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Discusses the differences in approach between project management in the United Kingdom and in Europe, emphasizing the importance of the consultant due to differences in professional specialization on the continent. Explains the responsibilities of the project manager, touching on planning and architectural considerations and following the specifications of the developer′s brief. Provides a recent case study of a project undertaken by St Martins Property Corporation Ltd in Düsseldorf, Germany. Outlines problems involved in controlling a project from a distance and summarizes the additional factors to be considered as a need for fluency in the local language, including technical terms; an overall appreciation of the building and property industry in the host country; an understanding of the mentality of the local population; and a readiness to educate as well as to manage.

Sustainable management requires companies to build up new knowledge to acquire the competencies needed for action. This chapter aims to deliver knowledge about sustainability and knowledge for sustainability. Firstly, we systematically analyse the sustainability literature in the social sciences through a bibliographic analysis and topic modelling using VOSviewer and Mallet software. We outline research directions, themes and critical contributions for each research cluster identified. Additionally, we categorise over 30 definitions of sustainability identified by Meuer, Koelbel, and Hoffmann (2020). Secondly, we enumerate knowledge types needed for effective sustainability transitions of organisations. We trace typologies of sustainable business models and their distinct evaluations of sustainability. In this chapter, we argue that integrating the triad of social, ecological and economic goals is central for sustainability attempts as well as long-term thinking. Therefore, our research offers a comprehensive overview of sustainability in the social sciences supporting researchers and practitioners to navigate this miscellaneous and scattered field. Accordingly, our study is precious to young scholars researching sustainability who want to use the term in an informed and meaningful way.

Agriculture is one of the oldest socio-economic activities. It involves growing valuable plants and animals for human existence. Sustainable agriculture should be understood in light of the global sustainable development movement, which emphasizes balancing environment, society and economics. With the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, sustainable agriculture can help eliminate food insecurity caused by food shortages and agricultural sector disruptions. Recently, investors, practitioners, academicians, researchers, regulators and financiers are increasingly interested in using Islamic financing products and qualified Shari'ah-compliance contracts to promote sustainable agriculture. Many Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states still rely on agriculture for socioeconomic growth. These countries are major contributors to Islamic financial growth. This study assesses Islamic finance’s role in promoting sustainable agriculture in selected OIC countries. The researchers use qualitative methods and meta-analysis data to determine the constraints and benefits of implementing Islamic financial products for sustainable agriculture. This study suggests that OIC state governments should promote sustainable agriculture. OIC member states have different achievements relating to their sustainable agriculture. Based on socio-economic factors, agriculture policies or plans, leadership and political will, Islamic finance products and Shari'ah-compliance contracts are found underutilized in meeting sustainable agriculture and sector stakeholders’ needs. A solid Islamic financial framework for sustainable agriculture, good governance and improved agriculture policy are needed.

Collaborative teaching and learning in Kenya is at relatively immature phase. There is dearth of empirical research undertaken on school-to-school collaboration and its impact and influence on the students’ learning outcomes. The 8:4:4 system of education, which begun in 1985, and which was short of insights into the impact of collaborative, is coming to an end to pave way for 2-6-3-3-3 education curriculum framework which is largely seen as progressive. As such, collaborative teaching and learning across the whole-school system is slowly beginning to evolve – with the learners being expected to learn, un-learn and re-learn collaboratively. The Kenyan education system is highly marketized and when coupled with lack of clear national policy guidelines on inter-school collaboration, it falls short of obligating teachers to initiate or even deepen the few existing collaborative designs within and beyond their schools’ boarders. Given that the challenges facing learning appear to increase exponentially, it appears to be timely to have students and teachers from different schools come together to network and share ideas, knowledge, expertise, resources and best practices – bearing in mind that cultures that work together hold the prospect of long-term impact that is not dependent on a few individuals but the whole team (Hargreaves & O’Connor, 2017).

As the Philippines enters into the era of the “next normal,” that is, from the pandemic era called the “new normal,” we look into how the Philippines' state of tourism and built environment sectors. We also revisit its situation having the “longest lockdown in the world” and look into iterations of socioeconomic models, business platforms, and other elements that lead to the dream of a postpandemic sustainable tourism industry. In this inquiry, we highlight the importance of elements of the built environment, both at the macroeconomic level and at the micro units of business, civil society, and the tourism sector at large. While there has been a substantive discussion on the nexus of the tourism and built environment sectors, little has been devoted to the challenges these intertwined sectors faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest complementation of practices from the macroscale to the microlevel tourism and built environment sectors, and vice-versa, which will ensure the full complementation of the sectors. These proposals are in full contextualization of the objective toward the postpandemic continued recovery, growth, and sustainability, from the local, national, and the regional economy of Southeast Asia, and also to various parts of the world.

This study aims to highlight that security and flexibilities remain the main points of contention in the cordiality business. This research points to planning a framework that empowers hotel users to get to the room using a mobile access key. Advancing secured facilities, mobile phone “Near Field Communication” (NFC) innovation as the entrance device by carrying out an application containing an imitated mobile key for explicit verification access is used.

The proposed system is evaluated by triangulation of experimental, numerical and rational evaluation using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with Malaysian hotel guests and employees.

The discoveries with the hypothesis supported validated that the suggested solution can eliminate physical cards, boost protection and encourage a contactless ecosystem. Theoretical, management and societal contributions are discussed here.

This experiment comes with the constraints that it was conducted in only two hotels and does not fully reflect the choices of a wider range of travellers. Secondly, the cost of existing NFC smart locks is still relatively high, and along with the development of technology, the price will decrease when supply exceeds demand.

To promote high-security attributes, NFC technology as the access system by implementing an application containing an emulated smart key for specific authentication access is used. The host-card emulation enables cost-effectiveness profit and initiating a defence system in the pandemic era.

To promote high-security attributes, NFC technology is used as the access system by implementing an application containing an emulated smart key for specific authentication access. The host-card emulation enables cost-effectiveness profit and initiating a defence system in the pandemic era.

The novelty of this study comes from the use of commonly available smartphone NFC features that are yet to be applied in the tourism ecosystem. The research provokes the applied concept of mobile smartkeys.

The purpose of this paper is to present some modifications in the spline‐based differential quadrature method (DQM), in order to accelerate the convergence of the method. The improvements are explained and examined by the examples of the free vibration of conical shells. The composite laminated shell, as well as isotropic one, are taken under consideration.

To determine weighting coefficients for the DQM, the spline interpolation with non‐standard definitions of the end conditions is used. One of these definitions combines natural and not‐a‐knot end conditions, while the other one uses the boundary conditions for considered problem as the end conditions. The weighting coefficients can be determined by solving set of equations arising from spline interpolation.

It is shown that the proposed modifications significantly improve the convergence of the method, especially when the boundary conditions are introduced at the stage of the computation of the weighting coefficients. Unfortunately, the use of this approach is limited to some types of boundary conditions.

The paper describes development of the modified spline interpolation dedicated to DQM and examines the possibility of building boundary conditions into the weighting coefficients at the stage of the computation of these coefficients.

The purpose of this paper is to articulate, and advocate for, a deep shift in how the authors conceptualize and enact school leadership and reform. The authors challenge fundamental conceptions regarding educational systems and call for a dramatic shift from the factory model to a living systems model of schooling. The authors call is not a metaphorical call. The authors propose embracing assumptions grounded in the basic human nature as living systems. Green school leaders, practicing whole school sustainability, provide emerging examples of educational restoration.

School reform models have implicitly and even explicitly embraced industrialized assumptions about students and learning. Shifting from the factory model of education to a living systems model of whole school sustainability requires transformational strategies more associated with nature and life than machines. Ecological restoration provides the basis for the model of educational restoration.

Educational restoration, as proposed here, makes nature a central player in the conversations about ecologies of learning, both to improve the quality of learning for students and to better align educational practice with social, economic and environmental needs of the time. Educational leaders at all levels of the educational system have critical roles to play in deconstructing factory model schooling and reform. The proposed framework for educational restoration raises new questions and makes these opportunities visible. Discussion of this framework begins with ecological circumstances and then addresses, values, commitment and judgments.

Educational restoration will affect every aspect of teaching, learning and leading. It will demand new approaches to leadership preparation. This new landscape of educational practice is wide open for innovative approaches to research, preparation and practice across the field of educational leadership.

The model of educational restoration provides a conceptual foundation for future research and leadership practice.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical pattern of environmental cost due to grain production in China and to provide further implications of technologies and policies for the transformation of China’s agricultural development toward sustainable intensification.

The data sets about grain production, arable land and chemical fertilizer use in China were collected from FAO, NBSC, and IFA. Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated using life cycle assessments. The policies concerning grain production and the environment were collected from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the State Council of China.

China has produced enough food to feed its growing population, but has neglected the resource-environmental costs of grain production since 1978. Consequently, China’s grain production is always accompanied with a high cost of resource and environment sustainability. However, from 2006 to 2015, the growth rate of grain production has surpassed that of chemical fertilizer consumption, resulting in improvement in nutrient use efficiency and decreasing trends of environmental cost for grain production. This could be partially attributed to technology innovations, such as Soil-Testing and Fertilizer-Recommendations (STFR), soil quality and crop management improvement, and so on, and policy supports (policies of STFR, soil quality improvement, and high-yield construction). This indicated that China’s grain production is starting to transform from high-input and high-output model to “less for more.”

This study is the first to determine the detailed, historical role of technological innovation and agri-environmental policy on the sustainability of grain production in China. The findings should have significant implications for technology and policy for the transformation of China’s agriculture development to sustainable intensification.

There is a need to provide interventions to improve well-being that are accessible and cost-effective. Interventions to increase engagement with nature are coming to the fore. The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild campaign shows promise as a large-scale intervention for improving public engagement with nature for well-being. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

In total, 273 people fully participated in a repeated measures evaluation comparing baseline measures of nature connection, health, happiness and conservation behaviours with measures post-30 days and 3 months.

There were sustained and significant increases for scores in nature connection, health, happiness and conservation behaviours. Those with lower scores at baseline in nature connection, conservation behaviours and happiness showed the most benefit. Older participants and those with higher baseline scores in conservation behaviours were the most likely to sustain their engagement with the campaign.

Although the design and defined outcomes meet criteria for public health interventions, the self-reported measures, self-selecting sample and attrition are limitations.

The significant and sustained effects of the campaign on health, happiness and nature connection and conservation make this a promising intervention for improving human’s and nature’s well-being. The large community sample and naturalistic setting for the intervention make these data relevant to future interventions and policy.