Ethical consumer behaviour has been receiving much attention in recent times, due to heightened social issue on sustainability, corporate social responsibility and ethical consumption from the community. Integrated with the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory, this study investigates the influences of altruistic, biospheric, and hedonic values on ethical buying behaviour under the mediating mechanism of behavioural beliefs, personal norms, and subjective norms. Moreover, the present research also explores the moderating effects of perceived product quality and social stigma in the relationship between subjective norms, personal norms and ethical buying behaviour. A cross-sectional survey design approach was employed where data were gathered from students studying in India. The findings indicate that altruistic, biospheric, and hedonic values have an indirect impact on ethical buying behaviour via related behavioural beliefs, personal norms, and subjective norms. The moderating roles of quality and stigma show some interesting counteracting influences. Product quality was found to enhance the subjective norms and ethical buying behaviour relationship while undermining the relationship between personal norms and ethical buying behaviour. By contrast, stigma reduced the influence of subjective norms but enhanced the effect of personal norms on ethical buying behaviour. The work adds to the ethical consumption literature by combining theoretical perspectives and emphasising the complexity of how these moderating variables function in ethical decision-making. The findings provide both theoretical implications from the perspective of the psychological mechanism of ethical behaviour and managerial implications for firms looking to motivate ethical consumption.

The main objectives of this survey were to identify correlations between housing arrangements and prevalence of abnormal repetitive behaviors (ARBs) in equine society. Data were collected by an email questionnaire from 60 participants (stables, owners, equine experts) between 2018 and 2020 in Hungary to determine the prevalence of ARBs associated with housing conditions in the equine population. The questionnaire documented information about location, number of horses present, type of horse, and management systems (pasture, corral, stable). The resultant inventory of compulsive behaviors covered 486 Thoroughbreds managed by 20 gallop trainers, 265 Trotting horses managed by 13 trotting trainers, and 1895 horses of other breeds, totaling of 2646 equine individuals (5.29% of the total equine population in Hungary today). The survey delivered identified 29 different types of compulsive behaviors within a total of 217 cases of stereotypic behavior. Of the 29 different of compulsive behavior, 8 types of stereotypic/ARBs were associated with feeding management. Based on survey data, 90% of Thoroughbreds spent their time in a combination of a stable and corral, and 10% of them had an access to pasture. For the Trotting population, 93% trotting horses lived in the combination of a stable and corral, and 7% of them had an access to a pasture. For other horse breeds, 19% lived exclusively in a pasture without a stable or corral, 48% spent their life in a combination of a stable, pasture and corral, 11% shuttled between a stable and pasture, 15 % were housed in a stable and corral, and 7% commuted between a pasture and corral. The Pearson-correlation method revealed a positive correlation between prevalence of ARBs and use of a stable (0.261), as well as a corral (0.286). The prevalence of ARBs correlated negatively with the use of pasture (-0.099). Thoroughbreds exhibited the highest level of prevalence of compulsive behaviors with 75 cases recorded and 34.56% of Thoroughbreds affected. Trotting horses followed with 60 cases, affecting 27.65% of the population. There were 35 cases among the miscellaneous breeds (16.13% of their population). Arabian breeds had 15 cases reported with a prevalence of 6.91%. There were 11 cases in Huculs, for a prevalence of 5.07%, and Gidrán and Hungarian warmblood breeds both had 6 cases with a prevalence of 2.76%. The Furioso-north star breed had 5 cases with a prevalence of 2.30% and the Lipizzaner had 4 cases with a prevalence of 1.84%. Compulsive behaviors and problematic activities associated with feeding occurred in 117 cases are responsible of 53.90% of total of stereotypic behaviors reported. Other compulsive behaviors were spread across 100 cases, comprising 46.10% of the ARBs reported. ARBs of intonation and pawing when feeding are the most common in prevalence (24.88%), followed by weaving (7.38%), wall-kicking (5.99%), prancing and crib-biting (5.07%) and stall-walking (4.61%). The ratios of stress-sensitivity of the population (SSP) and stress-sensitivity of the breed (SSB) can be calculated given these data. The most common equine ARBs are associated with management systems. By introducing pasture, the occurrence of ARBs can be significantly decreased. In the light of the results, the components of professional care for equids can be redefined.

The examination of the environmental impact of buildings during the design process is becoming increasingly important nowadays. Since the geometry and materials of the building are chosen during the conceptual design phase, it is of paramount importance to explore alternative solutions during this stage, considering their significant effect on the building’s environmental footprint and performance later. The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of an industrial hall depending on the applied structural material and geometry. 48 different geometries were generated and evaluated using parametric design focusing on the first stage of the lifecycle. Regarding the material of the load-bearing structure, the prefabricated reinforced concrete hall exhibits a lower overall environmental impact compared to the steel structure of the same geometry. In terms of geometry, among the three spans examined (16.5, 18, and 20 meters), the largest span proves to be the most environmentally advantageous.

Nowadays, sustainability is a term that has been analysed many times in public life, among the technical and social sciences alike, examined from several sides, but at least often voiced. In the study, in relation to the sustainability of a healthy human life, it is examined how railways and their historic preservation contribute to this. As the basis of the research, it was chosen the only standard-gauge railway line in Hungary that is under monument protection railway line No. 11 between Győr and Veszprém. The research is based on the methodology of historical-architectural research: starting from the history of the railway, it explores its architectural and historical values, discusses the creation and importance of protection, and then tries to draw conclusions about the role of the railway line in sustainability by analysing social phenomena, and finally makes proposals for the role of sustainability regarding its increase. The novelty of the study is that it connects the ways of thinking of specialised fields that previously existed side by side. The purpose of monument protection is the preservation of values, which, according to the 20-th-century way of thinking, primarily serves cultural purposes. The monument protection of some parts of the analysed railway line clearly contributed to the preservation of the infrastructure. As an environmentally friendly and sustainable means of transport, the railway plays a prominent role in the healthy preservation of natural areas. This is proven by the history of the examined railway line.

This paper examines the sustainability of railways. A comprehensive international literature review was conducted on railway vehicles, traction, and railway permanent way. The main goal was to find the factors and parameters that affect railway sustainability the most. CO2 emissions from transportation, mining, raw material production, manufacturing, use, operation and maintenance, and demolition and restoration must be significantly reduced. Naturally, the attention will be on the considerable energy and financial savings. This article's main topics are sustainability, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation, infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, and life on land. Building materials come from quarries and gravel pits, but availability is decreasing. Future pavement construction and maintenance require recycling demolition and industrial waste. Engineers must choose materials and technology that extend track lifetimes to ensure reliability, availability, maintainability, safety, sustainability, and economy in permanent railroad ways. Life-cycle costs can be reduced, e.g., by Building Information Modeling. Electric machinery is preferred for construction equipment, materials, and management. Sustainability, like grassed tracks and recyclable plastics, has improved urban life. Sheet metal forming using recycled materials and sustainability shows how important environmental protection is in car and train design. Electric road and rail propulsion are driven by environmental concerns, while supercapacitors and batteries are studied. In conclusion, by preferring rail for freight and passenger transport, both for private and public transport, energy savings and CO2 emissions can be up to 2-10 times higher than for other modes of transport.

Designing effective wastewater treatment networks is challenging because of the large number of treatment options available for performing similar tasks. Each treatment option has variability in cost and contaminant removal efficiency. Moreover, their mathematical models are highly nonlinear, thus rendering them computationally intensive. Such systems yield mixed-integer nonlinear programming models which cannot be solved properly with contemporary optimization tools that may result in local optima or may fail to converge. Herein, the P-graph framework is employed, thus generating all potentially feasible process structures, which results in simpler, smaller mathematical models. All potentially feasible process networks are evaluated by nonlinear programming resulting in guaranteed global optimum; furthermore, the ranked list of the n-best networks is also available. With the proposed tool, better facilities can be designed handling complex waste streams with minimal cost and reasonable environmental impact. The novel method is illustrated with two case studies showing its computational effectiveness.

Background: This article deals with a unique topic related to railway infrastructure, civil and geotechnical engineering, and modern materials. In the past 20–30 years, more and more synthetic materials have been applied in engineering and everyday life. Geogrid and geotextile products are adequate for substituting lacking abilities of the soils, and granular materials, mainly low tensile and shear strength, etc. This paper aims to introduce the result of the author's research dealing with investigating the behavior of geogrid-reinforced railway ballast based on a long-term field test in the busiest main railway line in Hungary. The duration of the test is more than eleven years. Methods: Five different types of geosynthetics were installed in the superstructure of the No. 1 main railway line (Kelenföld – Hegyeshalom state border) in Hungary in 2010. More than eleven years have elapsed since the installation. The experiences are formulated in this paper. Mathematical-statistical analysis was performed to compare the (sub)sections with each other and with the designated reference sections where no geogrids were applied. Results: As a result of the examination, the author summarized the main differences in the behavior of railway track geometry, and the geometrical deterioration rates, considering the different types of reinforcement products.

Aims. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) binaries within nuclear star clusters (NSCs) that contain a population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs). We examine how these stellar and BH populations influence the dynamics of the IMBH binary and, in turn, how the evolving IMBH binary affects the surrounding stellar and BH populations. Methods. We conducted high-resolution N-body simulations of NSCs constructed based on observational parameters from two local dwarf galaxies: NGC205 and NGC404. For the first time, we achieved a star particle mass resolution of 1 M⊙ and a BH mass resolution of 10 M⊙. This level of resolution is crucial for accurately modeling the collisional dynamics of these dense systems. Results. Including stellar-mass BHs within the stellar population significantly influences the IMBH binary dynamics, nearly doubling the sinking rate and halving the merger time. During the initial phase of the inspiral, the IMBH binary disrupts both the stellar and BH cusps. However, the BH cusp quickly regains its steep slope due to its shorter relaxation time and continues to dominate the evolution of the IMBH binary, despite being much less massive than the stellar component. We uncover an interesting mechanism in which BHs first efficiently extract energy from the IMBH binary and then transfer this energy to the surrounding stars, allowing the BHs to spiral back toward the center of the system and restart the process. Our results imply that although stellar-mass BHs are a minor component of a stellar population they can significantly facilitate IMBH growth within NSCs via mergers. We also notice that these dense systems can potentially boost intermediate-mass ratio inspirals (IMRIs) predominantly on radial orbits.

Because of the enormous beneficial influence that employee retention has on work-related outcomes, it has been the focus of much research for a long time and especially in the field of International NonGovernmental Organizations (INGOs). The importance of highlighting elements that may enhance the beneficial effect of Workplace Fun (WF) and Work-Life Balance (WLB) in increasing employee retention (ER). So this research examines the influence of worklife balance and workplace fun on employee retention, as well as the mediating effect of Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Perceived Coworker Support (PCS) on employee retention. The obtained data were analyzed using a conceptual model. An online survey was used to collect the information. More than 358 surveys and analyses have been conducted utilizing the AMOS. In terms of employee retention, the study found a favorable correlation between workplace fun and work-life balance. The association between workplace fun, work-life balance, and employee retention was mediated by supervisor and coworker support. To assist firms to recognize the value of supervisor support in minimizing bad work outcomes for employees, these findings will be useful.