Nora Munguia

• PhD
• University of Sonora

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the adoption of participatory science principles in a Mexican higher education Sustainability Graduate program to comply with a novel General Law of Humanities, Sciences, Technologies and Innovation to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). Design/methodology/approach Through exploratory qua...

Universities, as hubs for educating future leaders and decision-makers, hold a crucial role in advancing sustainable development. However, the challenge of effectively integrating sustainability into university practices and student behavior remains significant. The Ecological Footprint, subjective well-being, and academic performance are three cri...

Research is a substantive function of higher education institutions, through which they encourage undergraduate and graduate students to master research methods to solve fundamental societal problems. Given the nature of distance education programs, the use of digital technologies is an invaluable competitive advantage in training new scientists in...

In 2013, the Mexican Constitution was amended to allow private firms to participate in the energy sector market. Consequently, the energy reform opened the energy market to private investors, ending the state monopoly of PEMEX and CFE. This article aims to assess the impact of the 2013 Mexican Energy Reform on energy household consumption and, if p...

In the scientific literature, academics and practitioners have advocated the interconnection between Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) and composting. However, despite the importance of separating organic waste at home and this activity's contribution to producing quality compost, relatively few scholars have explored its interconnection with...

Purpose The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 is at the core of many sustainability initiatives on Mexican higher education institutions (HEIs). Yet, progress to SDG 13 and the entire 2030 Agenda might today appear unlikely to meet. To change this situation, it is necessary to form professionals aware of the impacts of climate change and compet...

For decades, sustainability researchers have tenaciously insisted on transforming higher education institutions into more sustainable and inclusive campuses. Yet, as the 2030 agenda seems unlikely to be achieved, universities are struggling to meet the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) before the 2030 deadline. In addition, the post-COVID...

Purpose Students play an unequivocal role in sustainable universities as they are theorized to embody the mission of a sustainable university through a sustainable lifestyle and spread sustainability practices during their professional careers. Despite this, it is not well known how or why students come to embody a sustainable lifestyle. This study...

The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly disrupted progress toward many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Accordingly, the UN has underscored the need to design short-term responses to halt and reverse the adverse effects of the current COVID-19 crisis. However, some researchers have scrutinized the feasibility and note the potential counterpro...

In this paper, a switching fuzzy logic controller (SFLC) was proposed to reduce formaldehyde (FA) concentrations in a gross anatomy laboratory. At large vapor levels a hasty fuzzy logic controller (HFLC) first is activated to decrease the hazardous concentration. A switching criterion enables a second precise fuzzy logic controller (PFLC) that smoo...

International Sustainability Stories: Enhancing Good Practices

Este libro presenta un diagnóstico que da cuenta del potencial natural mexicano para impulsar el estudio, formulación y ejecución de proyectos sustentables en el ámbito energético y transferir conocimiento no sólo en áreas de amplio desarrollo, sino también en zonas de vulnerabilidad socioeconómica. Se exponen las nuevas formas de generar energías...

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in January 2020. As of November 2020, over 54 million cases and over 1 million deaths have been reported globally. The sudden coronavirus global pandemic has also pointed to the importance of tackling the global climate crisis even more urgently. This arti...

Aim: This paper presents a waste stream exploratory study with the purpose of identifying opportunity gaps to reduce environmental and health risks within the household waste stream in a small rural population in Northwestern Mexico by following the waste management hierarchy. Design / Research methods: The study consisted of three phases. Firstly,...

It has been widely contended that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ambiguous concept that fails to strike the right balance between corporate economic interests and social demands. The present article argues that energy efficient principles can be used as a CSR tool to fulfill the sustainable development goals in the UN’s agenda 2030, so...

In the original publication, there is a mistake in the order of all figures. The correct version is given in this article.

Physical activity is a priority to improve health. However, a sedentary lifestyle is increasingly becoming the norm. For example, in Mexico, sedentarism has increased, especially among older women. This study evaluated the effects of aquafitness on the health of older women in Mexico. Healthy older women performed aquafitness exercise and were comp...

To battle climate change, the search for sustainable solutions and the reduction of environmental impacts are activities that must be pursued in all areas of human life. This study aimed to conduct a Life Cycle Evaluation of the environmental aspects and potential benefits associated with two different innovative adaptations to a sauna bath. The fi...

Education is key to the advancement of environmental sustainability. Climate change education is a complex topic where a number of factors play key roles. One such factor, namely the ongoing debate around whether climate change is real poses a significant challenge to the delivery of a climate change curriculum. This factor and others suggest the n...

This chapter shows an interesting unsustainability case study in the transportation sector at the City of Mexico called “HOY NO CIRCULA”, been translated into English as the NO DRIVING DAY PROGRAM. For more than two decades, this program has failed in reducing air pollution and in protecting public human health. In other words, the program has crea...

Inadequate water management stresses water resources, impacting not only economic but also social and environmental sectors. Its consequences negatively impact the gross domestic product of affected countries by limiting economic growth. Arid coastal regions are the most severely affected due to the confluence of periods of greater demand and perio...

Climate change is a complex and multifaceted issue. It is one that must concern all people and takes the work of the entire globalized world to eradicate. Consequently, a globally connected solution is paramount to sustainability. This chapter considers the potential and significance of embedding intercultural experiences and globally networked lea...

Much of the energy used in the world is associated with the construction sector, and one of the ways to reduce that energy consumption is to do each constructive process in an energetically efficient way. The aim of this paper is to present results from an energy efficiency program in the construction of a business complex in Hermosillo, Mexico, pa...

In 2015, the United Nations defined sustainable industrialization as one of seventeen sustainable development goals. In this article, an analysis is performed to assess the opportunities for ergonomics to contribute toward sustainability in the manufacturing industry. To that effect, a case study was carried out in a maquiladora of electronic compo...

Energy efficient policies and the appropriate management of energy supplies have become essential in developing and keeping competitiveness across all industries and forms of industrial production. The scientific contribution of this article is the presentation of competitive advantages that can be developed from efficient management of energy reso...

Purpose At the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) in Paris, 195 governments reached an agreement pivotal not only for countries but also for companies. The Paris Agreement makes it impossible to practice business as usual. The transition to a low-carbon coffee industry could be achieved by fo...

This paper investigates the sustainability of two maize production systems, native and hybrid, in two different agro-climatic areas of Mexico. Farmers from each system were surveyed, and the following data on agronomic management were collected: use of fertilizers, insecticides, type of irrigation, area sown with crops, number of crop cycles, diver...

Objective To identify the presence of environmental factors linked to the onset of allergies and asthma in the homes of children participating in an early detection program that were identified with sensitivity to common allergens in the region of Sonora, Mexico. MethodsA walkthrough assessment was carried out in the homes of sensitized children; t...

Nail care salons have become a profitable, familiar business around the world; however, this service business has been linked to occupational exposures and, occasionally, to air pollution. Despite these alleged links, there is currently no scientific evidence to conclude whether activities in nail salons affect the health of workers or the environm...

This article provides relevant results of a cleaner production program conducted into a company dedicated to remanufacturing air compressors in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The overall study design was based on an integration of acknowledged cleaner production and pollution prevention programs. Although this kind of program also involves...

La industria de la construccion es la que presenta mayor riesgo de generar un desorden musculo esqueletico como resultado de traumatismos pequenos y repetidos en los trabajadores. El objetivo de esta investigacion es prevenir, reducir y/o eliminar los riesgos ergonomicos de las actividades manuales en el area de la construccion de obra civil en una...

The meat processing industry, due to its high energy consumption, needs to be assessed in an energy usage basis. This paper reports the results and implications of an energy audit in a meat processing industry. In addition, this work provides a comprehensive and practical approach to energy saving measures in the assessed company to recognize facto...

Hablar de minería y sustentabilidad suena contradictorio, ya que es bien sabido el impacto ambiental que se genera por la extracción de recursos. Sin embargo, existen empresas mineras que están trabajando para ser seguras y amigables con el ambiente. Un ejemplo de lo anterior se presenta en este estudio, cuyo objetivo fue identificar los riesgos oc...

Although traditionally the maquiladora industry had succeeded in strengthening the Mexican economic growth, this has been also criticized because their collateral effects not only on environment but also on working conditions of the maquiladora workers. This study has the purpose of deepening the actual understanding of the diverging occupational a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify research priorities to guide transportation stakeholders in their practice, education, and research. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review of published, conference proceedings, agency reports, books, and web site documents was conducted, aiming at the identification of the diverging st...

This article reports on the curriculum design of a distance learning sustainability bachelor’s degree in order to broaden the coverage and increase the quality of education for sustainable development in Mexican higher education. The goal of this case study was to describe the useful of the competence-based curriculum design to increase the actual...

In the search for renewable energy sources, solar energy appears, among others, as a powerful alternative; mainly for those countries located at Earth’s equatorial region. This is the case of a Fresnel device that uses solar radiation to warm-up the air; for instance, within saunas. Authors coined the term sustainable technological innovation to re...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the deepening understanding of the diverging pollution prevention (PP) and occupational and safety practices undertaken in the Mexican maquiladora industry. Design/methodology/approach – This study was outlined by a modified version of the PP Program based on a continuous improvement cycle, which i...

Indoor occupational exposure to hazardous concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) at small workshops could have impact in the health of the workers, resulting in severe intoxication, respiratory diseases or even cancer. Therefore, controlling the concentration of (VOCs) in indoors is necessary to avoid injuries of the workers. In this ma...

Sustainable consumption of water is nowadays vital around the world because water shortages have prevented economic growth in many regions. This article reports the strategy in the University of Sonora for conserving this natural resource by presenting a case study constructed through direct participation in the design, operation, and maintenance o...

The United Nations have been promoted sustainable development with the vision of the twenty-first century challenges and, within business sector, every day there are more organizations considering to adopt this paradigm of development. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are awaiting proven practices consistent with their size and resource...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to debate how companies may better become a sustainable learning organization by offering the most used and insightful concepts of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – Through literature review, learning organization and sustainability perspectives are explored and compared. Findings – Learning sust...

Purpose The purpose of this article is to explore the pollution prevention practices performed by workers in the Mexican auto refinishing industry as well as their implications on the occupational, safety and environmental health of workers and community. Design/methodology/approach Interviewer‐administered questionnaires were conducted with shop...

Industrial engineering is one of the five main fields of engineering that endeavour to improve the quality of life in society; ironically, actual production and services patterns have created unintended side effects such as environmental pollution and human health problems. This chapter seeks to provide an introduction to the early developments in...

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has been present in the literature for more than a decade. This concept encourages corporations to make substantial commitments to society by taking into account their social, environmental and economic impacts on the environment and society. At a first glance, CSR programmmes would benefit bo...

This paper is aimed at describing the evolutive strategy that the University of Sonora is following to promote regional sustainable development initiatives in Northwest Mexico as well as debating the challenges in implementing it effectively. The institutional partnership and outreach efforts with local industries, community groups, governmental ag...

Purpose The concepts of sustainable development (SD) and management systems (MS) are finding increasing acceptance in a variety of fields, including academy, politics, and non‐governmental organizations. These concepts are also being used by the general population. This paper aims to describe the perception of different experts by discussing the us...

The automotive repair and refinishing industry has been studied intensively in industrialized countries, in part due to use of hazardous chemicals such as isocyanates and solvents, but little is known about industry practices in the developing world. The main objective of this paper was to investigate environmental and occupational work practices o...

This paper is aimed at describing the evolutive strategy in which the University of Sonora is following for optimizing the organic and inorganic material life cycle in the products used on campus. The institutional strategy has be oriented towards new patterns of behaviors in order to integrate the principles of sustainability as a guideline for pr...

This article presents a comprehensive managerial model for a sustainable university created by D.Sc. L. Velazquez with empirical data collected from about 80 higher education institutions around the world. The sustainable university model offers a clear perspective about how people responsible for sustainability initiatives achieve their initial mo...

Purpose The goal of this study is to further the existing understanding of the diverging pollution prevention and occupational and safety practices undertaken in the Mexican maquiladora industry in order to promote the creation of a sustainable production system. Design/methodology/approach This study explores in detail the occupational health, sa...

Purpose To explore some of the factors that could obstruct the implementation of the sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions as a way for assisting key players to improve the effectiveness of their potential or current sustainability initiatives and being ready for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Developme...

This paper describes the relationship between the Work Environment Department of the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the United States and the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Sonora in Mexico to promote P2 practices in northwest Mexico. The relationship is an example of how international collaborations can be fostered b...

This paper describes the way in which the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Sonora in Mexico is facing the challenge posed by sustainable development. In order to integrate the principles of Agenda 21, the Group of Sustainable Development has designed an educational model called ‘sustainable cell’. This educational model is...

The Mexican Association of the Auto Industry (AMIA), together with the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico, has proposed the goal of duplicating the productive capacity for the auto parts industry by 2010. This implies that every place where an auto assembly plant exists become a manufacturing center for this productive sector within the country. On t...