With the growing emphasis on sustainability, awareness of the environmental impacts and negative potential inherent in current business systems has increased. The circular economy (CE) represents an innovative approach that transforms the traditional linear economy into a restorative system, focussing on extending the life cycle of materials through continuous circulation. The Circular B project aims to develop an international framework that considers multiple facets of the CE, including material and asset management and the use of components in the built environment throughout the entire life cycle of the value chain. The primary objective of the CE is to eliminate waste and pollution (e.g., carbon reduction) and strengthen the resilience of the value chain. However, the current implementation of circular strategies has not yet been found to be effective, with several challenges that cause adverse impacts. This study focuses on investigating and analyzing these challenges, particularly in the cultural and societal domains, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The scope of the questionnaire was to identify (1) awareness and understanding, (2) cultural attitude, (3) barriers to adoption, (4) incentives and motivations, (5) participation and engagement, and (6) education and training. A questionnaire was distributed to 270 respondents, with anonymous responses collected. The survey included eight questions specifically designed to address cultural and societal challenges. The survey was conducted with participants from various sectors, including academia, local authorities, industry professionals, consultants, and others collected from all over the world, ensuring diverse perspectives. The main weaknesses found based on this survey are related to (1) budget constraints due to high costs of reintegrating in the loop of materials or components due to the complexity of circular processes, (2) applicability on the market remains still limited, (3) the importance of planning and design in the initial phases, (4) the importance of establishing a comprehensive network to enhance collaboration among stakeholders, and (5) inadequate policies. The insights gained from this study will help stakeholders, such as constructors, maintainers, engineers, designers, and consultants, across various organizations in the value chain to develop practical solutions to mitigate these challenges and improve the overall business system.

Background: To improve railway construction and maintenance, a novel digital twin that helps stakeholders visualize, share data, and monitor the progress and the condition during services is required. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digitalization tool, which adopts an interoperable concept that benefits the whole life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the project. BIM’s applications create higher performance on cost efficiency and optimal time schedule, helping to reduce any unexpected consumption and waste over the life cycle of the infrastructure. Methods: The digital twin will be developed using BIM embedded by the lifecycle analysis method. A case study based on Taipei Metro (TM) has been conducted to enhance the performance in operation and maintenance. Life cycles of TM will be assessed and complied with ISO14064. Operation and maintenance activities will be determined from official records provided by TM. Material flows, stocks, and potential risks in the LCA are analyzed using BIM quantification embedded by risk data layer obtained from TM. Greenhouse emission, cost consumption and expenditure will be considered for integration into the BIM. Results: BIM demonstrated strong potential to enable a digital twin for managing railway maintenance and resilience. Based on the case study, a key challenge for BIM in Taiwan is the lack of insights, essential data, and construction standards, and thus the practical adoption of BIM for railway maintenance and resilience management is still in the design phase. Conclusions: This study exhibits a practical paradigm of the digital twin for railway maintenance and resilience improvement. It will assist all stakeholders to engage in the design, construction, and maintenance enhancing the reduction in life cycle cost, energy consumption and carbon footprint. New insight based on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system is highly valuable for railway industry globally by increasing the lifecycle sustainability and improving resilience of railway systems.

The climate change adaptation strategies for the railway tunnels project are managed by digital multidisciplinary coordination, or Building Information Modelling (BIM), and the case study is focused on the Taipei Metro (MT) Tamsui–Xinyi Line in Taiwan for the railway tunnel analysis. With increasing climate change impacts (such as flooding, earthquakes, extreme temperature, sea level rise, etc.) on railway infrastructure, BIM offers a transformative approach to enhance resilience. This research integrated six BIM dimensions (2D & 3D models, visualisation, scheduling, cost estimation, and sustainability), involved additional material information with Ansys Granta EduPack v.2021 to measure the expenditure of materials and the carbon footprint, and further applied them to propose adaptation measures for the chosen railway tunnel. This study aims to enhance actions to adapt and mitigate climate change effects on railway tunnels, thereby analysing the negative impact of weather hazards. The climate change adaptation strategies are determined based on the case study, and the integration of expenditure, planning, and greenhouse gas emissions is assessed by implementing BIM. AutoCAD Revit v.2021 and Navisworks 19.4 are the virtual simulation tools for design coordination and scheduling for climate risk assessments. The results demonstrate the feasibility of BIM in managing adaptation projects and enhancing asset circularity at the end of life, showcasing its potential for improving efficiency. This study is the world’s first to contribute to enhancing infrastructure management by implementing the advanced capabilities of BIM to develop detailed resilience strategies for railway tunnels.

Railway overhead line systems play a critical role in national railway infrastructure. However, climate change driven by anthropogenic activities has increasingly affected the construction and operation of such systems. Railway overhead lines must therefore be designed and managed to withstand a range of climate-related hazards, including storms, extreme rainfall, natural erosion, high temperatures, snow events, etc. This paper aims to enhance resilience management by developing a 6D Building Information Modelling (BIM) framework for a railway overhead line along the Market Harborough to Wigston located at the East Midland, U.K., and integrating it with a structured risk assessment process aligned with ISO 31000:2018. The proposed process encompasses risk identification, analysis, evaluation, treatment, and continuous monitoring of detailed components to assure public safety. Note that lesser or simplified information could endanger the systems and the public. Our results are the first to demonstrate that implementing a 6D BIM-based approach significantly improves the resilience of railway overhead line systems against climate change impacts by supporting informed decision-making, lifecycle cost analysis, and proactive risk mitigation. This study advances resilience management practices in railway systems and provides a systematic approach to addressing climate-related risks in critical infrastructure.

This study investigates the emotional dynamics experienced by students in digital escape rooms as a gamified learning tool. The research addresses three main questions: how digital escape rooms (DERs) overcome the limitations of physical escape rooms, the manifestation and interaction of positive and negative emotions during problem-solving, and the impact of these emotional interactions on learning English. A total of 233 university students participated. The study used an online escape room and a revised version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire to assess emotions, including enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom. Findings revealed that students experienced mixed emotions, with positive emotions coexisting with negative ones. Inter-emotional correlations and participants’ open-ended responses indicated that these emotional experiences were associated with perceived engagement and persistence, whereas individual emotions were not significantly associated with immediate performance gains. The findings further suggest that hope may be an important emotion to consider when designing supportive gamified learning experiences. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of emotional dynamics in digital escape-room learning while avoiding causal claims that are not supported by the study design.