Progress in the synthesis of sustainable polymers from terpenes and terpenoids

The imminent depletion of resources derived from fossil fuels is a major concern for today’s society. 300 Mt of polymers are used every year in the form of plastics, most commonly derived from fossil fuels, hence the necessity to find new materials based on renewable resources. This review explores the utilisation of monoterpenes and terpenoids – a family of abundant and inexpensive natural products – as promising renewable monomers. Terpenes can be directly used in polymerisations or converted into bespoke monomers through organic transformations. The use of terpenes for the production of renewable plastics has been a prevalent topic of research for the past few decades. Early research focused on cationic polymerisation of terpenes by way of their alkene moieties; however, more recently terpenes are being functionalised to incorporate handles for a larger range of polymerisation techniques. Herein an assessment of the future prospects for the use of these small functional molecules to synthesise novel and valuable renewable materials is presented

Towards data-driven cyber attack damage and vulnerability estimation for manufacturing enterprises

Defending networks against cyber attacks is often reactive rather than proactive. Attacks against enterprises are often monetary driven and are targeted to compromise data. While the best practices in enterprise-level cyber security of IT infrastructures are well established, the same cannot be said for critical infrastructures that exist in the manufacturing industry. Often guided by these best practices, manufacturing enterprises apply blanket cyber security in order to protect their networks, resulting in either under or over protection. In addition, these networks comprise heterogeneous entities such as machinery, control systems, digital twins and interfaces to the external supply chain making them susceptible to cyber attacks that cripple the manufacturing enterprise. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse, comprehend and quantify the essential metrics of providing targeted and optimised cyber security for manufacturing enterprises. This paper presents a novel data-driven approach to develop the essential metrics, namely, Damage Index (DI) and Vulnerability Index (VI) that quantify the extent of damage a manufacturing enterprise could suffer due to a cyber attack and the vulnerabilities of the heterogeneous entities within the enterprise respectively. A use case for computing the metrics is also demonstrated. This work builds a strong foundation for development of an adaptive cyber security architecture with optimal use of IT resources for manufacturing enterprises

The competitiveness of nations and implications for human development

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.Human development should be the ultimate objective of human activity, its aim being healthier, longer, and fuller lives. Thus, if the competitiveness of a nation is properly managed, enhanced human welfare should be the key expected consequence. The research described here explores the relationship between the competitiveness of a nation and its implications for human development. For this purpose, 45 countries were evaluated initially using data envelopment analysis. In this stage, global competitiveness indicators were taken as input variables with human development index indicators as output variables. Subsequently, an artificial neural network analysis was conducted to identify those factors having the greatest impact on efficiency scores

Entrepreneurial climate and self-perceptions about entrepreneurship: a country comparison using fsQCA with dual outcomes

This study investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial climate (EC) and self-perceptions about entrepreneurship (SPaE). The variables and data were derived from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) dataset and framework. Specifically, the study examined variables closely related to the GEM concepts of entrepreneurial capacity and preferences across 54 countries. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to investigate associations between EC and SPaE. Three condition variables described EC: economic stage of development, entrepreneurial framework conditions, and entrepreneurial status. Four items described SPaE: perceived start-up opportunities, perceived capabilities, fear of failure, and entrepreneurial intention. Two forms of single outcome measures were constructed from the four items that described SPaE. A standard factor analysis-based score yielded the outcome SPaEF. Fuzzy cluster analysis produced a two-cluster-based outcome SPaEC. Having two outcomes referring to the same concept (SPaE) leads to discussion on what should be done to facilitate “same concept” based analyses using fsQCA. The findings open up discussion on the efficacy of fsQCA as regards its sensitivity to slight changes in the outcome. Practical applied issues surrounding entrepreneurship (EC and SPaE) are also discussed

Gender diversity for sustainability management: developing a research agenda from a supply chain perspective

Gender diversity (GD) is an issue that must be addressed for the sustainable development of businesses. Research is lacking on GD in the sustainability management of supply chains (SMSCs). This study addresses the potential impact of GD on SMSCs. A literature review methodology is used to review academic and professional articles over three decades. The findings show that some studies have examined GD and supply chain management (SCM) but the focus has tended to be on the challenges encountered by women in SCs, such as women as victims, but not women as potential change actors. In contrast, sustainability management literature invokes the importance of GD and the specificities women managers can bring to firms’ performance. A research agenda is proposed in this study by combining outcomes from both fields. It implies there is an important space to fill, especially concerning the environmental and social impacts GD may have on SMSCs

An analysis of the possible impact of mandatory audit firm rotation on the transformation and market concentration of the South African audit industry

Abstract: Orientation: Consistent with global concerns regarding the quality of audits and regulatory changes in Europe, South African audit regulations will require audit firms to rotate clients periodically, in an attempt to safeguard auditor independence and audit quality. In 2017 the South African audit regulator issued a ruling requiring mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) every 10 years, effective April 2023, primarily intended to improve audit quality. In addition to audit quality improvement, the regulator also believes that MAFR will stimulate transformation in the audit profession by building capacity of black-owned audit firms and allowing opportunities for small- and medium-tier audit firms to compete for the audits of listed companies..

COVID-19 and household energy implications: what are the main impacts on energy use?

This study explores the impacts of COVID-19 on household energy use. Some of these impacts are associated with longer-term energy demand changes and some could just be temporary. The study intends to present the results of a small pilot study conducted in China, by addressing household energy use. The samples are from 352 households and particularly focus on primary energy use in three periods of pre-pandemic (and pre-lockdown), start of COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown, and post lockdown. Each period is identified as a timeframe of 2.5 months, from November 2019 to late June 2020. The samples of this study highlight the primary implications of energy use, some that are understood as interim changes and some that may appear to be more prolonged. The results from the study highlight a variety of impacts on household energy use as well as prolonged impacts on transportation use. The primary household energy use are assessed in six fundamental elements of (1) transportation for commuting and leisure (for both private and public modes), (2) cooking, (3) entertainment, (4) heating and cooling, (5) lighting, and (6) the others. The results are summarized in three sections focused on major impacts on transportation use (comparison between private and public modes), cooking and entertainment, heating/cooling and lighting. The results could provide early suggestions for cities/regions that are experiencing longer lockdown. Furthermore, this study provides insights for larger-scale research in assessing household energy use/demand during times of health emergency and crises, such as the event of a pandemic