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Sustainable multigeneration via hybrid biomass-solar energy: Dynamic modeling, thermochemical storage, and green methane production
No full textAbstract
This paper presents the conceptual design, dynamic modelling, and comprehensive performance analysis of a novel biomass-solar hybrid multigeneration system producing heating, electricity, and green methane. This system integrates advanced thermodynamic components, including a supercritical CO2 cycle, the S-Graz power cycle, a heliostat field, and a thermochemical energy storage subsystem utilizing the reversible CaCO3/CaO reaction. To enable continuous 24-h operation, the system is configured in two distinct modes: a solar-driven daytime mode and a nighttime mode powered by stored thermal energy. A PEM electrolyzer and a methanation reactor are incorporated to convert captured CO2 and produced hydrogen into green methane, promoting carbon circularity. A thorough 4E (energy, exergy, economic, and environmental) analysis is conducted alongside a detailed parametric and dynamic investigation across seasonal and hourly variations. Two different scenarios regarding methane generation are also considered and compared. Economic analysis yields a net present value of 44.83 million, an internal rate of return of 20.53 %, and a levelized cost of electricity of 8.01 cents/kWh, with a simple payback period of 6.03 years. Sensitivity analyses reveal that solar irradiance, biomass feed rate, and thermochemical heat storage ratios significantly impact overall system performance. The proposed hybrid system demonstrates a viable pathway for low-emission, multi-output energy production by integrating renewable resources with innovative carbon reuse technologies
Designing and negotiating proposals in collaborative storytelling: interactional organisation of decision-making among autistic and non-autistic students
No full textAbstract
This study investigates how a group of three fifth-grade students – one autistic and two non-autistic – collaboratively create a fictional story through proposals and joint decisions. The video-recorded data were collected during L1 lessons (total of 3.5 hours). The students first developed a story using a mind map, followed by collaborative writing in a shared online document. Using multimodal conversation analysis, this study examines the design features and distribution of students’ procedural and content proposals and the subsequent decision-making, with particular attention to content proposals that require greater interactional work to achieve joint decisions. The findings show that proposals often consisted solely of nominal elements. Additionally, procedural proposals were generally straightforward and readily accepted, whereas content proposals often prompted extended negotiation through supplements, counterproposals, or rejections. These disalignments were occasionally rooted in differing orientations. For example, the autistic student occasionally appeared to prioritise unconventional story elements, whereas the non-autistic students tended to favour more socially normative storytelling. Despite these differences, the group generally reached joint decisions. This study highlights collaborative storytelling as a valuable context for practicing storytelling skills, initiative-taking, and joint decision-making in inclusive educational settings.Abstract
This study investigates how a group of three fifth-grade students – one autistic and two non-autistic – collaboratively create a fictional story through proposals and joint decisions. The video-recorded data were collected during L1 lessons (total of 3.5 hours). The students first developed a story using a mind map, followed by collaborative writing in a shared online document. Using multimodal conversation analysis, this study examines the design features and distribution of students’ procedural and content proposals and the subsequent decision-making, with particular attention to content proposals that require greater interactional work to achieve joint decisions. The findings show that proposals often consisted solely of nominal elements. Additionally, procedural proposals were generally straightforward and readily accepted, whereas content proposals often prompted extended negotiation through supplements, counterproposals, or rejections. These disalignments were occasionally rooted in differing orientations. For example, the autistic student occasionally appeared to prioritise unconventional story elements, whereas the non-autistic students tended to favour more socially normative storytelling. Despite these differences, the group generally reached joint decisions. This study highlights collaborative storytelling as a valuable context for practicing storytelling skills, initiative-taking, and joint decision-making in inclusive educational settings
The Impact of Climate Change on the Nordics from a One Health Perspective
No full textAbstract
The Nordic countries are like the rest of the world largely affected by the processes brought about by human impacts on the Earth. However, the speed of climate change in the Arctic is several times as fast as in the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification (Rantanen et al. in Commun Earth Environ 3:1–10, 2022). Thus, climate change in the Arctic is not just having an impact on the Nordic region, but it also acts as a driver for conditions in the rest of the globe. This makes the Nordic North of particular interest to the whole global society. Among the most important changes detected here are declines in nature, directly driven by land and sea use (change, intensification); direct exploitation of resources (especially fishing and mining); pollution; the expansion of invasive species; the effects of globalization and its various economic components; geopolitical tensions; and other significant processes worthy of consideration. This chapter summarizes the rapid development of the One Health approach in addressing the specific challenges posed by climate change and zoonotic diseases in the Nordic region. It highlights collaborative efforts among Nordic countries, including Arctic Six cooperation, and other major regional funding efforts at research and education. It discusses how the utilization of One Health principles can address the needs of the region and noted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in achieving identified goals. Also, it discusses the specific health challenges posed by environmental contaminants, the transmission of zoonotic diseases, and the impact of climate change on species distribution that are seen in the Nordic North. It also considers the role of citizen science in data collection and the need for international collaboration in addressing these complex issues. Overall, the chapter underscores the urgency of addressing environmental and health challenges in this area through evidence-based policymaking and community engagement in the Nordic region.Abstract
The Nordic countries are like the rest of the world largely affected by the processes brought about by human impacts on the Earth. However, the speed of climate change in the Arctic is several times as fast as in the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification (Rantanen et al. in Commun Earth Environ 3:1–10, 2022). Thus, climate change in the Arctic is not just having an impact on the Nordic region, but it also acts as a driver for conditions in the rest of the globe. This makes the Nordic North of particular interest to the whole global society. Among the most important changes detected here are declines in nature, directly driven by land and sea use (change, intensification); direct exploitation of resources (especially fishing and mining); pollution; the expansion of invasive species; the effects of globalization and its various economic components; geopolitical tensions; and other significant processes worthy of consideration. This chapter summarizes the rapid development of the One Health approach in addressing the specific challenges posed by climate change and zoonotic diseases in the Nordic region. It highlights collaborative efforts among Nordic countries, including Arctic Six cooperation, and other major regional funding efforts at research and education. It discusses how the utilization of One Health principles can address the needs of the region and noted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in achieving identified goals. Also, it discusses the specific health challenges posed by environmental contaminants, the transmission of zoonotic diseases, and the impact of climate change on species distribution that are seen in the Nordic North. It also considers the role of citizen science in data collection and the need for international collaboration in addressing these complex issues. Overall, the chapter underscores the urgency of addressing environmental and health challenges in this area through evidence-based policymaking and community engagement in the Nordic region
From entrepreneurial passion to persistence: an analysis of the role of spiritual attitude, religious support and family cohesion
No full textAbstract
Entrepreneurial passion is recognized as a significant driver of entrepreneurial persistence. However, how spiritual, religious, and family factors affect the association between entrepreneurial passion and persistence remains underexplored. This study analyzes how entrepreneurial persistence in founding a business, as a phenomenon, is triggered by a complex mechanism involving spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship, religious support, family cohesion, and entrepreneurial passion. Based on two-wave empirical data collected in the underexplored emerging economy setting of Bangladesh, we specifically explore a moderated mediation mechanism through which the entrepreneurial persistence of aspiring entrepreneurs can be predicted. We find that spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship alone does not have any influence on entrepreneurial passion or persistence, either directly or indirectly. However, religious support and family cohesion play a vital role in this context and moderate the relationship between spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial passion, subsequently impacting entrepreneurial persistence. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by exploring the limitations of spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship in relatively volatile and high-risk emerging economy contexts and establishing the critical role of religious support and family cohesion in fostering entrepreneurial passion and persistence.Abstract
Entrepreneurial passion is recognized as a significant driver of entrepreneurial persistence. However, how spiritual, religious, and family factors affect the association between entrepreneurial passion and persistence remains underexplored. This study analyzes how entrepreneurial persistence in founding a business, as a phenomenon, is triggered by a complex mechanism involving spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship, religious support, family cohesion, and entrepreneurial passion. Based on two-wave empirical data collected in the underexplored emerging economy setting of Bangladesh, we specifically explore a moderated mediation mechanism through which the entrepreneurial persistence of aspiring entrepreneurs can be predicted. We find that spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship alone does not have any influence on entrepreneurial passion or persistence, either directly or indirectly. However, religious support and family cohesion play a vital role in this context and moderate the relationship between spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial passion, subsequently impacting entrepreneurial persistence. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by exploring the limitations of spiritual attitude toward entrepreneurship in relatively volatile and high-risk emerging economy contexts and establishing the critical role of religious support and family cohesion in fostering entrepreneurial passion and persistence
An exploration study on developing blockchain systems–the practitioners' perspective
No full textAbstract
Context:
Blockchain-based software (BBS) builds upon the foundational technologies of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, utilising decentralised, immutable ledgers, to support the development and operation of security-critical and transaction-intensive systems and services. In recent years, a number of research studies have investigated the strategic benefits and technical limitations of BBS that is central to the operations of a wide variety of systems ranging from cyber security, healthcare, education, and financial technologies. Despite an increasing interest both from academia and industry in BBS, there is a dearth of empirical evidence resulting in a lack of understanding about processes, methods, and techniques to enable a systematic development of this class of software systems.
Objectives:
Existing research lacks a consolidated view, particularly empirically-driven guidelines based on published evidence and development practices. Therefore, our objective is to derive new or leverage existing development processes, patterns, and models to design, implement, and validate BBS systems.
Method:
Tied to this knowledge gap, we conducted a two-phase research that unifies the findings of (i) a systematic literature review and (ii) practitioners’ survey to derive and validate the development process for BBS systems. First, we conducted a systematic literature review of 58 studies to derive a process comprising of 26 activities, to develop BBS systems. We than engaged 102 blockchain practitioners from, 35 countries across 6 continents to validate the BBS system development processes.
Results:
Our results revealed a statistically significant difference (p-value < .001) in the importance ratings of 24 out of 26 BBS activities by our participants. The only two activities that were not statistically significant were incentive protocol design and granularity design. Our study also presented some of the activities that have been emphasised by our participants within the different development phases (i.e., Analysis Phase, Design Phase, Implementation Phase, Deployment Phase, and Execution and Maintenance Phase).
Conclusion:
Our research is among the first to advance understanding on the aspect of development process for BBS and helps researchers and practitioners in their quests on challenges and recommendations associated with the development of BBS systems.Abstract
Context:
Blockchain-based software (BBS) builds upon the foundational technologies of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, utilising decentralised, immutable ledgers, to support the development and operation of security-critical and transaction-intensive systems and services. In recent years, a number of research studies have investigated the strategic benefits and technical limitations of BBS that is central to the operations of a wide variety of systems ranging from cyber security, healthcare, education, and financial technologies. Despite an increasing interest both from academia and industry in BBS, there is a dearth of empirical evidence resulting in a lack of understanding about processes, methods, and techniques to enable a systematic development of this class of software systems.
Objectives:
Existing research lacks a consolidated view, particularly empirically-driven guidelines based on published evidence and development practices. Therefore, our objective is to derive new or leverage existing development processes, patterns, and models to design, implement, and validate BBS systems.
Method:
Tied to this knowledge gap, we conducted a two-phase research that unifies the findings of (i) a systematic literature review and (ii) practitioners’ survey to derive and validate the development process for BBS systems. First, we conducted a systematic literature review of 58 studies to derive a process comprising of 26 activities, to develop BBS systems. We than engaged 102 blockchain practitioners from, 35 countries across 6 continents to validate the BBS system development processes.
Results:
Our results revealed a statistically significant difference (p-value < .001) in the importance ratings of 24 out of 26 BBS activities by our participants. The only two activities that were not statistically significant were incentive protocol design and granularity design. Our study also presented some of the activities that have been emphasised by our participants within the different development phases (i.e., Analysis Phase, Design Phase, Implementation Phase, Deployment Phase, and Execution and Maintenance Phase).
Conclusion:
Our research is among the first to advance understanding on the aspect of development process for BBS and helps researchers and practitioners in their quests on challenges and recommendations associated with the development of BBS systems
English as a Lingua Franca and Business Communication
No full textAbstract
Lingua franca business communication takes place when people of diverse linguistic backgrounds do business. It is used both to coordinate such activities as people management, accounting, and marketing in multinational corporations and to carry on the business of buying, selling, and negotiating in international networks. Typically, English as a business lingua franca (BELF) is the language emerging in such encounters. The study of business lingua franca communication uses a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks drawing on applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. These studies investigate communicative practices such as emails and meetings carried out by internationally operating practitioners working with their colleagues and business partners. Since the context is essential for business communication, ethnographically-informed studies including practitioners' perceptions are in use. The findings have various implications for teaching and pedagogy.Abstract
Lingua franca business communication takes place when people of diverse linguistic backgrounds do business. It is used both to coordinate such activities as people management, accounting, and marketing in multinational corporations and to carry on the business of buying, selling, and negotiating in international networks. Typically, English as a business lingua franca (BELF) is the language emerging in such encounters. The study of business lingua franca communication uses a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks drawing on applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. These studies investigate communicative practices such as emails and meetings carried out by internationally operating practitioners working with their colleagues and business partners. Since the context is essential for business communication, ethnographically-informed studies including practitioners' perceptions are in use. The findings have various implications for teaching and pedagogy
Parks, profits, and politics: the re-entrenchment of protected area governance amid tourism pressures in Finland
No full textAbstract
This article examines how tourism growth and public administration modernisation transform protected area (PA) governance in Finland through institutional re-entrenchment – a process whereby tourism becomes embedded in organisational logics, shaping priorities and constraining future choices. As tourism increasingly permeates PA operations, it simultaneously legitimises these organisations whilst limiting their capacity to pursue broader environmental goals. Drawing on institutional theory, particularly isomorphism and legitimacy-seeking, the analysis builds on interviews with senior PA managers who witnessed governance transformations in recent decades. The findings reveal two interrelated responses: coercive assimilation, where organisations conform to external tourism demands through mandated restructuring, and deliberative adaptation, where they preserve autonomy by proactively adopting market-oriented practices. These responses have gradually repositioned PA governance bodies beyond traditional conservation roles, establishing them as regional development actors where tourism provides essential legitimacy alongside conservation mandates. This shift exposes how market logics and political imperatives generate tensions that reshape PA decision-making and institutional priorities. The evolution from complementary tourism-conservation relationships to their uneasy integration proves particularly consequential in Sub-Arctic Finland, where fragile ecosystems face accelerating climate pressures. This re-entrenchment fundamentally challenges how PA institutions maintain environmental priorities when organisational legitimacy and funding increasingly derive from tourism performance rather than conservation achievements.Abstract
This article examines how tourism growth and public administration modernisation transform protected area (PA) governance in Finland through institutional re-entrenchment – a process whereby tourism becomes embedded in organisational logics, shaping priorities and constraining future choices. As tourism increasingly permeates PA operations, it simultaneously legitimises these organisations whilst limiting their capacity to pursue broader environmental goals. Drawing on institutional theory, particularly isomorphism and legitimacy-seeking, the analysis builds on interviews with senior PA managers who witnessed governance transformations in recent decades. The findings reveal two interrelated responses: coercive assimilation, where organisations conform to external tourism demands through mandated restructuring, and deliberative adaptation, where they preserve autonomy by proactively adopting market-oriented practices. These responses have gradually repositioned PA governance bodies beyond traditional conservation roles, establishing them as regional development actors where tourism provides essential legitimacy alongside conservation mandates. This shift exposes how market logics and political imperatives generate tensions that reshape PA decision-making and institutional priorities. The evolution from complementary tourism-conservation relationships to their uneasy integration proves particularly consequential in Sub-Arctic Finland, where fragile ecosystems face accelerating climate pressures. This re-entrenchment fundamentally challenges how PA institutions maintain environmental priorities when organisational legitimacy and funding increasingly derive from tourism performance rather than conservation achievements
Moving target defense for DDos mitigation with shuffling of critical edge(s) connections
No full textAbstract
Moving Target Defense (MTD) has as a widely adopted approach to mitigate vulnerability exploitation. It is a widely adopted approach to mitigate the exploitation of vulnerabilities. Its dynamic and proactive nature makes it well-suited for SDNs requiring comprehensive and continuous monitoring. A core objective of MTD is to minimize the number of hosts shuffled while maintaining robust security and low scrambling frequency. This paper introduces a novel approach, the Number of Edge Connections (NoEC) strategy, aimed at mitigating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in a resource-efficient manner. This is achieved by strategically reconfiguring a select group of highly connected hosts known as “Edges” to protect critical assets. This approach enhances analytical clarity and supports informed selection of defense strategies tailored to specific edge deployment scenarios. We designed a system utilizing NoEC and conducted simulations using Mininet. The results show that NoEC reduces the complexity by 55.12 % compared to previous MTD methods while increasing the security level by 15.72 %. Among the techniques, topology randomization and edge node shuffling show the highest disruption effect, validating the approach’s practical viability and robustness in defending edge infrastructures.Abstract
Moving Target Defense (MTD) has as a widely adopted approach to mitigate vulnerability exploitation. It is a widely adopted approach to mitigate the exploitation of vulnerabilities. Its dynamic and proactive nature makes it well-suited for SDNs requiring comprehensive and continuous monitoring. A core objective of MTD is to minimize the number of hosts shuffled while maintaining robust security and low scrambling frequency. This paper introduces a novel approach, the Number of Edge Connections (NoEC) strategy, aimed at mitigating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in a resource-efficient manner. This is achieved by strategically reconfiguring a select group of highly connected hosts known as “Edges” to protect critical assets. This approach enhances analytical clarity and supports informed selection of defense strategies tailored to specific edge deployment scenarios. We designed a system utilizing NoEC and conducted simulations using Mininet. The results show that NoEC reduces the complexity by 55.12 % compared to previous MTD methods while increasing the security level by 15.72 %. Among the techniques, topology randomization and edge node shuffling show the highest disruption effect, validating the approach’s practical viability and robustness in defending edge infrastructures
Establishing Ohmic contact with ultra-thin semiconductor layer through magnetron sputtering for dendrite-free Zn metal batteries
No full textAbstract
The improvement in reversibility and kinetics for Zn metal anodes is crucial to facilitate the further application of aqueous zinc ion batteries. However, the abnormal surface-caused dendrites and parasitic reactions significantly impede the commercial application. Herein, we established Ohmic contact by fabricating an ultrathin semiconductor ZnTe (∼150 nm) layer on the Zn surface via magnetron sputtering to form an electron enrichment region for zinc ions attraction. Particularly, the ZnTe with a higher work function than that of Zn could render a spontaneous electron transfer from Zn to ZnTe, accelerating the zinc ions diffusion, and repelling water and negative sulfate radicals. As a result, the ultrathin ZnTe layer decreases the nucleation and deposition barrier of Zn leading to homogeneous deposition, and restrains the Zn from corrosion and hydrogen evolution reaction. The ZnTe-modified symmetric cells can stably cycle for over 2,400 h and 1,100 h at current density 1 mA cm−2 with area capacity of 1 mAh cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2, respectively. The full cell matched with CaV8O20·nH2O shows a 63 % capacity retention after 3,000 cycles at 3 A/g. Our work demonstrates that the construction of Ohmic contact could be an effective way to obtain highly reversible Zn anodes and promote the development of aqueous zinc ions batteries.Abstract
The improvement in reversibility and kinetics for Zn metal anodes is crucial to facilitate the further application of aqueous zinc ion batteries. However, the abnormal surface-caused dendrites and parasitic reactions significantly impede the commercial application. Herein, we established Ohmic contact by fabricating an ultrathin semiconductor ZnTe (∼150 nm) layer on the Zn surface via magnetron sputtering to form an electron enrichment region for zinc ions attraction. Particularly, the ZnTe with a higher work function than that of Zn could render a spontaneous electron transfer from Zn to ZnTe, accelerating the zinc ions diffusion, and repelling water and negative sulfate radicals. As a result, the ultrathin ZnTe layer decreases the nucleation and deposition barrier of Zn leading to homogeneous deposition, and restrains the Zn from corrosion and hydrogen evolution reaction. The ZnTe-modified symmetric cells can stably cycle for over 2,400 h and 1,100 h at current density 1 mA cm−2 with area capacity of 1 mAh cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2, respectively. The full cell matched with CaV8O20·nH2O shows a 63 % capacity retention after 3,000 cycles at 3 A/g. Our work demonstrates that the construction of Ohmic contact could be an effective way to obtain highly reversible Zn anodes and promote the development of aqueous zinc ions batteries
Dynamic recrystallization behavior and texture evolution during extrusion of Mg–2.0Y–2.0Zn–2.0Al–0.3Mn alloy
No full textAbstract
This work investigated the microstructure evolution behavior of the Mg–2.0Y–2.0Zn–2.0Al–0.3Mn alloy within the initial plastic deformation zone, the plastic deformation zone prior to the die exit, and the non-plastic deformation zone after the die exit during the extrusion process. The results showed that in the initial plastic deformation zone, basal slip dominated the plastic deformation of the alloy, accompanied by a relatively high basal texture intensity. The alloy mainly consisted of larger deformed grains and smaller dynamically recrystallized grains, and the dynamically recrystallized grains mainly nucleated and grew through discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. From the initial plastic deformation zone to the plastic deformation zone prior to the die exit, non-basal slip gradually became activated and dominated the plastic deformation of the alloy. Meanwhile, continuous dynamic recrystallization gradually dominated the formation of dynamically recrystallized grains, and the increase in the recrystallization degree led to the weakening of the basal texture intensity. In the non-plastic deformation zone after the die exit, static recrystallization took place in the alloy, further reducing the basal texture. At the same time, grain boundary migration and grain growth caused a certain degree of deflection in grain orientation, and some grains with //ED orientation showed a relatively obvious growth advantage.Abstract
This work investigated the microstructure evolution behavior of the Mg–2.0Y–2.0Zn–2.0Al–0.3Mn alloy within the initial plastic deformation zone, the plastic deformation zone prior to the die exit, and the non-plastic deformation zone after the die exit during the extrusion process. The results showed that in the initial plastic deformation zone, basal slip dominated the plastic deformation of the alloy, accompanied by a relatively high basal texture intensity. The alloy mainly consisted of larger deformed grains and smaller dynamically recrystallized grains, and the dynamically recrystallized grains mainly nucleated and grew through discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. From the initial plastic deformation zone to the plastic deformation zone prior to the die exit, non-basal slip gradually became activated and dominated the plastic deformation of the alloy. Meanwhile, continuous dynamic recrystallization gradually dominated the formation of dynamically recrystallized grains, and the increase in the recrystallization degree led to the weakening of the basal texture intensity. In the non-plastic deformation zone after the die exit, static recrystallization took place in the alloy, further reducing the basal texture. At the same time, grain boundary migration and grain growth caused a certain degree of deflection in grain orientation, and some grains with //ED orientation showed a relatively obvious growth advantage