The Characteristics, Structural Level and Construction Path of Collaborative Ecosystem of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education in Universities

Mass entrepreneurship and innovation education in colleges and universities is a systematic project promoted as a whole, which pays attention to the cooperation between different participants and the coupling between top-level design and landing implementation, showing a horizontal and vertical intertwined ecological relationship. Constructing the collaborative ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities is an important topic to promote the comprehensive reform of colleges and universities, a key way to stimulate the innovation and entrepreneurship vitality of the whole society, and the only way to implement the strategy of "strengthening the country through innovation". The research shows that the collaborative ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities has the characteristics of the openness of the system boundary, the non-equilibrium of the system state, the nonlinearity of the system dynamics and the fluctuation of the system movement, and includes subject collaboration level, system collaboration level and environmental collaboration level. In terms of the construction path, the research further believes that the construction path of the collaborative ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities includes three aspects: establishing the system structure, releasing the system power and ensuring the development of the system. Among them, the establishment of the system structure is the premise and the release of the system power is fundamental.

A cost evaluation model for IoT-enabled prefabricated construction supply chain management

PurposeThis paper proposes an evaluation model for prefabricated construction to guide a supply chain with controllable costs. Prefabricated construction is prevalent due to area limitations. Nevertheless, the development is limited by budget control and identifying the factors affecting cost. The degree of close collaboration in the supply chain is closely interconnected with cost performance that includes direct and indirect factors. This paper not only quantizes these factors but also distinguishes the degree of influence of various factors.Design/methodology/approachSystem dynamics is applied to simulate and analyze the construction cost factors through Vensim software. It can also clarify the relationship between cost and other influencing factors. The input data are collected from an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled system under a Building Information Modeling (BIM) system and Hong Kong government reports.FindingsSimulation results indicate that prefabricated construction cost is mainly influenced by government promotion degree (GPD), working pressure from on-site construction (WPOSC), prefab quality (PQ), load-bearing capacity per vehicle (LBPV) and mold quality (MQ). However, it is more sensitive toward GPD, which indicates that the government should take measures to promote this construction technology. On-site worker management is also essential for the assembly process and indirectly influences the construction cost.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper quantifies indirect influential factors to clarify the specific features for prefabricated construction. The investigated factors are limited.Practical implicationsThe contractor can identify all factors and classify the levels of influence to make decisions under the supply chain system boundary.Social implicationsThe input data are collected from an IoT-enabled system under a BIM system and Hong Kong government reports. Thus, the relationship between construction cost influential factors can be investigated.Originality/valueThis paper quantifies indirect influencing factors and clarifies the specific features in prefabricated construction. The contractor could identify these factors to make decisions and classify the levels of influence under the supply chain system boundary.

POTENTIAL OF FABRICATION OF DURIAN SKIN FIBER BIOCOMPOSITES FOR FOOD PACKAGING APPLICATION THROUGH THE ELECTRICITY IMPACT ANALYSIS

As an effort to replace the petroleum-based polymers and reduce waste-related environmental problems, biopolymers are the best candidate due to their renewable, biodegradable and commercially viable. Initiative have been taken by developing durian skin fibre (DSF) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites with the addition of epoxidized palm oil (EPO). PLA/DSF biocomposites were fabricated via extrusion and then injection moulded. The biocomposites were assessed for its life cycle by developing a system boundary related to its fabrication processes using GaBi software. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of PLA/DSF biocomposites show that global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP) were the major impacts from PLA/DSF biocomposite. For PLA/DSF biocomposite, the results were 199.37 kg CO2 equiv. GWP and 0.58 kg SO2 equiv. AP. Meanwhile, for PLA/DSF/EPO biocomposite, the results obtained were 195.89 kg CO2 equiv. GWP and 0.57 kg SO2 equiv. AP. The GWP and AP were contributed by the electricity used in the fabrication of biocomposites. These impacts were due to the usage of electricity, which contributed to the emission of CO2. However, the PLA/DSF/EPO biocomposite had lower negative impacts because EPO improved the workability and processability of the biocomposite, and hence, reduced the amount of energy required for production. It can be concluded that the plasticized PLA/DSF biocomposite can be a potential biodegradable food packaging material as it has favourable properties and produces no waste. ABSTRAK: Biopolimer adalah terbaik dalam usaha mengganti polimer berasaskan-petroleum dalam mengurang masalah pencemaran-sisa. Ini kerana biopolimer boleh diperbaharui, biodegradasi dan sangat maju secara komersial. Inisiatif telah diambil dengan menghasilkan sabut kulit durian (DSF) bersama biokomposit asid polilaktik (PLA) dengan penambahan minyak kelapa sawit terepoksi (EPO). Biokomposit PLA/DSF direka melalui kaedah pemyemperitan dan acuan suntikan. Biokomposit ini dipantau kitar hidupnya dengan membina sistem sempadan berkaitan proses rekaan menggunakan perisian GaBi. Pengawasan kitar hidup (LCA) biokomposit PLA/DSF menunjukkan potensi pemanasan global (GWP) dan potensi pengasidan (AP) menyebabkan impak terbesar komposit PLA/DSF. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan 199.37 kg CO2 bagi GWP dan 0.58 kg SO2 bagi AP bagi biokomposit PLA/DSF. Sementara itu, dapatan kajian bagi biokomposit PLA/DSF/EPO adalah 195.89 kg CO2 bagi GWP dan 0.57 kg SO2 bagi AP. Kedua-dua GWP dan AP adalah disebabkan oleh penggunaan elektrik dalam proses pembuatan biokomposit. Ini adalah kesan daripada penggunaan elektrik, dan menyumbang kepada pembebasan CO2. Walau bagaimanapun, biokomposit PLA/DSF/EPO mempunyai kurang kesan negatif, kerana EPO telah menambah baik kebolehkerjaan dan kebolehprosesan biokomposit, menyebabkan kurang tenaga yang diperlukan dalam proses pembuatan. Kesimpulannya plastik biokomposit PLA/DSF berpotensi sebagai bahan biodegradasi bagi pembungkus makanan kerana ianya mempunyai ciri-ciri yang diperlukan dan tidak menghasilkan sisa buangan.

A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

Environmental Management in the Film and Television Production Industry

The purpose of this research is to examine the current state of the film industry’s environmental management efforts, by using the temporary structure of the film production itself as a framework. Film industry experts were interviewed, and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was performed using the project-based organization (PBO) as a system boundary. The literature on environmental management for another project-based industry, construction, was reviewed and used as a comparison with the interview results. At present, the greatest strength of the PBO in pursuing environmental management is the social conscience of the employees within the PBO itself. The largest threat is the lack of financial resources. The construction comparison indicated that there was some divergence between the two industries, specifically with respect to competitive advantage and company image. The complex relationship each industry has with its stakeholders plays an important role in the ability to implement an environmental management program.

Environmental Management in the Film and Television Production Industry

The purpose of this research is to examine the current state of the film industry’s environmental management efforts, by using the temporary structure of the film production itself as a framework. Film industry experts were interviewed, and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was performed using the project-based organization (PBO) as a system boundary. The literature on environmental management for another project-based industry, construction, was reviewed and used as a comparison with the interview results. At present, the greatest strength of the PBO in pursuing environmental management is the social conscience of the employees within the PBO itself. The largest threat is the lack of financial resources. The construction comparison indicated that there was some divergence between the two industries, specifically with respect to competitive advantage and company image. The complex relationship each industry has with its stakeholders plays an important role in the ability to implement an environmental management program.

Influence of technical and electrical equipment in life cycle assessments of buildings: case of a laboratory and research building

Purpose A detailed assessment of the environmental impacts of the building requires a substantial amount of data that is time- and effort-consuming. However, limitation of the system boundary to certain materials and components can provide misleading impact calculation. In order to calculate the error gap between detailed and simplified assessments, the purpose of this article is to present a detailed calculation of the environmental impacts of the building by including in the system boundary, the technical, and electrical equipment. Method To that end, the environmental impacts of a laboratory and research building situated in Graz-Austria are assessed following the EN-15978 norm. Within the system boundaries of the study, the material and components of building fabric, technical, and electronic equipment for the building lifecycle stages of production, construction, replacement, operational energy and water, and end-of-life are considered. The input data regarding the quantity of materials is collected from the design and tendering documents, invoices, and from discussion with the head of the building’s construction site. Primary energy and global warming potential indicators are calculated on the basis of a functional unit of 1 m2 of energy reference area (ERA) per year, considering a reference building service life of 50 years. Results and discussion The primary energy indicator of the building is equal to 1698 MJ/m2ERA/year. The embodied impacts are found to be responsible for 28% of which 6.4% is due to technical and electronic equipment. Furthermore, the embodied impacts for the global warming potential, equal to 28.3 kg CO2e/m2ERA/year, are responsible for 73%. Together, technical and electrical equipment are the largest responsible aspects, accounting for 38% of the total impacts. Simplified and detailed result comparisons show a gap of 29% and 7.7% for global warming and primary energy indicators. These differences were from the embodied impacts and largely from the exclusion of electrical equipment from the study’s system boundary. Conclusions Technical and electrical equipment present a significant contribution to the overall environmental impacts of the building. Worthy of inclusion in the system boundary of the study, the environmental impacts of technical and electrical equipment must be calculated in detail or considered with a reliable ratio in the early design phase of the project. Further research is necessary to address the detailed impact calculation of the equipment and notably the minimization of their impacts.