Digitalization and Development

This book examines the diffusion of digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies in Malaysia by focusing on the ecosystem critical for its expansion. The chapters examine the digital proliferation in major sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, e-commerce and services, as well as the intermediary organizations essential for the orderly performance of socioeconomic agents. The book incisively reviews policy instruments critical for the effective and orderly development of the embedding organizations, and the regulatory framework needed to quicken the appropriation of socioeconomic synergies from digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies. It highlights the importance of collaboration between government, academic and industry partners, as well as makes key recommendations on how to encourage adoption of IR4.0 technologies in the short- and long-term. This book bridges the concepts and applications of digitalization and Industry 4.0 and will be a must-read for policy makers seeking to quicken the adoption of its technologies

Digital village construction, human capital and the development of the rural older adult care service industry

BackgroundThe advancement of digital villages in China is shaped by the degree of human capital within the rural labor force, which not only restricts the potential of digital village but also influences the impact of digital empowerment on the progression of the rural older adult care service industry.Materials and methodsUsing panel data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2020, we created benchmark and threshold regression models to investigate the influence of digital village construction on the development of the rural older adult care service industry and to delineate the threshold effects of human capital on it. We further scrutinized the correlation between the two systems, along with the factors that affect it, through a coupling coordination model.ResultsPreliminary, the baseline regression outcomes show that the digital village construction is conducive to the progression of the rural older adult care service industry (p < 0.05). Moreover, we identified a significant nonlinear threshold relationship between the digital village, human capital, and the advancement of the rural older adult care service industry (HUM1ST, p < 0.05; HUM2DT, p < 0.01; HUM3DT, p < 0.01). These results indicate that the digital technology’s effect on the development of the rural older adult care service industry is limited by the rural human capital level. Lastly, we found that higher levels of human capital enhance the coupling of the digital village with the rural older adult care service industry (p < 0.01), with the influence of per capita education level being the most pronounced (CoefHUM1 > CoefHUM2 > CoefHUM3).ConclusionThe digital village substantially empowers the rural older adult care service industry, with human capital exhibiting a significant threshold effect on this empowerment. Furthermore, variances in the level of human capital have a considerable impact on the integration of the digital village and the rural older adult care service industry

Sustainable Smart Cities and Smart Villages Research

ca. 200 words; this text will present the book in all promotional forms (e.g. flyers). Please describe the book in straightforward and consumer-friendly terms. [There is ever more research on smart cities and new interdisciplinary approaches proposed on the study of smart cities. At the same time, problems pertinent to communities inhabiting rural areas are being addressed, as part of discussions in contigious fields of research, be it environmental studies, sociology, or agriculture. Even if rural areas and countryside communities have previously been a subject of concern for robust policy frameworks, such as the European Union’s Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy Arguably, the concept of ‘the village’ has been largely absent in the debate. As a result, when advances in sophisticated information and communication technology (ICT) led to the emergence of a rich body of research on smart cities, the application and usability of ICT in the context of a village has remained underdiscussed in the literature. Against this backdrop, this volume delivers on four objectives. It delineates the conceptual boundaries of the concept of ‘smart village’. It highlights in which ways ‘smart village’ is distinct from ‘smart city’. It examines in which ways smart cities research can enrich smart villages research. It sheds light on the smart village research agenda as it unfolds in European and global contexts.

The impact of internet use on the performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

Supporting agricultural cooperatives might contribute to the livelihood improvement of many small-scale farmers in developing countries. This research examined the factors affecting the internet use of agricultural cooperatives with a focus on female leadership, its effects on cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performance, and the distributional effects of internet use on economic performance. Our analysis relied on the data of 3,512 agricultural cooperatives collected in 2021 from Vietnam. We addressed the endogeneity issue of internet use in impact assessment by employing an instrumental variable approach. Our results showed that female leadership was positively and significantly associated with internet use and that internet use had a positive and significant effect on returns on assets, returns on equity, labour productivity, payment per labourer, contribution to labour union and insurance per labourer, and innovation in products of agricultural cooperatives. In addition, unconditional quantile regressions showed that internet use in agricultural cooperatives exacerbated income inequality. Enhancing female leadership and promoting rural education were recommended to improve agricultural cooperatives’ performance

Digitalization and Development

This book examines the diffusion of digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies in Malaysia by focusing on the ecosystem critical for its expansion. The chapters examine the digital proliferation in major sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, e-commerce and services, as well as the intermediary organizations essential for the orderly performance of socioeconomic agents. The book incisively reviews policy instruments critical for the effective and orderly development of the embedding organizations, and the regulatory framework needed to quicken the appropriation of socioeconomic synergies from digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies. It highlights the importance of collaboration between government, academic and industry partners, as well as makes key recommendations on how to encourage adoption of IR4.0 technologies in the short- and long-term. This book bridges the concepts and applications of digitalization and Industry 4.0 and will be a must-read for policy makers seeking to quicken the adoption of its technologies

Urban food strategies in Central and Eastern Europe: what's specific and what's at stake?

Integrating a larger set of instruments into Rural Development Programmes implied an increasing focus on monitoring and evaluation. Against the highly diversified experience with regard to implementation of policy instruments the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework has been set up by the EU Commission as a strategic and streamlined method of evaluating programmes’ impacts. Its indicator-based approach mainly reflects the concept of a linear, measure-based intervention logic that falls short of the true nature of RDP operation and impact capacity on rural changes. Besides the different phases of the policy process, i.e. policy design, delivery and evaluation, the regional context with its specific set of challenges and opportunities seems critical to the understanding and improvement of programme performance. In particular the role of local actors can hardly be grasped by quantitative indicators alone, but has to be addressed by assessing processes of social innovation. This shift in the evaluation focus underpins the need to take account of regional implementation specificities and processes of social innovation as decisive elements for programme performance.

LDE HERITAGE CONFERENCE on Heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals:

Heritage—natural and cultural, material and immaterial—plays a key role in the development of sustainable cities and communities. Goal 11, target 4, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasizes the relation between heritage and sustainability. The International LDE Heritage conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development Goals, which took place from 26 to 28 November 2019 at TU Delft in the Netherlands, examined the theories, methodologies, and practices of heritage and SDGs. It asked: How is heritage produced and defined? By whom and in what contexts? What are the conceptions of sustainability, and in what ways are these situational and contextual? How can theoretical findings on heritage and SDGs engage with heritage practice? The conference built on the multidisciplinary expertise of academics in the humanities, social, and spatial sciences, notably the interdisciplinary crossover research program, Design & History, the new theme of Heritage Futures at TU Delft, on active collaboration within the LDE Center for Global Heritage and Development (CGHD), and on heritage-related research conducted by the three partner universities Leiden, Delft and Erasmus in Rotterdam by further associated partners in the consortium and internationally. At TU Delft the research programs bring together different departments and disciplines: architecture, urbanism, history, landscape architecture, real estate and management, and engineering. They aim to further an interdisciplinary understanding of the transformation of the built environment and, through the consistent use of the past, to enable buildings, cities, and landscapes to become more sustainable, resource-efficient, resilient, safe, and inclusive. Researchers from Leiden University approach heritage from a broad variety of disciplinary perspectives, such as archaeology, museum studies, cultural anthropology, and area studies. Heritage research at Leiden University explores processes of heritage creation, and the appreciation and evaluation of material and immaterial heritage, to gain new insights into the cultural constitution of societies. Creating, acknowledging, and contesting heritage tends to be politically sensitive as it involves assertions and redefinitions of memory and identity. History and social studies scholars from Erasmus University in Rotterdam add further insights into heritage practice. This conference created a setting where academics and heritage practitioners could explore these questions from specific perspectives. It brought together 120 academics and practitioners keen to develop their understanding of and their input into heritage conservation, and to increase their contributions towards the development of sustainable cities and communities. The three-day conference combined a variety of formats. Participants engaged in nine academic sessions with peer-reviewed papers, eight roundtables on strategic goals, and six workshops spent applying specific methods and tools

International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022

This conference proceedings gathers work and research presented at the International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022 (IASSC2022) held on July 3, 2022, in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. The conference was jointly organized by the Faculty of Information Management of Universiti Teknologi MARA Kelantan Branch, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Malaysia; Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Ngudi Waluyo, Indonesia; Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines; and UCSI University, Malaysia. Featuring experienced keynote speakers from Malaysia, Australia, and England, this proceeding provides an opportunity for researchers, postgraduate students, and industry practitioners to gain knowledge and understanding of advanced topics concerning digital transformations in the perspective of the social sciences and information systems, focusing on issues, challenges, impacts, and theoretical foundations. This conference proceedings will assist in shaping the future of the academy and industry by compiling state-of-the-art works and future trends in the digital transformation of the social sciences and the field of information systems. It is also considered an interactive platform that enables academicians, practitioners and students from various institutions and industries to collaborate

Assessment of Socio-Economic Sustainability and Resilience after COVID-19

The pandemic period has caused severe socio-economic damage, but it is accompanied by environmental deterioration that can also affect economic opportunities and social equity. In the face of this double risk, future generations are ready to be resilient and make their contribution not only on the consumption side, but also through their inclusion in all companies by bringing green and circular principles with them. Policy makers can also favor this choice

Adoption and impact of integrated Striga and soil fertility management strategy in Mali

The possibility to vary the energy matrix, thus reducing the dependency on fossil fuels, has amplified the acceptance of biomass as an alternative fuel. Despite being a cheap and renewable option of waste from agriculture and forestry activities, the use of these materials has barriers due to its low density and low energetic efficiency, which can raise the costs of its utilization. Biomass densification has drawn attention due to its advantage in comparison to in natura biomass due to its better physical and combustion characteristics. Work has been carried out in this areas namely in the densification (briquettes) forestry wastes, kiwi and vine punning waste and their respectively elementary characterization. In a subsequent step, this work also presents the study of the thermal performance and combustion hygiene of the different briquettes produced in a burning hot water boiler. The thermal efficiency was determined by the direct method and it was found that the boiler thermal performance was quite similar for the different types of fuel tested and did not depend on the fuel feeding rate