There have long been calls from industry for guidance in implementing strategies for sustainable development. The Circular Economy represents the most recent attempt to conceptualize the integration of economic activity and environmental wellbeing in a sustainable way. This set of ideas has been adopted by China as the basis of their economic development (included in both the 11th and the 12th ‘Five Year Plan’), escalating the concept in minds of western policymakers and NGOs. This paper traces the conceptualisations and origins of the Circular Economy, tracing its meanings, and exploring its antecedents in economics and ecology, and discusses how the Circular Economy has been operationalized in business and policy. The paper finds that while the Circular Economy places emphasis on the redesign of processes and cycling of materials, which may contribute to more sustainable business models, it also encapsulates tensions and limitations. These include an absence of the social dimension inherent in sustainable development that limits its ethical dimensions, and some unintended consequences. This leads us to propose a revised definition of the Circular Economy as “an economic model wherein planning, resourcing, procurement, production and reprocessing are designed and managed, as both process and output, to maximize ecosystem functioning and human well-being”.

/pdf/the-circular-economy-an-interdisciplinary-exploration-of-the-d4tbyk480i.pdf

The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context

(1963). Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Technometrics: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 128-130.

Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine

/pdf/millennials-rising-the-next-great-generation-3011lw78bf.pdf

Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation

The Quark and the Jaguar

Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) have been widely used in real-world applications. However, most MOEAs based on Pareto-dominance handle many-objective problems (MaOPs) poorly due to a high proportion of incomparable and thus mutually nondominated solutions. Recently, a number of many-objective evolutionary algorithms (MaOEAs) have been proposed to deal with this scalability issue. In this article, a survey of MaOEAs is reported. According to the key ideas used, MaOEAs are categorized into seven classes: relaxed dominance based, diversity-based, aggregation-based, indicator-based, reference set based, preference-based, and dimensionality reduction approaches. Several future research directions in this field are also discussed.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2792984

Many-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms: A Survey

Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods have evolved to accommodate various types of applications. Dozens of methods have been developed, with even small variations to existing methods causing the creation of new branches of research. This paper performs a literature review of common Multi-Criteria Decision Making methods, examines the advantages and disadvantages of the identified methods, and explains how their common applications relate to their relative strengths and weaknesses. The analysis of MCDM methods performed in this paper provides a clear guide for how MCDM methods should be used in particular situations.

/pdf/an-analysis-of-multi-criteria-decision-making-methods-1hzhqosczn.pdf

An Analysis of Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods

As currently used, systems theory is lacking a universally agreed upon definition. The purpose of this paper is to offer a resolution by articulating a formal definition of systems theory. This definition is presented as a unified group of specific propositions which are brought together by way of an axiom set to form a system construct: systems theory. This construct affords systems practitioners and theoreticians with a prescriptive set of axioms by which a system must operate; conversely, any set of entities identified as a system may be characterized by this set of axioms. Given its multidisciplinary theoretical foundation and discipline-agnostic framework, systems theory, as it is presented here, is posited as a general approach to understanding system behavior. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 17:

/pdf/systems-theory-as-the-foundation-for-understanding-systems-1lqhodr2pa.pdf

Systems Theory as the Foundation for Understanding Systems

: This article explores the difference in assigned levels of workplace motivation and happiness between federal government workforce members of Generation Y versus Generation X and Baby Boomers. Thirty hypotheses were tested, and 11 were found to be statistically significant. Generation Y does assign different levels of importance and partially assigns different levels of happiness to the five motivational factors examined in this study: responsibilities, compensation, work environment, advancement potential, and free time. Advancement potential and free time were rated the highest factors when compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers. Sample size was small due to limited availability of workforce members. This study represents the first attempt to explore motivational factors for the Generation Y workforce within the federal government.

/pdf/analysis-of-generation-y-workforce-motivation-using-2pkrfhr5yu.pdf

Analysis of Generation Y Workforce Motivation Using Multiattribute Utility Theory

Interdependency-induced risk with applications to healthcare

The aim of critical infrastructure (CI) research efforts is to develop strategies to protect infrastructure systems by reducing hazards, risks, and threats from natural and manmade events. Given that no nation has unlimited resources, the current trend is to prioritise infrastructures so that the most ‘critical’ infrastructure systems are given priority in terms of resources. An extensive literature review reveals that current approaches to assessing infrastructure criticality may not be generalisable and transportable because they are aimed at specific sectors or regions. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to propose an initial set of ‘criticality’ factors to enable CI prioritisation regardless of sector or region. To achieve this purpose, this paper is organised into four primary areas. First, the authors provide background information on the need for holistic CI ‘criticality’ factors to enable prioritisation. Second, the authors conduct a literature review on current approaches to prioritisation and their limitations. Third, the authors introduce a generalisable four-tuple of criticality factors fundamental for infrastructure prioritisation. The paper concludes with challenges and areas suggested by the authors for future research.

Patrick T. Hester

Papers

An Analysis of Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods

Systems Theory as the Foundation for Understanding Systems

Analysis of Generation Y Workforce Motivation Using Multiattribute Utility Theory

Interdependency-induced risk with applications to healthcare

Systemic determination of infrastructure criticality