Sustainable Green Practice in SMEs – An Examination of VBN Framework for Improving Productivity

The last few years have seen an exponential increase in the significance of the environmental agenda at the global level. Despite decades of research, the motivations that drive managers to engage in sustainable green practices remained uncertain. This study examines the degree to which value-belief-norm framework in explaining engagement in sustainable green practices. The data for this study was collected from 260 manufacturing SMEs and was analyzed by employing Structural Equation Modelling. The results indicated that environmental beliefs have a significant positive effect on SME's sustainable green practices, but these effects have not been demonstrated by environmental norms and environmental values. In view of these results, the findings have both policy and education implications as it is believed that a behaviour which encourages manufacturing SMEs to adopt green practices with respect to environmental concerns

Industrial revolution 4.0: Towards a conceptual framework on the implementation challenges in Malaysian manufacturing sector

The fourth industrial revolution, also called Industry 4.0 (I4.0) involves digitization of the manufacturing sector, with sensors (chips) in virtually all product components and manufacturing equipment, widespread cyber physical systems (CPS), and analysis of all relevant data. Industry 4.0 influences essential applications in manufacturing processes, the transformation is to be far-reaching but the pace of change to be slower than in the digital disruption of the consumer Internet.Due to long investment cycles, companies tend to be cautious in their decision making when it comes to significant disruptions. With expected Investments of US$ 907B by 2020, the world is definitely moving toward a new industrial phase, but are the Malaysian Manufacturing Companies ready for it? The aim of the study is to propose a conceptual study investigating the association of three challenges which consists of unqualified employees, high costs, vague return on investment are challenges towards Industry 4.0 revolution in Malaysian manufacturing sector.The novelty of the proposed conceptual framework shall increase the understanding that manufacturing sector should act along three challenges to overcome the implementation changes towards embracing Industry 4.0; which drives the next level of operational effectiveness, adapt business models to capture shifting value pools, and build the foundations for digital transformation

Smoke, Air, Fire, Energy (SAFE) in Rural California: Critical Reflections on an Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration

This article provides a synthesis of the interconnected problems of tenuous energy access, wildfires, and exposures to high air pollution in Indigenous communities in rural California through the lens of ongoing collaborative research being carried out by researchers at Cal Poly Humboldt, Schatz Energy Research Center, Karuk Department of Natural Resources, and the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. The collaboration is funded by the Strategic Growth Council of the state of California, and we hope is the beginning of a longer term relationship between all partners. We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers drawing on energy engineering, air pollution science, and qualitative social sciences to better understand the intersecting challenges of expanding clean energy access, and building climate resilience in Tribal communities in rural California in the context of the multiple challenges of climate change, increasing risk of dangerous wildfires, and high exposures to air pollution. Individuals and communities need to make decisions about energy and air quality infrastructure with implications for public health, climate change, energy resilience, and Tribal sovereignty. This article will reflect on the joys, challenges, ethical questions, and epistemological constraints involved with academic researchers working on interdisciplinary research projects across disciplines, and in partnership with Tribal nations. Grounded in the reflections and experience of an ongoing project, this article sheds light on the challenges and unique opportunities of conducting collaborative interdisciplinary research in close engagement with communities, and also reflects on the structural constraints posed within current institutional structures

Industry 4.0: Lesson from multinational companies to manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia

The manufacturing industry has to withstand an increasing global competition on product quality and production costs.Established manufacturing companies have recognized that customers are not willing to pay large price premiums for incremental quality improvements.As a consequence, many manufacturing companies adjust their production focusing on customized products and fast time to market.In order to cope with this challenge, industrial value creation must be geared towards sustainability. Currently, the industrial value creation in the early industrialized countries is shaped by the development towards the fourth stage of industrialization, the so-called Industry 4.0. This development provides immense opportunities for the realization of sustainable manufacturing. The aim of this study is to investigate the recent development and practice of Industry 4.0 in MNCs and provide empirical information on the potentials of implementing Industry 4.0 in SMEs. The present research will be conducted in twofold via sequential exploratory mixed method approach. The first (qualitative) phase will be examining MNCs in Malaysia who have successfully implemented the Industry 4.0. Upon understanding their experiences in implementing Industry 4.0, a research instrument will be developed which will be utilized in the second (quantitative) phase of the study. SME manufacturers will be investigated on their awareness and adoption issues pertaining to the Industry 4.0. The findings of this study expected to provide new directions and new practical insights in Industry 4.0 revolution practices in manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Policy makers will be facilitated in appropriately outlining the measures to plan, schedule and implement (1) drivers for the next horizon of operational effectiveness, (2) adapt new business models to capture shifting value pools, and (3) build the foundation for digital transformation

Small manufacturing firms sustainable green practices: Operationalization of sustainable value framework

Traditionally, companies and the environment have continuously become two conflicting aspects, where business becomes an environmental risks, and environmental concern become threats to business expansion. However, in recent years, this conflict has progressively been side-lined with the development and implementation of sustainable green practices. The aim of this study is to identify what steps small manufacturing firms can take to successfully implement sustainable green practices into their operations. In order to achieve this, the study proposes the Sustainable Value Framework which is a generic framework through which firms are able to convert their sustainable undertakings into sustainable value. The data of this study was gathered from semi-structured interviews with five small manufacturing firm’s owners/managers. The findings shows that small manufacturing firms are challenged to strike a balance between the components of the SVF and status quo concerning firm’s current sustainable green practices. The findings also reveal that creating long term sustainable value from the implementation of sustainable green practices challenges small manufacturing firms to successfully operationalize considerations relative to each of the four quadrants of the Sustainable Value Framework. The imperial findings and practical implications offer an indicator encouraging other manufacturing firms to hop on the Go-green bandwagon, particularly those without any green practice in place

Cleaner technologies adoption: Outcomes of E&F manufacturing SMEs sustainability

In recent years, the importance of the environmental agenda for the industry has been rising exponentially at the international level. Additionally, increasing consumers’ awareness on the environmental impact of their consumption choices and their willingness to reduce their ecological footprint has created new market opportunities for manufacturers. Sustainable green practices have become the conscientious imperative expected from all manufacturing industries due to rising environmental awareness among today’s society.Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the extent of green initiatives implementation in Electrical and Electronics (E&E) manufacturing SMEs as well as to examine the relationship between those practices and sustainable green practices.The quantitative data was obtained through a survey of 260 E&E manufacturing SMEs located throughout Malaysia. Analysis of the findings showed that there is an encouraging level of sustainable green practice implementation among the SMEs, with optimization of water conservation initiative as being the top priority and followed by energy efficiency.The result also revealed that waste management initiative not significantly affected sustainable green practices.The findings of this research provide new directions for future research and key implications concern the importance for firms and policymakers to work with sustainability issues using both internal and external perspectives

Sacral nerve stimulation allows for decreased antegrade continence enema use in children with severe constipation.

BackgroundSacral nerve stimulation (SNS) can be beneficial for children with constipation, but no studies have focused on children with constipation severe enough to require antegrade continence enemas (ACEs). Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of SNS in children with constipation treated with ACE.MethodsUsing a prospective patient registry, we identified patients <21years old who were receiving ACE prior to SNS placement. We compared ACE/laxative usage, PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptom Scale (GSS), Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (FIQL), Fecal Incontinence Severity Index (FISI), and Vancouver Dysfunctional Elimination Syndrome Score (DES) at baseline and progressive follow-up time intervals.ResultsTwenty-two patients (55% male, median 12years) were included. Median ACE frequency decreased from 7 per week at baseline to 1 per week at 12months (p<0.0001). Ten children (45%) had their cecostomy/appendicostomy closed. Laxative use, GSS, FIQL, and DES did not change. FISI improved over the first 12months with statistical significance reached only at 6months (p=0.02). Six (27%) children experienced complications after SNS that required further surgery.ConclusionsIn children with severe constipation dependent on ACE, SNS led to a steady decrease in ACE usage with nearly half of patients receiving cecostomy/appendicostomy closure within 2years.Level of evidenceIV

Green Initiatives Adoption: Perspective of E&E Manufacturing SMEs Sustainability

In recent years, the importance of the environmental agenda for the industry has been rising exponentially at the international level. Additionally, increasing consumers' awareness on the environmental impact of their consumption choices and their willingness to reduce their ecological footprint has created new market opportunities for manufacturers. Sustainable green practices have become the conscientious imperative expected from all manufacturing industries due to rising environmental awareness among today's society. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the extent of green initiatives implementation in Electrical and Electronics (E&E) manufacturing SMEs as well as to examine the relationship between those practices and sustainable green practices. The quantitative data was obtained through a survey of 260 E&E manufacturing SMEs located throughout Malaysia. Analysis of the findings showed that there is an encouraging level of sustainable green practice implementation among the SMEs, with optimization of water conservation initiative as being the top priority and followed by energy efficiency. The result also revealed that waste management initiative not significantly affected sustainable green practices. The findings of this research provide new directions for future research and key implications concern the importance for firms and policymakers to work with sustainability issues using both internal and external perspectives

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century