Africa is increasingly being exposed to the negative impacts of climate and environmental change, while having less capacity to respond compared to other continents. The vulnerability partially results from unprecedented demographic growth, urbanization, and industrialization. However, the continent has still largely been underserved by the broader Earth system science (ESS) community, as evidenced by the limited amount of ESS data and research that cover Africa compared to other areas of the world. Here, we present the recent University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Africa Initiative that aims to enhance environmental sustainability in Africa by fostering international collaborative research partnerships coled by African scientists. Specifically, we outline urgent challenges and opportunities identified through an international workshop in six areas of ESS, namely, 1) air quality and health, 2) weather, 3) climate, 4) land and water, 5) social science perspectives, and 6) developing equitable collaboration and sustainable infrastructure. We highlight examples of successful partnerships and conclude with recommendations to advance collaborative, actionable ESS research that addresses Africa's critical environmental challenges.
This study evaluates how behavioral analytics tools contribute to short-term business objectives in digital marketing. We analyze 73 case studies from 12 brands collected on October 3, 2023, using content analysis to extract tools, outcomes, and problems addressed. Expert weighting from three senior scholars is applied to value outcome categories, with moderate agreement reported by Kendall's W = 0.47. We then compute aggregate tool evaluations, build a co-occurrence matrix, and estimate linear and multiple regressions together with Pearson correlations. Synergies with top-rated tools are strongly associated with more outcomes achieved, the total result increases by 2.8295 for each additional co-occurrence, with R2 = 0.936, and the largest effect appears for conversion and site optimization. Tool ratings are highly correlated with the number of problems solved, r = 0.9888. Effectiveness in solving UX and optimization issues is strongly associated with gains in satisfaction and loyalty, r = 0.9646, with a positive regression coefficient for this category. Session recordings, heatmaps, A/B testing, and conversion funnels emerge as the most impactful instruments. We propose a six-category framework and provide practical guidance for integrating complementary tools within iterative, data-driven workflows. Results underline the strategic role of behavioral analytics in improving conversion, satisfaction, and short-term performance.
Off-site construction, a growing alternative to traditional building methods, offers advantages such as reduced environmental impact, improved productivity, and cost efficiency. However, off-site construction introduces new and unique safety challenges across its multiple phases of fabrication, transportation, and assembly. The Experience Modification Rating (EMR), a widely used insurance metric in traditional construction, remains the primary factor used by insurance carriers to adjust workers' compensation premiums for off-site firms. However, the industry's reliance on an outdated metric that relies on lagging safety indicators, broad classifications, and other nonsafety factors raises significant concerns over its applicability in reflecting the distinct safety risks and operational contexts of off-site work. Therefore, this research examines the inadequacies of EMR in this sector and identifies 70 key safety factors specific to off-site processes through an extensive literature review of 76 research publications. A structured survey was used to validate the relevance and importance of these factors and was distributed to professionals from both the off-site construction and insurance industries, yielding 30 valid responses. Based on the findings, this paper explores the potential for alternative safety evaluation approaches that are off-site-specific and data-driven and considers all relevant leading and lagging factors. Thus, using the Relative Importance Index (RII), this study establishes 36 validated, high-priority safety metrics, laying the groundwork for future multicriteria-based assessment models tailored to off-site construction. Additionally, applying the Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant intergroup differences in factor prioritization between off-site construction professionals and insurance providers, highlighting key divergences in safety perception.
The inefficient management of industrial waste threatens environmental sustainability, necessitating scalable resource recovery solutions. To address these challenges, we propose a novel and sustainable in situ one-step strategy for the simultaneous recovery and functionalization of lignin from industrial black liquor, using a sustainable organic acid system assisted by choline chloride. The functionalized lignin adsorbent material (FLAM) exhibited superior adsorption performance, effectively treating animal feedlot wastewater to recover ammonia. The ammonia enriched FLAM was subsequently repurposed as a slow-release fertilizer, enhancing plant growth and demonstrating a closed-loop pathway for waste valorization and nutrient recycling. Methylene blue was used as a model cationic compound to simulate the adsorption behavior and interactions. FLAM achieved a high adsorption capacity of 725.98 mg g-1 across a broad pH range, significantly outperforming commercial kraft lignin. This sustainable approach advances circular economy principles by integrating remediation and resource recovery, offering a scalable, eco-friendly solution for environmental applications.
Building on self-congruity theory and attribution theory, this research introduces a novel construct, Endorser - Self Distance (ESD) - the perceived psychological distance between a consumer's self-concept and a brand endorser. Using both inductive and deductive approaches, and across 3 studies we develop and validate the ESD scale. We also employ a scenario-based experiment to test the predictive and mediating power of ESD. The current study positions ESD as a meaningful advancement over related concepts like social distance, offering greater precision in capturing consumer - endorser dynamics in moral violation contexts. Parallel mediation analyses reveal that ESD significantly mediates the relationships between an endorser's immoral actions and consumer outcomes (i.e. willingness to pay, trust, and liking). Notably, social distance does not exhibit a significant mediating effect. Additionally, we find that attribution type moderates these effects: internal attributions (blaming the endorser) magnify the negative impact of immoral actions on consumer outcomes, compared to external attributions (blaming the situation). These findings highlight the distinct theoretical and practical value of ESD in explaining consumer reactions to endorser moral failures, with implications for developing marketing communications.
