Discussing the future of energy production and management in a changing world, this book presents the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Energy Production and Management in the 21st Century: The Quest for Sustainable Energy. The intention of the book is to examine the future of energy production and management in a changing world and follows on from the first and very successful meeting held in Ekaterinburg, Russia in 2014. Developed societies require an ever increasing amount of energy resources, which creates complex technological challenges. The challenge in many cases is the conversion of new sources of energy into useful forms such as electricity, heat and fuel while finding efficient ways of storing and distributing energy. Equal challenges lie with the production of such renewable energy at an acceptable cost, including damage to the environment, as well as with integration of those resources into the existing infrastructure. The book deliberates the energy use of industrial processes, including the imbedded energy contents of materials, such as those in the built environment. Energy production, distribution and usage, result in environmental risks which need to be better understood. They are part of the energy economics and relate to human environmental health as well as ecosystems behaviour. A number of topics are covered including: Energy and the city; Energy security; Energy distribution; Energy networks; Processing of oil and gas emissions; Pipelines; Renewable energies; Energy use in building; Industry and transport; Safety management; Tight energy fields; Energy and climate change and Biomass and biofuels.

Discussing the future of energy production and management in a changing world, this book contains the proceedings of the first international conference on Energy Production and Management in the 21st Century - The Quest for Sustainable Energy.Topics covered include: Energy policies; Energy and economic growth; Energy efficiency; Energy storage.

Containing papers from the 3rd International Conference on Energy Production and Management: The Quest for Sustainable Energy, this book discusses the future creation and use of energy resources. It also examines the issue of converting new sustainable sources of energy into useful forms, while finding efficient methods of storage and distribution. An important objective of the book is discussing ways in which more efficient use can be made of conventional as well as new energy sources. This relates to savings in energy consumption, reduction of energy losses, as well as the implementation of smart devices and the design of intelligent distribution networks. This volume provides a comparison of conventional energy sources, particularly hydrocarbons, with a number of other ways of producing energy, emphasising new technological developments, based on renewable resources such as solar, hydro, wind and geothermal. In many cases the challenges lie as much with production of such renewable energy at an acceptable cost, including damage to the environment, as with integration of those resources into the existing infrastructure. The changes required to progress from an economy based mainly on hydrocarbons to one taking advantage of sustainable energy resources are massive and require considerable scientific research as well as the development of advanced engineering systems. Such progress demands close collaboration between different disciplines in order to arrive at optimum solutions.

The future of energy production, operation and management in a changing world was the focus of the 5th International Conference on Energy Production and Management. Papers presented at the meeting form this volume. A focus is placed on the comparison of conventional energy sources, particularly hydrocarbons, with a number of other ways of producing energy, emphasising new technological developments, based on renewable resources such as solar, hydro, wind and geothermal. Key to sustainability is the need to convert new sustainable sources of energy into useful forms (electricity, heat, fuel), while finding efficient ways of storage and distribution. In many cases, the challenges lie as much with the production of such renewable energy at an acceptable cost, including damage to the environment, as with the integration of those resources into the existing infrastructure. The changes required to progress from an economy based mainly on hydrocarbons to one taking advantage of sustainable energy resources are massive and require considerable scientific research as well as the development of advanced engineering systems. Such progress demands close collaboration between different disciplines in order to arrive at optimum solutions. Also discussed is the energy use of industrial processes, including the embedded energy contents of materials, such as those in the built environment. Energy production, operation, distribution and usage, result in environmental risks that need to be better understood. They are part of energy economics and relate to human environmental health as well as ecosystems behaviour. An emphasis is placed on the ways in which more efficient use can be made of conventional as well as new energy sources. This relates to savings in energy consumption, reduction of energy losses, as well as the implementation of smart devices and the design of intelligent distribution networks.

The future of energy production, operation and management in a changing world is a major global topic. The papers contained in this volume were presented at the 4th International Conference on Energy Production and Management - The Quest for Sustainable Energy and focus on the comparison of conventional energy sources, particularly hydrocarbons, with a number of other ways of producing energy, such as new technological developments based on renewable resources such as solar, hydro, wind and geothermal. A key issue is the conversion of new sustainable sources of energy into useful forms (electricity, heat, fuel), while finding efficient ways of storage and distribution. In many cases the challenges lie as much with production of such renewable energy at an acceptable cost, including damage to the environment, as with integration of those resources into the existing infrastructure. This book features research on the ways in which more efficient use can be made of both conventional and new energy sources. This relates to savings in energy consumption, reduction of energy losses, as well as the implementation of smart devices and the design of intelligent distribution networks. Various topics are covered including: Energy and the city; Energy security; Energy distribution; Energy networks; Processing of oil and gas emissions; Pipelines; Renewable energies; Energy use in building; Tight energy fields; Energy and climate change; Biomass and biofuels; Environmental sustainability; Energy business; LNG.

The book describes the significant multidisciplinary research findings at the Università Politecnica delle Marche and the expected future advances. It addresses some of the most dramatic challenges posed by today’s fast-growing, global society and the changes it has caused. It also discusses solutions to improve the wellbeing of human beings. The book covers the main research achievements in the different disciplines of the physical sciences and engineering, as well as several research lines developed at the university’s Faculty of Engineering in the fields of electronic and information engineering, telecommunications, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing technologies, energy, advanced materials, chemistry, physics of matter, mathematical sciences, geotechnical engineering, circular economy, urban planning, construction engineering, infrastructures and environment protection, technologies and digitization of the built environment and cultural heritage. It highlights the international relevance and multidisciplinarity of research at the university as well as the planned research lines for the next years.

The 54th volume of "International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa" includes peer-reviewed manuscripts that present the research results in the fields of materials science and processing technologies, applied and fluid flow mechanics, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, construction and building materials, engineering management, and logistics. The collected scientific articles can be appreciated by most engineers, academic teachers, and students majoring in engineering science.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to redefine the most significant challenges faced by individual economies and society today. It contributed to the change of contemporary social, technological and economic trends, the effects of which will indeed be the subject of many scientific studies in the coming years. As the pandemic progresses, it promotes reflection and summaries of the consequences of behaviors or omissions in each country. One of them is a synthetic presentation of ten lessons from the pandemic (Gorynia, 2021), which the professor accurately diagnoses in the economic context: 1) the pandemic as a non-economic (sanitary-medical) shock that caused the economic, social and political crisis; 2) the pandemic as a "black swan", an unpredictable threat of high species gravity, but requiring anticipation to minimize its harmful effects in the future; 3) determining the causes of the appearance of the virus determines different preventive actions for future threats; 4) resilience as the foundation of long-term economic efficiency; 5) the set of measures to counteract the harmful effects of a pandemic should not be unified but adapted to the specificity of the facilities it is to affect; 6) the world economy as a system of vessels connected with its positive and negative consequences; 7) the pandemic highlighted the role of coordination of international cooperation; the shortcomings of globalization must be overcome by fairly sharing the positive fruits of international cooperation and resilience aimed at diversifying supplies; 8) economic policy pursued by individual states with a view to preventing the effects of the economic crisis caused by a pandemic cannot be voluntary; 9) the pandemic has sharpened the perception of the shortcomings of contemporary economic, social and political systems and prompts the questioning of certain pillars of the market economy (e.g., homo oeconomicus, individual and global rationality, private and state property, canons of monetary, fiscal, budgetary or industrial policy); 10) the pandemic increases the pressure on systemic and holistic thinking taking into account green economic development, saving energy, water and other resources, using renewable energy sources, avoiding wastage of resources, paying attention to social inequalities in the world, regions and countries, solving poverty problems, and social exclusion. This monograph is partially a response to the in-depth issues covered in these lessons. The authors of individual chapters challenge contemporary topics relating to ​​the COVID-19 pandemic, industry and inter-organizational cooperation, pro-environmental, resilient, and innovative organizations. The monograph consists of three parts. The first part (PART 1) covers an overview of very recent research, considering the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, industries, and business. The article by Anna Ujwara-Gil and Bianka Godlewska-Dzioboń deals with, among others, the issues relating to pandemic impacts on the slowdown in the functioning of the construction, electric automotive, and water industries. Also, it affects the tourist industry, where countries are starting to pay attention to the resource-saving green economy and problems of professional exclusion in the pandemic era. In another article, Maria Czech refers to the influence of public debt on the volatility of spreads during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is part of the study on the use of sovereign credit default swap spreads to assess a country's credit risk, which may be distorted in a pandemic period. It is undisputed that the COVID-19 pandemic has a global dimension. The crisis resulting from disorders such as in value chains has caused industry to slow down. The Czech luxury fashion industry is no exception. As Radka MacGregor Pelikánová points out, COVID-19 has turned out to be a threat to its development.. Leading Czech luxury fashion companies withdrew to a passive role and felt the negative consequences of the pandemic. As the Author points out, few have engaged in corporate social responsibility and showed ingenuity, which increases their chances of survival in the future. In other studies, Tereza Horáková and Kateřina Maršíková identified factors influencing the environment of effective knowledge exchange in SMEs, which in the era of hybrid work during COVID-19, is particularly important. The second part of the monograph (PART 2) includes two studies on the photovoltaic cell industry in China from the perspective of comparative and intra-industry advantage. As a significant player in the global trade scene and various value chains, China is a fascinating subject of research undertaken by Paweł Brusilo and Bogusława Drelich-Skulska. The results of the first article demonstrate the success of the Chinese industry in terms of growth potential, competitiveness, and development opportunities thanks to effective state support and favorable market forces. As the authors point out, the Chinese solar cell industry has not been studied so far in the context of comparative advantage and the new structural economy. The results show the way for other countries to consider or develop innovative industries, such as renewable energy and solar energy. In the second article, Paweł Brusilo examines the topic of the Belt and Road Initiative in the context of the Chinese photovoltaic cell industry, energy transition policy, identification of modern intra-industry trade patterns and opportunities for this industry, which is characterized by significant state interventionism. The considerations in this article may inspire EU countries to deepen economic and trade cooperation in the export and import of solar cells with China. On the other hand, Joanna Kurowska-Pysz has undertaken the analysis of the cooperation conditions within the innovative processes of representatives of science, business, the legislative, and economic environment cooperating on the capital market. The Author focused on the motivators, barriers, but also the search for an effective form of development of intersectoral cooperation enabling the exchange of knowledge and experience, learning, including the flow of personnel between sectors, joint organization of conferences, seminars, training, and implementation of research projects constituting the basis of innovative processes, or the diagnosis of network relationships. The model proposed by the Author will surely inspire other researchers. The third part of the monograph (PART 3) includes articles referring, inter alia, to the pro-environmental organizational culture of enterprises. Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej, as an advocate of this valuable orientation today, has shown that organizations are interested in developing pro-ecological behavior and are aware of their impact on the natural environment. The article is in line with the global trend focused on the sustainable, ecological, and green economy enterprises operating in this trend, not only because of COVID-19. Taking action to develop a pro-ecological organizational culture, taking care of the natural environment is not only a moral and ethical requirement but also an obligation for the future generation. This part also includes an article by Piotr Tomszys and Bartosz Grucza, who present an inspiring model of organizational resilience and an attempt to operationalize it. The organizational resilience model proposed by the Authors is in line with the growing interest in the analyzes and measurement of the enterprises' resilience. The conceptualization and measurement of economic resilience can inspire other researchers to further research in this area. The COVID-19 pandemic, as an unpredictable and destructive shock, might be a unique opportunity to verify the developed model, as the authors point out. The last article deals with the issue of innovative management and its measurement based on a proprietary tool developed by Magdalena Gorzelany-Dziadkowiec. The considerations undertaken by the Author are a reliable starting point for further research concerning the impact of COVID-19 on the organization's functioning, the development of innovative management, changes in work processes, and interpersonal relations in the era of increasingly dominant digital technology and skills to use it. The editors profoundly thank all the Authors for their valuable contribution to this monograph and cooperation in its co-creation. We address our grateful thanks to all the Reviewers for their insightful evaluation and high standards of their work. These special thanks go to (in alphabetical order) Barbara Błaszczyk Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences; Justyna Bugaj, Jagiellonian University; Anna Fornalczyk, COMPER Fornalczyk and Wspólnicy; Marta Gancarczyk, Jagiellonian University; Anna Maria Lis, Gdańsk University of Technology; Andrzej Lis, Nicolaus Copernicus University; Mieczysław Morawski, Warsaw University of Technology; Paweł Pisany, Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences; Natalia R. Potoczek, Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences. We also thank Paweł Japoł for his thorough proofreading of this monograph.

Contains the proceedings of a conference organized by the IAEA and hosted by the Government of Chile through the Atomic Energy Commission of Chile. The purpose of the conference was to foster the exchange of information on current research reactor concerns related to safety, operation, utilization, fuel management and decommissioning.