Green building (GB) projects have attracted wide attention in the construction industry in recent years owing to numerous benefits of green practices for sustainable development. However, existing ...research efforts on GB project risk management are very limited, and no prior in-depth research has focused on studying the risk interdependencies in GB projects from the perspectives of both the project life cycle and multiple project risks. This paper begins by identifying and distinguishing GB project constraints from multiple GB project risks using a systematic literature review and then investigates, based on the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method, the risk interdependencies taking into account the identified 16 constraint factors, 22 risk factors and 11 objectives throughout a GB project life cycle. The importance of constraints and risk factors associated with GB project objectives was calculated based on the influence transmission through network paths in the established ISM-based model. In addition, the Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) approach was used to analyze the drive and dependence powers of risk interdependency elements. Critical constraints and risk factors in the implementation of GB projects can be obtained from the proposed risk analysis model, which contributes to an in-depth risk perception of GB projects for industry practitioners and facilitates GB project risk management in a more effective way.
•Oxidation resistance of UN/U2N3-UO2 with initial 10 wt% microspheres is better than UO2.•Oxidation onset temperatures are equivalents when using 30 wt% or 50 wt% microspheres.•UO2 acts as a ...protective barrier for the nitride phases.•TGA triplicate measurements confirm good repeatability and reliability of the results.•Oxidation mechanism for UN/U2N3-UO2 composites is proposed.
Composite fuels such as UN-UO2 are being considered to address the lower oxidation resistance of the UN fuel from a safety perspective for use in light water reactors, whilst improving the in-reactor behaviour of the more ubiquitous UO2 fuel. An innovative UN-UO2 accident tolerant fuel has recently been fabricated and studied: UN microspheres embedded in UO2 matrix. In the present study, detailed oxidative thermogravimetric investigations (TGA/DSC) of high-density UN/U2N3-UO2 composite fuels (91-97 %TD), as well as post oxidised microstructures obtained by SEM, are reported and analysed. Triplicate TGA measurements of each specimen were carried out at 5 K/min up to 973 K in a synthetic air atmosphere to assess their oxidation kinetics. The mass variation due to the oxidation reactions (%), the oxidation onset temperatures (OOTs), and the maximum reaction temperatures (MRTs) are also presented and discussed. The results show that all composites have similar post oxidised microstructures with mostly intergranular cracking and spalling. The oxidation resistance of the pellet with initially 10 wt% of UN microspheres is surprisingly better than the UO2 reference. Moreover, there is no significant difference in the OOT (~557 K) and MRT (~615 K) when 30 wt% or 50 wt% of embedded UN microspheres are used. Therefore, the findings in this article demonstrate that the UO2 matrix acts as a barrier to improve the oxidation resistance of the nitride phases at the beginning of life conditions.
Abstract
The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development requires that all of the Actions it endorses have concrete plans to involve stakeholders in the co-creation of ocean ...science. As a result, we have a unique opportunity to test different approaches to stakeholder engagement to see what works and what does not. Here, we feature short essays in the “Food for Thought” series in which leaders from Decade-endorsed Actions describe how they plan to incorporate stakeholders in the co-design, co-production, and co-delivery of ocean science and how they will measure whether these approaches were successful. We also invited submissions to the journal’s “Stories from the Front Lines” series, in which authors were asked to share unvarnished accounts of the lessons learned from previous efforts to co-design ocean science. We hope that these initial articles will be the beginning of an ongoing series in which new Decade Actions will also document their plans to implement, monitor, and measure the success or failure of these approaches.
•Critically evaluates the role of STI for achieving the SDGs within the context of current economic theory.•Questions whether current available technology is suitable for assisting transformations to ...the SDGs.•Proposes an argument for re-orientating STI more specifically towards the SDGs.•We address the implications of our analysis for the UN global Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).
The transition path to inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic development must be Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) intensive. As such, we outline an economic framework that demonstrates the need to transform the nature of STI and reorient it towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) together with the various public policy options that can reorient investment patterns in STIs towards achieving the SDGs. In addition, the Means of Implementation (MoIs) of the UN 2030 agenda will need to be blended to create new modalities of finance, governance and public policy at all levels if STI is to be reoriented and transformative changes in economic, social, environmental and political systems are to be achieved for the SDGs. After laying out a framework, the paper also addresses the implications of our analysis for the UN global Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) which aims to promote STI access, transfer and capacities across nations to achieve the SDGs.
Research background:
This paper has been prepared as a result of our ongoing research on various aspects of ongoing globalization and regional integration and as a power point presentation has been ...presented at the recent ACUNS – Academic Council on the United Nations International Conference that has been carried out as a virtual event I June 2021.
Purpose of the article:
The main purpose of this paper is to present our proposal for the reform of the United nations system in order it could better be serving to the contemporary globalized and regionally integrated world now consisting of 193 member states in difference to only 51 original founding members of the United Nations in 1945.
Methods:
As for the applied methodology we have used the critical analysis of the existing UN system to identifying its strong and weak characteristics and on the basis of that to formulate some recommendation in order to adjust the overall UN system to the real needs of the current globalized world being dominated by the ongoing regional integrations, multinational corporations, various political and security structures and last and not least the UN has to return back to the full respect towards the first sentence of its Charter i.e.: “WE the peoples of the UN…”
Findings & Value added:
In view of this, we could state that the results of our research as formulated in the part 3 of this paper could be considered as our proposal for adjusting the current UN system and all its various specialized agencies to the real needs of the contemporary globalized world in such a way like reforming the UN Security Council, the UN General assembly as a kind of the global Parliament, selection and election of the UN secretary General, revitalization of the activity of the UN regional economic commissions, etc.
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) was created in 2000 to leverage UN prestige and induce corporations to embrace 10 principles incorporating values of environmental sustainability, protection ...of human rights, fair treatment of workers, and elimination of bribery and corruption. We review and analyze the GC's activities and impact in enhancing corporate social responsibility since inception. First, we propose an analytical framework which allows us to assess the qualities of the UNGC and its principles in the context of external and internal elements that influence code effectiveness and implementation. Second, we analyze UNGC performance in encouraging companies to become signatory members and bring about demonstrable change in corporate CSR-sustainability activities. In its 10-year report, UNGC has proclaimed growth in both membership and program activity. However, all credible and publicly available data and documentation conclusively demonstrate that the UNGC has failed to induce its signatory companies to enhance their CSR efforts and integrate the 10 principles in their policies and operations. The result has been a loss of public trust and support of UNGC from important constituencies among civil society organizations, and those individuals and groups adversely impacted by corporate activities and resultant negative externalities. This diminished credibility has also made UNGC largely dependent on the corporate sector for its very survival. We conclude that this dependence has in turn impaired and would continue to hinder UNGC's ability to fulfill its mission. Such an outcome raises serious questions as to the viability, usefulness, and continued existence of UNGC.
Studies on work and organizations state that traditional gendered cultures support hegemonic masculinity and obstruct an engaged form of ‘new’ fathering. Not only do employers hinder fathers in ...sharing equally in childcare, but the dynamics within the couple also matter. An examination of the negotiations within couples regarding paid and unpaid work reveals the need to revise conceptualizations of masculinity, with a focus on undoing masculinity. Based on in‐depth interviews with couples in Germany, I argue that social change at the interactional level encompasses at least the possibility that gender, as a resource of the differentiation and hierarchization of masculinities and femininities within the realm of paid and unpaid labour, can be fragile or can even be episodically undone. Hence, more empirical and theoretical work within and beyond the context of fathering is crucial to further theoretical approaches to undoing masculinity.
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