Navigating better pedestrian safety

A study in the International Journal of Vehicle Safety has looked at driver behaviour during turning manoeuvres at road junctions (intersections). The work raises concerns about pedestrian safety, particularly when several vehicles are involved in making the same turn.

Shoko Oikawa, Yuta Kusakari, and Naoyuki Kubota of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, and Yasuhiro Matsui of the National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory, in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan, used a driving simulator to replicate five different traffic scenarios. They hoped to better understand how various factors, such as the presence of pedestrians and other vehicles, influence how drivers approach and navigate junctions.

The team saw a rather troubling issue: when three vehicles were turning ahead of a driver, the speed at which the driver entered and moved through the junction increased. This scenario also led to a decrease in the amount of time drivers spent looking for pedestrians, which in turn points to a higher risk of them hitting someone crossing the road on foot. Moreover, the driver’s attention was focused mainly on the movements of other vehicles, with scant attention paid to the presence of pedestrians. Thus, in turning, many drivers seem to assume dangerously that the road is clear when it is patently not.

In some countries, laws are in place to help protect pedestrians crossing at junctions. Some of those tell drivers that they must give way to someone about to cross before they make their own turn. However, the behaviour revealed in the study suggests that if drivers are not even aware of the presence of pedestrians at a junction, then no amount of law-making without enforcement will reduce the risk to pedestrians in this situation.

The team points out that Japan has major traffic safety issues, with pedestrian fatalities a major concern. In 2023, pedestrian deaths accounted for well over a third of all traffic-related fatalities, many of those occurred at junctions. The findings mesh with previous studies, that also found that the presence of other vehicles on the road can divert a driver’s attention and increase the risk of pedestrian accidents.

While many modern cars have technology in place that is aware of obstacles and even pedestrians, this will be compromised by the presence of other vehicles as well as by driver inattention. There is this a need for more effective safety measures to be put in place, particularly at busy junctions where cars and pedestrians meet in often unpredictable ways.

Oikawa, S., Kusakari, Y.,Matsui, Y. and Kubota, N. (2024) ‘Analysis of driving behaviour for right-turn manoeuvres at intersections with different types of traffic participants’,Int. J. Vehicle Safety, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp.1–13.

Free Open Access article available: "Analysis of driving behaviour for right-turn manoeuvres at intersections with different types of traffic participants"

The following paper, "Analysis of driving behaviour for right-turn manoeuvres at intersections with different types of traffic participants" (International Journal of Vehicle Safety 13(5) 2024), is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Research pick: Not the usual business - "Creating opportunities: social entrepreneurship and disability employment"

Research in the International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, is set to challenge the received wisdom on entrepreneurship among marginalized groups, particularly people with disabilities. The work shows how inclusivity and diversity can perhaps unexpectedly drive social and economic change.

Chi Nghia Nguyen of Aomori Chuo Gakuin University, Japan, Matteo Rossi of the University of Sannio in Benevento BN, Italy, Laurent Vilaine of the Catholic University of Lyon, France, and Mohamad Baker Hamieh of the Lebanese International University in Mazraa, Lebanon undertook a comparison of social entrepreneurship. They compared eight case studies of people with disabilities in Vietnam and six cases involving non-disabled entrepreneurs in Japan. Their findings suggest, as one might hope, that disability does not inherently limit entrepreneurial success. Instead, they found that such individuals turn constraints into opportunities for innovation and community empowerment.

Social entrepreneurship, the practice of using business methods to address societal challenges while generating income, takes on a transformative role in disadvantaged settings, the researchers suggest. They found that in Vietnam, disabled entrepreneurs have developed ways to boost their skills, their technical expertise or social networks, while collaborating with others to overcome inherent limitations derived from their disability. The team explains that this adaptive approach not only creates sustainable livelihoods for themselves but also generates broader opportunities within their communities.

Such efforts are in stark contrast to traditional poverty alleviation models, which often cast marginalized individuals simply as passive recipients of aid. The research sees how disability can be reframed within the context of human capital—a term that encompasses the knowledge, skills, and other attributes individuals can bring to bear in their work. So, instead of viewing disabilities as insurmountable barriers, those disabilities are just one aspect of a person’s capabilities and character, which can be complemented or compensated for by other strengths as needed. This shift in perspective moves the narrative away from what individuals cannot do to what they can and opens new pathways for innovation and inclusion.

Nguyen, C.N., Rossi, M., Vilaine, L. and Hamieh, M.B. (2024) ‘Creating opportunities: social entrepreneurship and disability employment’, Int. J. Business and Emerging Markets, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp.1–18.

Free Open Access article available: "Examining the role of community interest in improving responsible project management practices in construction projects: a developing country's perspective"

The following paper, "Examining the role of community interest in improving responsible project management practices in construction projects: a developing country's perspective" (International Journal of Project Organisation and Management 16(6) 2024), is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Research pick: Tourist footprints on the nature reserve - "An environmental pollution assessment method for tourist attractions in nature reserves based on factor analysis"

A study in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, has looked at a fast, efficient method of assessing environmental pollution across nature reserves and so could offer a clearer view of the impact of tourism on such putatively fragile ecosystems. Qiong Da, Fang Zhou, and Nima Ciren of the Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University in Nyingchi, China, used factor analysis, a statistical technique to simplify complex data, to assess the various forms of pollution that might be present on a nature reserve including water and soil contamination, and air pollution. Their approach can highlight core environmental risks in less than half an hour.

Nature reserves draw millions of visitors annually, benefiting local economies, but tourist activity can put a strain on the environment. The researchers point out that current pollution assessment approaches can take days if not weeks and are data-heavy. Ultimately, these leave reserve management and policymakers in a quandary as to how to respond effectively to environmental issues as they arise.

The new approach uses an environmental pollution framework tailored for tourist destinations within reserves, making it possible to condense diverse indicators into the common factors that represent the most important pollution threats. The team suggests that their approach offers a more focused and so manageable dataset that might allow conservationists to act on immediate risks essentially in real-time.

The approach is adaptable and could be useful to the broader conservation effort. The framework offered by the researchers could be used in ecological assessment across other areas, not just tourist traps within nature reserves. It might thus allow timely and useful insights to be gleaned from other kinds of conservation areas that are also facing pressures from human activities. The approach could thus support resilience and long-term sustainability of conservation areas beyond the tourist hotspots.

Da, Q., Zhou, F. and Ciren, N. (2024) ‘An environmental pollution assessment method for tourist attractions in nature reserves based on factor analysis’, Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 74, Nos. 1/2/3/4, pp.1–15.

Inderscience journals newly listed by Chartered Association of Business Schools

We are proud to announce that the following Inderscience journals have been added to the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) Academic Journal Guide:

• International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences
• International Journal of Innovation and Learning
• International Journal of Knowledge and Learning
• International Journal of Learning and Change
• International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development
• International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management
• International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking
• International Journal of Services Economics and Management
• International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage
• International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development
• International Journal of Tourism Policy

Inderscience's Editorial Office congratulates all editors and board members involved and thanks them for their continued efforts in raising the prestige of their journals.

Free Open Access article available: "Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in the freight forwarding industry: the moderating role of animosity and CRM"

The following paper, "Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in the freight forwarding industry: the moderating role of animosity and CRM" (International Journal of Business Innovation and Research 35(5) 2024), is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Free Open Access article available: "Creating opportunities: social entrepreneurship and disability employment"

The following paper, "Creating opportunities: social entrepreneurship and disability employment" (International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets 16(5) 2024), is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.

Research pick: A MOF in the frame for cleaner water - "Recent development of metal-organic framework 5 adsorbents for organic dye removal from aqueous solution"

The future of MOFs, metal-organic framework materials, looks bright. A review in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management has looked at how a specific class of these sponge-like materials might find increasing use in removing dye contaminants from industrial wastewater.

Irvan Dahlan and Hamidi Abdul Aziz of the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, and Yung-Tse Hung of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, have focused on MOF-5 materials. These substances, constructed from a metal such as zinc to which organic molecules are bonds to build vast crystalline structures are highly porous and so have a large internal surface area compared to their overall volume, which means they can soak up, or adsorb (sic) small molecules, such as organic dye pollutants present in industrial wastewater.

The textile, pharmaceutical, and paper industries all generate vast quantities of wastewater contaminated with synthetic dyes. This represents an enormous burden on the environment and a serious risk to ecosystems where this contaminated wastewater might end up.

Organic dyes can be stubborn pollutants, as they are often chemically stable and difficult to break down. They can resist traditional wastewater treatments. Once present in natural waters, they block sunlight and so hamper photosynthesis in aquatic plants, and can thus disturb entire ecosystems. Moreover, some dyes are toxic, carcinogenic, or have mutagenic properties, and so represent a risk to marine life as well as throwing up health concerns for communities dependent on the water sources that are contaminated.

Conventional dye-removal methods, such as chemical treatment, filtration, and biological processes, are often too costly and complex to be commercially viable and commonly inefficient at handling large volumes of wastewater regardless of cost. MOFs, on the other hand, have emerged as a promising alternative due to their unique structures. Importantly, simple changes to the organic molecules from which they are constructed, and the metals used to lock these molecules together into a three-dimensional structure can be made relatively easily so that they can be given different pore sizes and adsorption characteristics.

The team’s review shows that much work remains to be done with MOF-5 materials so that they bugger pore sizes can be developed for the larger dye molecules. There is also a need to improve the durability and reusability of these materials to make them suitable for industrial remediation use. Optimisation of their physical and chemical characteristics is now possible, but there is also a need to find ways to scale up their manufacture economically.

Dahlan, I., Aziz, H.A. and Hung, Y-T. (2024) ‘Recent development of metal-organic framework 5 adsorbents for organic dye removal from aqueous solution’, Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp.378–389.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Technology and Globalisation

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Technology and Globalisation are now available here for free:

• Industrial upgrading with shifting resource toward external information sources
• Wealth creation in developing countries: linking techno-economic-social networks
• Cassava bread in Nigeria: the potential of 'orphan crop' innovation for building more resilient food systems

Free Open Access article available: "Gender injustice against women in the Muslim world and the conflation of hegemonic terms (feminism) as deflection"

The following paper, "Gender injustice against women in the Muslim world and the conflation of hegemonic terms (feminism) as deflection" (International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding 6(5) 2024), is freely available for download as an open access article.

It can be downloaded via the full-text link available here.