres and servers, the computational tasks are carried out on edge servers that are closer to the user. This reduces delays, latency, as well as potentially easing the load on the main servers, allowing faster processing of data to take place. However, even this approach raises problems of energy consumption as the mobile devices offload tasks to nearby servers.

The new work from Li and colleagues offers a way to tackle this issue by proposing an innovative resource scheduling model designed to optimize energy use in MEC systems. The new model assigns tasks in a non-random way that takes into consideration the available computational resources of the edge servers and their energy consumption. To enhance this process, the researchers used a sophisticated optimization technique known as enhanced particle swarm optimization. This algorithm gives quick convergence of processes to an optimal solution selected from a broad range of putative solutions to the given problem or task. It is thus more effective in managing energy usage across the entire system – on the mobile devices and on the edge servers.

The researchers' test results are promising. When applied to a setup with ten smart mobile devices, the model was able to reduce energy consumption by up to 55% compared to other approaches. These savings are achieved through smarter scheduling of computational tasks, ensuring that both the energy needs of the mobile devices and the power costs of the edge servers are balanced.

Li, Y., Xu, Y., Cao, F. and He, X. (2024) 'A meta-heuristic optimisation algorithm based method for scheduling edge computing resources', Int. J. Information and Communication Technology, Vol. 25, No. 9, pp.88–103.
DOI: 10.1504/IJICT.2024.142860

Music is created, streamed, and consumed through electronic platforms and while this format does not suffer the pops and crackles or the wow and flutter of vinyl or magnetic tape, there is always the persistent problem of noise interference and how to minimise it. Taoru Kong of Xi'an Siyuan University in Xi'an, and Yanli Shen of Guangdong Polytechnic of Science and Technology in Zhuhai, China, writing in the International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering, point out that electronic music can be particularly susceptible to the problem of noise. The team is developing a powerful new approach to reducing noise interference.

The team's system combines hardware and software designed to tackle noise interference. It begins with a music signal acquisition module that captures the raw audio. This data is then processed using an audio codec to refine the signal quality that exploits a large training data set and a clustering algorithm to detect and isolate unwanted noise. By analysing patterns within the music signal, the system can target interference, applying a statistical tool known as a an improved wavelet transform to eradicate the noise without distorting the original music.

In addition to this analytical system, the team has incorporated a so-called autocorrelation filtering algorithm. This step further cleans up the signal by isolating the music. This, the researchers say, produces a remarkably clear audio output, which is critical in a world where the smallest distortion can detract from the listener's experience.

The experimental results show that this system outperforms traditional noise reduction methods by a significant margin. For example, it achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of 30.12 dB, which is considerably higher than the 27 to 28 dB range seen with conventional techniques.

Kong, T. and Shen, Y. (2024) 'Design of music signal enhancement system based on big data clustering technology', Int. J. Computational Systems Engineering, Vol. 8, Nos. 3/4, pp.182–191.
DOI: 10.1504/IJCSYSE.2024.142767

Research in the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research has looked at the relationship between digitalisation and labour productivity in the European Union. The study found that the growing digital divide between some countries means that the impact of technological transformation on productivity is far from uniform.

Giuseppe Cinquegrana of the Italian National Institute of Statistics in Rome, and Giovanni De Luca, Paolo Mazzocchi, Claudio Quintano, and Antonella Rocca of the University of Naples Parthenope, Italy, looked at 23 EU member states over a five-year period and found that digital advancements, such as internet connectivity, digital skills, and the adoption of new technologies, can have different effects around the EU.

Broadly speaking, digitalisation has a positive effect on productivity. However, this study shows that the benefits are most pronounced in countries that already have high levels of digitalisation, such as those in Northern Europe. Nations like Sweden and Denmark, with good digital infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce, experience the biggest productivity gains as digitalisation spreads. The relationship can be measured using the European Commission's Digital Economy and Society Index, which tracks the progress of digital transformation, and gross domestic product per worker, a standard measure of productivity.

However, the study also reveals a more nuanced picture than is obtained from that data. It suggests that the impact of digitalisation on productivity is not immediate or even implicit. The team found that countries with better education systems and more extensive technological adoption are more likely to see digitalisation pay off in terms of higher productivity.

The findings reveal a stark north-south digital divide within the EU. Southern and Eastern European countries, in particular, lag behind their Northern counterparts in both digitalisation and productivity levels. This gap is further exacerbated by factors like lower investment in research and development and the presence of smaller, less innovative businesses. In these regions, the lack of resources to train workers in digital skills and the relatively low rate of technology adoption in businesses continue to hinder productivity growth. In highlighting this divide, the work offers the opportunity for policymakers to endeavour to close this digital divide.

Cinquegrana, G., De Luca, G., Mazzocchi, P., Quintano, C. and Rocca, A. (2024) 'Impact of digitalisation on labour productivity in the EU', Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 35, No. 6, pp.1–39.
DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2024.142806

A novel framework for designing smarter, more sustainable products is discussed in the International Journal of Product Development. The framework could help car manufacturers and others navigate the increasing demand for digital services. Zhang Yan, Tobias Larsson, and Andreas Larsson of the Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, explain that the Future Innovation Framework could change the way companies develop Product-Service Systems.

Product-Service Systems combine physical products with digital services in a collaborative process for their customers. With traditional product development models struggling to keep pace with technological advancements, the Future Innovation Framework gives manufacturers a structured approach to integrating digital solutions into their products as well as ensuring that they are meeting their sustainability goals.

At the heart of the Future Innovation Framework is the idea of value co-creation. In this, businesses and consumers work together to design products that provide mutual benefits. This is made possible by advances in information and communication technologies such as digital twins. Digital twins allow for real-time data sharing and the creation of virtual facsimiles of prototypes that can then be assessed so that smarter decisions can be made. By facilitating collaboration among the various people involved on both sides of the business, equation, the Future Innovation Framework can help companies create products and services that are more responsive to changing consumer needs as well as being more aligned with long-term sustainability.

The team reports on how car manufacture, Volkswagen, has already used the Future Innovation Framework in the design of its smart electric vehicle. The company's work illustrates the practical benefits of this framework. The team explains that by getting diverse teams involved early in the design process, the manufacturer was able to address those technological challenges and sustainability concerns. The case study highlights the potential of the Future Innovation Framework to streamline the design process, improve innovation, and reduce the environmental impact of a product. It also has a role to play in the promotion of the circular economy, which can reduce waste and improve the lifespan of a given product, by shifting the focus from short-term sales to more sustainable practices.

Yan, Z., Larsson, T. and Larsson, A. (2024) 'Future innovation framework (FIF) for value co-creation of smart product-service system design in a global automotive manufacturing company', Int. J. Product Development, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp.1–29.
DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2024.142760

A study in the International Journal of Vehicle Safety has looked at driver behaviour during turning manoeuvres at road junctions (intersections). The work raises concerns about pedestrian safety, particularly when several vehicles are involved in making the same turn.

Shoko Oikawa, Yuta Kusakari, and Naoyuki Kubota of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, and Yasuhiro Matsui of the National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory, in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan, used a driving simulator to replicate five different traffic scenarios. They hoped to better understand how various factors, such as the presence of pedestrians and other vehicles, influence how drivers approach and navigate junctions.

The team saw a rather troubling issue: when three vehicles were turning ahead of a driver, the speed at which the driver entered and moved through the junction increased. This scenario also led to a decrease in the amount of time drivers spent looking for pedestrians, which in turn points to a higher risk of them hitting someone crossing the road on foot. Moreover, the driver's attention was focused mainly on the movements of other vehicles, with scant attention paid to the presence of pedestrians. Thus, in turning, many drivers seem to assume dangerously that the road is clear when it is patently not.

In some countries, laws are in place to help protect pedestrians crossing at junctions. Some of those tell drivers that they must give way to someone about to cross before they make their own turn. However, the behaviour revealed in the study suggests that if drivers are not even aware of the presence of pedestrians at a junction, then no amount of law-making without enforcement will reduce the risk to pedestrians in this situation.

The team points out that Japan has major traffic safety issues, with pedestrian fatalities a major concern. In 2023, pedestrian deaths accounted for well over a third of all traffic-related fatalities, many of those occurred at junctions. The findings mesh with previous studies, that also found that the presence of other vehicles on the road can divert a driver's attention and increase the risk of pedestrian accidents.

While many modern cars have technology in place that is aware of obstacles and even pedestrians, this will be compromised by the presence of other vehicles as well as by driver inattention. There is this a need for more effective safety measures to be put in place, particularly at busy junctions where cars and pedestrians meet in often unpredictable ways.

Oikawa, S., Kusakari, Y.,Matsui, Y. and Kubota, N. (2024) 'Analysis of driving behaviour for right-turn manoeuvres at intersections with different types of traffic participants',Int. J. Vehicle Safety, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp.1–13.
DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2024.142706

Research in the International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, is set to challenge the received wisdom on entrepreneurship among marginalized groups, particularly people with disabilities. The work shows how inclusivity and diversity can perhaps unexpectedly drive social and economic change.

Chi Nghia Nguyen of Aomori Chuo Gakuin University, Japan, Matteo Rossi of the University of Sannio in Benevento BN, Italy, Laurent Vilaine of the Catholic University of Lyon, France, and Mohamad Baker Hamieh of the Lebanese International University in Mazraa, Lebanon undertook a comparison of social entrepreneurship. They compared eight case studies of people with disabilities in Vietnam and six cases involving non-disabled entrepreneurs in Japan. Their findings suggest, as one might hope, that disability does not inherently limit entrepreneurial success. Instead, they found that such individuals turn constraints into opportunities for innovation and community empowerment.

Social entrepreneurship, the practice of using business methods to address societal challenges while generating income, takes on a transformative role in disadvantaged settings, the researchers suggest. They found that in Vietnam, disabled entrepreneurs have developed ways to boost their skills, their technical expertise or social networks, while collaborating with others to overcome inherent limitations derived from their disability. The team explains that this adaptive approach not only creates sustainable livelihoods for themselves but also generates broader opportunities within their communities.

Such efforts are in stark contrast to traditional poverty alleviation models, which often cast marginalized individuals simply as passive recipients of aid. The research sees how disability can be reframed within the context of human capital—a term that encompasses the knowledge, skills, and other attributes individuals can bring to bear in their work. So, instead of viewing disabilities as insurmountable barriers, those disabilities are just one aspect of a person's capabilities and character, which can be complemented or compensated for by other strengths as needed. This shift in perspective moves the narrative away from what individuals cannot do to what they can and opens new pathways for innovation and inclusion.

Nguyen, C.N., Rossi, M., Vilaine, L. and Hamieh, M.B. (2024) 'Creating opportunities: social entrepreneurship and disability employment', Int. J. Business and Emerging Markets, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp.1–18.
DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2024.142635

A study in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, has looked at a fast, efficient method of assessing environmental pollution across nature reserves and so could offer a clearer view of the impact of tourism on such putatively fragile ecosystems. Qiong Da, Fang Zhou, and Nima Ciren of the Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University in Nyingchi, China, used factor analysis, a statistical technique to simplify complex data, to assess the various forms of pollution that might be present on a nature reserve including water and soil contamination, and air pollution. Their approach can highlight core environmental risks in less than half an hour.

Nature reserves draw millions of visitors annually, benefiting local economies, but tourist activity can put a strain on the environment. The researchers point out that current pollution assessment approaches can take days if not weeks and are data-heavy. Ultimately, these leave reserve management and policymakers in a quandary as to how to respond effectively to environmental issues as they arise.

The new approach uses an environmental pollution framework tailored for tourist destinations within reserves, making it possible to condense diverse indicators into the common factors that represent the most important pollution threats. The team suggests that their approach offers a more focused and so manageable dataset that might allow conservationists to act on immediate risks essentially in real-time.

The approach is adaptable and could be useful to the broader conservation effort. The framework offered by the researchers could be used in ecological assessment across other areas, not just tourist traps within nature reserves. It might thus allow timely and useful insights to be gleaned from other kinds of conservation areas that are also facing pressures from human activities. The approach could thus support resilience and long-term sustainability of conservation areas beyond the tourist hotspots.

Da, Q., Zhou, F. and Ciren, N. (2024) 'An environmental pollution assessment method for tourist attractions in nature reserves based on factor analysis', Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 74, Nos. 1/2/3/4, pp.1–15.
DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2024.142543

The future of MOFs, metal-organic framework materials, looks bright. A review in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management has looked at how a specific class of these sponge-like materials might find increasing use in removing dye contaminants from industrial wastewater.

Irvan Dahlan and Hamidi Abdul Aziz of the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, and Yung-Tse Hung of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, have focused on MOF-5 materials. These substances, constructed from a metal such as zinc to which organic molecules are bonds to build vast crystalline structures are highly porous and so have a large internal surface area compared to their overall volume, which means they can soak up, or adsorb (sic) small molecules, such as organic dye pollutants present in industrial wastewater.

The textile, pharmaceutical, and paper industries all generate vast quantities of wastewater contaminated with synthetic dyes. This represents an enormous burden on the environment and a serious risk to ecosystems where this contaminated wastewater might end up.

Organic dyes can be stubborn pollutants, as they are often chemically stable and difficult to break down. They can resist traditional wastewater treatments. Once present in natural waters, they block sunlight and so hamper photosynthesis in aquatic plants, and can thus disturb entire ecosystems. Moreover, some dyes are toxic, carcinogenic, or have mutagenic properties, and so represent a risk to marine life as well as throwing up health concerns for communities dependent on the water sources that are contaminated.

Conventional dye-removal methods, such as chemical treatment, filtration, and biological processes, are often too costly and complex to be commercially viable and commonly inefficient at handling large volumes of wastewater regardless of cost. MOFs, on the other hand, have emerged as a promising alternative due to their unique structures. Importantly, simple changes to the organic molecules from which they are constructed, and the metals used to lock these molecules together into a three-dimensional structure can be made relatively easily so that they can be given different pore sizes and adsorption characteristics.

The team's review shows that much work remains to be done with MOF-5 materials so that they bugger pore sizes can be developed for the larger dye molecules. There is also a need to improve the durability and reusability of these materials to make them suitable for industrial remediation use. Optimisation of their physical and chemical characteristics is now possible, but there is also a need to find ways to scale up their manufacture economically.

Dahlan, I., Aziz, H.A. and Hung, Y-T. (2024) 'Recent development of metal-organic framework 5 adsorbents for organic dye removal from aqueous solution', Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp.378–389.
DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2024.142506

One of the biggest buzzwords of recent years is metaverse. The term encompasses the notion of a virtual world that blends reality with digital environments. We have seen steps towards this destination over the last couple of decades with the development of virtual online spaces and their convergence with virtual reality hardware. A detailed review in the International Journal of Economics and Business Research, has now looked at how the development of a functional metaverse might change education and take us beyond the confines of the traditional classrooms.

Shorouq F. Eletter, Ghaleb A. Elrefae, Amer Qasim, and Tahira Yasmin of Al Ain University, United Arab Emirates suggest that the metaverse holds the promise of immersive, interactive, and customized learning experiences. They explain that the metaverse in the context of education would likely combine virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) so allowing students to engage in a dynamic learning experience that could essentially be set anywhere in time and space. For example, historical sites, geological locations, science laboratories, even with the world of mathematical visualisation.

Unlike conventional e-learning platforms, which are commonly based on video clips, graphics, and text-based resources, the metaverse offers a digital space where learners can engage with the content, instructors, and peers in real time, often as so-called avatars or characters immersed in this meta world. These digital classrooms offer more than just a place for lecture-based learning. They foster collaboration, engagement, and creativity, and could allow countless new possibilities for students around the world.

The team mined the Scopus database of academic publications and found that there has been a significant increase in the number of studies exploring the intersection of the metaverse and education. The researchers have identified various themes such as student engagement, global collaboration, and personalized learning as the main drivers of this growing interest. Their findings suggest that the development of the metaverse in education has the potential to break down barriers related to time, space, and socio-economic background for students and educators alike.

Eletter, S.F., Elrefae, G.A., Qasim, A. and Yasmin, T. (2024) 'Education in the Metaverse: a bibliometric exploration', Int. J. Economics and Business Research, Vol. 28, No. 6, pp.42–55.
DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2024.142498