Journal of Urban Environmental Management

Abstract The most important objective of this paper is to provide an appropriate model for selecting best waste-to-energy technology for both private and public sector managers and investors. Urban waste management combined with energy recovery can be the most suitable solution not only for preserving environment but also for producing and supplying energy to urban and rural communities. Determining the most appropriate waste-to-energy technology is a challenging and complex process, requiring consideration of a wide range of diverse criteria. For this purpose, this study tries to apply two of the most widely used Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, TOPSIS and VIKOR. Anaerobic digestion (AD), incineration, and pyrolysis were chosen as the main options for waste-to-energy conversion technologies. These options were evaluated based on three main criteria: environmental, technical, and economic, each of which included various sub-criteria. The results of pairwise comparisons indicate that among main criteria, environmental criterion holds the highest score and importance, followed by the economic and technical criteria, respectively. To ensure reliability, the options were ranked using three different MCDM models methods: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), VIKOR, and TOPSIS. The overall results of the decision-making models show that incineration is the best waste-to-energy technology, followed by anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis in respective order.

Abstract The European foulbrood disease is one of the common diseases in honey bee breeding all over the world. The main of the bacteria causing this disease is called Melissococcus pluton. The common antibiotics are used to control this disease. Their use in apiaries, and entry into the human body increases the possibility of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, in this research, the antibacterial effects of bee propolis and sepiolite/propolis/silver nanocomposite on Melissococcus pluton bacteria were studied. To carry out this research, first, the required propolis was collected from a number of apiaries in different regions of Kerman province and extracted from them in the laboratory. Then Melissococcus plutonium bacterium was cultured in a special environment and was affected by different dilutions of the extracts. Finally, the MIC and MBC of the samples were determined by disk diffusion and well plate tests. The obtained data were analyzed by SAS software. The results of this research showed that although the alcoholic extracts of propolis and sepiolite/propolis/silver nanocomposite had less antibacterial properties compared to the standard antibiotics used in beekeeping (P<0.01). But they have had a significant effect on the inhibition and lethality of Melissococcus plutonium bacteria. So that propolis and sepiolite/propolis/silver nanocomposite at concentrations of 80 and 90 mg/ml respectively had inhibitory properties and at 200 mg/ml concentration had the ability to kill the desired bacteria. The results showed that honey bee propolis and the nanocomposite obtained from it have antibacterial effect on the agent of European foulbrood diseases in honeybee.

Abstract With the ever-increasing world population and limited energy resources, all countries are facing the problem of energy consumption, the limitation of non-renewable energy resources, as well as the increase in environmental pollution caused by the high consumption of fossil fuels, the basic and often catastrophic effects, including the effects of the greenhouse effect, Acid rains have increased the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, all of which necessitate the use of renewable energy sources. Today, these energies, including solar, wind, and thermal energies, have been considered as a sustainable alternative to fossil energy sources This article examines and prioritizes the use of new energies in improving technical performance, reducing production costs, and protecting the environment. The statistical population of this research is all the personnel of the Energy and Fluids Unit who are directly related to the energy issues of the organization, and their number is 35 people. Expert Choice 11 software was used for data analysis. By using the hierarchical analysis method, the prioritization of solar, wind, and thermal energy was evaluated from technical, economic, and environmental points of view, and the results showed that the use of solar thermal and wind energy has priority, respectively. Finally, this article emphasizes the importance of developing and using new energies in industries and shows that the use of these energy sources can help improve technical performance, reduce costs, and protect the environment in industries.

Abstract Throughout the last decades, the quality of urban life has been discussed from different aspects. In this study, an attempt has been made to study the effect of structural changes of Chitgar Forest lands as a natural infrastructure effects have been less considered in the future of the city. The approach used is a mixed research method, which was partly done through documentary and another part with the help of quantification tools related of structural changes in the landscape. In this regard, continuous changes in the vegetation structure of Chitgar lands were done with a comparative analysis of land surface metrics in two years. The results presented an obvious difference in the characteristics of the composition and configuration of the components of land use network during a period of 8 years, show that the continuation of the decreasing trend of dense vegetation can have significant effects on the quality of air, water and soil. And bring adverse weather consequences in the surrounding areas. In short, by studying documents about the quality of urban livability, this research reached that urban forest lands with high density and integrated vegetation, can increase the consistency of urban livability in various ways. As a result, cities can play an effective role in the continuation of urban life both by intensifying the structural changes of valuable urban green lands and by appropriate planning of uses and conservative measures in unconventional constructions on the one hand and the protective classification of green lands on the other hand.

Abstract Knowledge management is one of the ways to improve the survival conditions of the organization and it is successfully implemented in the organization when the cultural context appropriate to this system has already been established. Identifying the organizational culture and its effects on different organizational dimensions creates effective and complete knowledge for the implementation of the environmental management system. Therefore, by identifying the elements of organizational culture and its impact on the organization, it is possible to achieve a suitable result for the successful implementation of environmental programs. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between organizational culture and the establishment of knowledge management, taking into account leadership styles in Butia Iranian Steel Company. The statistical population of this research includes all the company's experts and managers, 90 of whom were randomly selected (60 experts, 30 managers). To collect data, three questionnaires of Edgarshine's organizational culture (reliability 0.912), Lawson's knowledge management (reliability 0.817) and Clark's leadership style (reliability 0.795) were used. SPSS version 27 software was used for data analysis The results show that at the 95% confidence level, there is a direct and meaningful relationship between organizational culture and leadership style with knowledge management, and this means that the better the state of organizational culture, the higher the level of knowledge management, and the more collaborative the leadership style, the more effective it will be. It will pay attention to the establishment of the knowledge management process, and finally, the multiple regression equation for the prediction of knowledge management through organizational culture and leadership style was calculated.

Abstract Given the vast scope of responsibilities and activities in any organization, success in quantitative and qualitative aspects of human resources can only be achieved through continuous quantitative and qualitative training. For the effective execution of the missions and services of any organization, especially municipal organizations, human resource training must be implemented, particularly in the current competitive era. Training is one of the areas that has undergone a fundamental transformation in information technology. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, the primary role of information technology in various aspects of education, including virtual learning and optimizing various educational processes, should be taken into account. Therefore, organizations are using information technology to implement effective training processes to achieve their organizational goals. However, various criteria influence the feasibility of implementing educational methods, which may conflict with each other when selecting the most suitable e-learning platform for professional training. An efficient group multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method has been developed to select the most effective e-learning platform. Nonetheless, uncertainty in decision-makers' judgments is one of the challenges raised in group-based multi-criteria decision-making methods. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid method based on the group Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Grey Theory has been developed to account for uncertainty in decision-makers' judgments, aiming to select the most suitable platform for utilizing information technology in the e-learning of municipal organizations. The results showed that the synchronous virtual learning platform is selected as the best platform for professional training in municipal organizations.