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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Sustainably Feeding The World In The 21st Century, Ren Hua Ho, Husodo Angkosubroto, Oi Hian Lee Nov 2021

Sustainably Feeding The World In The 21st Century, Ren Hua Ho, Husodo Angkosubroto, Oi Hian Lee

Perspectives@SMU

Managing investor expectation, exploiting low-hanging fruit, and farmer education will be key


Battling Over Bathwater: Greywater Technopolitics In Los Angeles, Sayd Randle Nov 2021

Battling Over Bathwater: Greywater Technopolitics In Los Angeles, Sayd Randle

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In Los Angeles, domestic wastewater recycling ("greywater") systems are controversial, loved by local environmentalists and disdained by the city's water agencies. Drawing on fieldwork among greywater advocates and public water agency workers, this article examines how greywater systems function as nodes that unsettle relations between residents and the public agencies that manage the city's water grid. Elaborating the longstanding frictions over greywater reuse in LA reveals how these fixtures are mobilized by advocates to rescript the roles of both individuals and the state within the urban waterscape. Detailing public agency workers' resistance to this form of selective disconnection from the …


Focus On Sustainable Cities: Urban Solutions Toward Desired Outcomes, M. Georgescu, M. Arabi, Winston T. L. Chow, E. Mack, K. C. Seto Nov 2021

Focus On Sustainable Cities: Urban Solutions Toward Desired Outcomes, M. Georgescu, M. Arabi, Winston T. L. Chow, E. Mack, K. C. Seto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Urbanization represents the single most impactful and long-lasting transformation of the Earth system since the dawn of civilization. Cities are simultaneously locations of innovation, social connectivity, and wealth, but they also create local-to-global environmental degradation and socioeconomic disparities. For example, food provision for cities has required significant land-use change and fertilizer input, has altered regional climate, biogeochemical cycles, and degraded marine and landscapes through biodiversity loss, algal blooms and fish kills. To maintain urban livelihoods and the provision of goods and services, cities require vast amounts of energy (e.g. to provide access to transport, cooling systems), which are massive producers …


Investing For The Future, Saker Nusseibeh Oct 2021

Investing For The Future, Saker Nusseibeh

Perspectives@SMU

Even if you don’t believe in climate change, shifting consumer and governmental attitudes make businesses that prioritise sustainability more profitable


Sustainable Investment Across Generations, Darren Teo, Elaine Teo, Jansen Phee, Mitch Reznick, Reshma Lalvani Sujan, Ronil Sujan Oct 2021

Sustainable Investment Across Generations, Darren Teo, Elaine Teo, Jansen Phee, Mitch Reznick, Reshma Lalvani Sujan, Ronil Sujan

Perspectives@SMU

Children that follow in a successful company’s founder's footsteps are paying more attention to sustainability


Measuring Esg, Andrew King, Dan Chi Wong, Adrian De Groot Ruiz, Shawn Cole, Michael Tang, Dave Chen Sep 2021

Measuring Esg, Andrew King, Dan Chi Wong, Adrian De Groot Ruiz, Shawn Cole, Michael Tang, Dave Chen

Perspectives@SMU

Quantifying externalities is difficult and imprecise but one “should not fall into the trap of making the perfect the enemy of the good” and not try


Up Close And Personal With Mr Sundar Selvam: Hitting Zero Targets, Sundar Selvam Aug 2021

Up Close And Personal With Mr Sundar Selvam: Hitting Zero Targets, Sundar Selvam

Oral History Collection

He might not be one you would have come across on campus. And not one you might read much about in SMU news or in the limelight for its achievements, preferring to remain in the background. But look around the SMU campus and you will see the fruits of his work and that of his team. Meet Sundar, SMU’s Vice-President for Campus Infrastructure and Services. Since January 2015, he has been at the forefront of driving SMU’s own sustainability journey which has resulted in several “firsts”. This interview was published in the August edition of SMU CIRCLE.


Latest Climate Change Report Is The Most Important By Far, Winston T. L. Chow Aug 2021

Latest Climate Change Report Is The Most Important By Far, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Dr Winston Chow was involved in the recently released IPCC climate science report. He explains why this report communicates the consequences of climate inaction better than previous ones.


We’Re In A Climate Casino: Here’S How To Fight Against The Odds, Winston T. L. Chow Aug 2021

We’Re In A Climate Casino: Here’S How To Fight Against The Odds, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Extreme weather events point to an increasingly dangerous roulette game we play. Individuals and businesses can do their part but governments must do more at the upcoming Glasgow climate conference.


An Agenda For Research And Action Toward Diverse And Just Futures For Life On Earth, Carina Wyborn, J. Montana, N. Kalas, S. Clement, F. Davila, N. Knowles, E. Louder, M. Balan, J. Chambers, L. Christel, T. Forsyth, G. Henderson, S. Izquierdo Tort, Michelle Mei Ling Lim, Et Al Aug 2021

An Agenda For Research And Action Toward Diverse And Just Futures For Life On Earth, Carina Wyborn, J. Montana, N. Kalas, S. Clement, F. Davila, N. Knowles, E. Louder, M. Balan, J. Chambers, L. Christel, T. Forsyth, G. Henderson, S. Izquierdo Tort, Michelle Mei Ling Lim, Et Al

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Decades of research and policy interventions on biodiversity have insufficiently addressed the dual issues of biodiversity degradation and social justice. New approaches are therefore needed. We devised a research and action agenda that calls for a collective task of revisiting biodiversity toward the goal of sustaining diverse and just futures for life on Earth. Revisiting biodiversity involves critically reflecting on past and present research, policy, and practice concerning biodiversity to inspire creative thinking about the future. The agenda was developed through a 2-year dialogue process that involved close to 300 experts from diverse disciplines and locations. This process was informed …


Internal And External Factors’ Influence On Recycling: Insights From A Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior, Nooh Linder, Sonny Rosenthal, Patrik Sorqvist, Stephan Barthel Jul 2021

Internal And External Factors’ Influence On Recycling: Insights From A Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior, Nooh Linder, Sonny Rosenthal, Patrik Sorqvist, Stephan Barthel

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Internal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors interact with the physical context in which decisions take place. In the current study, we addressed the relative influence and interaction of psychological and environmental factors on pro-environmental behavior. A laboratory experiment presented participants (N = 399) with a choice to dispatch a used plastic cup in a recycling or general waste bin after participating in a staged “yogurt taste …


Technological Opportunities For Sensing Of The Health Effects Of Weather And Climate Change: A State-Of-The-Art-Review, V. Anderson, A. C. W. Leung, H. Mehdipoor, B. Janicke, D. Milosevic, A. Oliveira, S. Manavvi, P. Kabano, Yuliya Dzyuban, Et Al Jun 2021

Technological Opportunities For Sensing Of The Health Effects Of Weather And Climate Change: A State-Of-The-Art-Review, V. Anderson, A. C. W. Leung, H. Mehdipoor, B. Janicke, D. Milosevic, A. Oliveira, S. Manavvi, P. Kabano, Yuliya Dzyuban, Et Al

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Sensing and measuring meteorological and physiological parameters of humans, animals, and plants are necessary to understand the complex interactions that occur between atmospheric processes and the health of the living organisms. Advanced sensing technologies have provided both meteorological and biological data across increasingly vast spatial, spectral, temporal, and thematic scales. Information and communication technologies have reduced barriers to data dissemination, enabling the circulation of information across different jurisdictions and disciplines. Due to the advancement and rapid dissemination of these technologies, a review of the opportunities for sensing the health effects of weather and climate change is necessary. This paper provides …


Sustainability And The Post-Covid Normal, Tuck Lye Koh, Michael P. Liwanag, Hong Minh Le Jun 2021

Sustainability And The Post-Covid Normal, Tuck Lye Koh, Michael P. Liwanag, Hong Minh Le

Perspectives@SMU

Governance and flexibility will be key to addressing challenges climate change and the next pandemic will bring


How To Spot And Avoid Greenwashing In Supply Chains, Singapore Management University Jun 2021

How To Spot And Avoid Greenwashing In Supply Chains, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Research draws attention to practice of firms greenwashing their CSR by disclosing supply chain relationships with “green” but concealing “brown” suppliers


Technological Opportunities For Sensing Of The Health Effects Of Weather And Climate Change: A State-Of-The-Art-Review, V. Anderson, A. C. W. Leung, H. Mehdipoor, B. Janicke, D. Milosevic, A. Oliveira, S. Manavvi, P. Kabano, Yuliya Dzyuban, Et Al Jun 2021

Technological Opportunities For Sensing Of The Health Effects Of Weather And Climate Change: A State-Of-The-Art-Review, V. Anderson, A. C. W. Leung, H. Mehdipoor, B. Janicke, D. Milosevic, A. Oliveira, S. Manavvi, P. Kabano, Yuliya Dzyuban, Et Al

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Sensing and measuring meteorological and physiological parameters of humans, animals, and plants are necessary to understand the complex interactions that occur between atmospheric processes and the health of the living organisms. Advanced sensing technologies have provided both meteorological and biological data across increasingly vast spatial, spectral, temporal, and thematic scales. Information and communication technologies have reduced barriers to data dissemination, enabling the circulation of information across different jurisdictions and disciplines. Due to the advancement and rapid dissemination of these technologies, a review of the opportunities for sensing the health effects of weather and climate change is necessary. This paper provides …


Research On Climate Change In Social Psychology Publications: A Systematic Review, Kim-Pong Kam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton Jun 2021

Research On Climate Change In Social Psychology Publications: A Systematic Review, Kim-Pong Kam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is a strong scientific consensus that anthropogenic climate change is happening and that its impacts can put both ecological and human systems in jeopardy. Social psychology, the scientific study of human behaviours in their social and cultural settings, is an important tool for understanding how humans interpret and respond to climate change. In this article, we offered a systematic review of the social psychological literature of climate change. We sampled 130 studies on climate change or global warming from 80 articles published in journals indexed under the “Psychology, social” category of Journal Citation Reports. Based on this sample, …


Social Psychology Of Climate Change In The Asian Context: Introduction To Special Issue, Kim-Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton Jun 2021

Social Psychology Of Climate Change In The Asian Context: Introduction To Special Issue, Kim-Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing many countries in the Asia Pacific. Asia as a whole is a primary contributor to carbon emissions. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the Asia Pacific region alone accounts for more than half of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This represents an increase in consumption of oil, gas, and coal in Asia Pacific from 44.5% in 2009 to 50.5% in 2019. According to the review, compared to the rest of the world, Asia Pacific had the highest growth rate (2.7%) of carbon emissions between 2008 and …


Digital Transformation: What? How? Why?, Chee Hau Tan, Darren Thayre, Ewen Plougastel, Mark Shmulevich May 2021

Digital Transformation: What? How? Why?, Chee Hau Tan, Darren Thayre, Ewen Plougastel, Mark Shmulevich

Perspectives@SMU

Leadership and prep work ahead of transformation are key


Learning From The Bats: Cooperation A Fundamental Sustainability Principle, Juan Humberto Young May 2021

Learning From The Bats: Cooperation A Fundamental Sustainability Principle, Juan Humberto Young

Perspectives@SMU

Most scientists agree that COVID-19 was transmitted to humans from bats. In an ironic twist, their social behaviour could help us solve many of our collective problems


Technology And Sustainability: The New Business Playing Field, Havovi Joshi May 2021

Technology And Sustainability: The New Business Playing Field, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

Two topics that have consistently cropped up in conversations among business leaders during the pandemic are technology, in the context of the pervasiveness and quickening pace of digital transformation, and sustainability, especially how we should be doing business without harming the environment and society. The collective belief is that both topics will continue to rise on the world’s agenda, reshaping entire industries while creating new ones. They have changed the way of doing business. So what does the new playbook look like?


Digital Sustainability And Its Implications For Finance And Climate Change, Gerard George, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx Apr 2021

Digital Sustainability And Its Implications For Finance And Climate Change, Gerard George, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

As the pandemic forced the entire world to a virtual standstill, nature revived a little. The US emitted 10.3% less CO2 in 2020 than in 2019 and other regions similarly experienced emission declines. Depending on the source, global carbon emissions were down between 4 and 8% in 2020.2 Consumers globally have expressed more concern about sustainability, an observation confirmed by large survey research by Accenture, Kantar, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Ipsos.3 In its latest Emissions Gap Report4 , the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) explicitly connected the pandemic to climate change, nature loss, and pollution. Besides the acceleration of business …


Tackling Regional Climate Change And Food Security Issues: An Introduction, Md. Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu Apr 2021

Tackling Regional Climate Change And Food Security Issues: An Introduction, Md. Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Regional organizations are central to effectively addressing the current and future impacts of climate change and food security issues. Climate change and food security issues can only be dealt with through extensive policies that adopt a multi-sector, multi-stakeholder approach. An examination of three regional organizations (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) can provide new insights into current climate change mitigation policies that will ensure food security for future generations. This opening chapter thus begins with the premise that regional organizations are optimally positioned to address climate change and …


Building A Long-Time Series For Weather And Extreme Weather In The Straits Settlements: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To The Archives Of Societies, Fiona Williamson Apr 2021

Building A Long-Time Series For Weather And Extreme Weather In The Straits Settlements: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To The Archives Of Societies, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In comparison to the Northern Hemisphere, especially Europe and North America, there is a scarcity of information regarding the historic weather and climate of Southeast Asia and the Southern Hemisphere in general. The reasons for this are both historic and political, yet that does not mean that such data do not exist. Much of the early instrumental weather records for Southeast Asia stem from the colonial period and, with some countries and regions changing hands between the European powers, surviving information tends to be scattered across the globe making its recovery a long and often arduous task. This paper focuses …


Tree Effects On Urban Microclimate: Diurnal, Seasonal, And Climatic Temperature Differences Explained By Separating Radiation, Evapotranspiration, And Roughness Effects, Naika Meili, Gabriele Manoli, Paolo Burlando, Jan Carmeliet, Winston T. L. Chow, Andres M. Coutts, Matthias Roth, Erik Velasco, Enrique R. Vivoni, Simone Fatichi Mar 2021

Tree Effects On Urban Microclimate: Diurnal, Seasonal, And Climatic Temperature Differences Explained By Separating Radiation, Evapotranspiration, And Roughness Effects, Naika Meili, Gabriele Manoli, Paolo Burlando, Jan Carmeliet, Winston T. L. Chow, Andres M. Coutts, Matthias Roth, Erik Velasco, Enrique R. Vivoni, Simone Fatichi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Increasing urban tree cover is an often proposed mitigation strategy against urban heat as trees are expected to cool cities through evapotranspiration and shade provision. However, trees also modify wind flow and urban aerodynamic roughness, which can potentially limit heat dissipation. Existing studies show a varying cooling potential of urban trees in different climates and times of the day. These differences are so far not systematically explained as partitioning the individual tree effects is challenging and impossible through observations alone. Here, we conduct numerical experiments removing and adding radiation, evapotranspiration, and aerodynamic roughness effects caused by urban trees using a …


Project Coolbit: Can Your Watch Predict Heat Stress And Thermal Comfort Sensation?, Negin Nazarian, Sijie Liu, Manon Kohler, Jason Lee, Clayton Miller, Winston T. L. Chow, S. B. B. Alhadad, Alberto Martilli, Matias Quintana, Lindsey Sunden, Lindsey Norford Feb 2021

Project Coolbit: Can Your Watch Predict Heat Stress And Thermal Comfort Sensation?, Negin Nazarian, Sijie Liu, Manon Kohler, Jason Lee, Clayton Miller, Winston T. L. Chow, S. B. B. Alhadad, Alberto Martilli, Matias Quintana, Lindsey Sunden, Lindsey Norford

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Global climate is changing as a result of anthropogenic warming, leading to higher daily excursions of temperature in cities. Such elevated temperatures have great implications on human thermal comfort and heat stress, which should be closely monitored. Current methods for heat exposure assessments (surveys, microclimate measurements, and laboratory experiments), however, present several limitations: measurements are scattered in time and space and data gathered on outdoor thermal stress and comfort often does not include physiological and behavioral parameters. To address these shortcomings, Project Coolbit aims to introduce a human-centric approach to thermal comfort assessments. In this study, we propose and evaluate …


Culturally Diverse Expert Teams Have Yet To Bring Comprehensive Linguistic Diversity To Intergovernmental Ecosystem Assessments, Abigail J. Lynch, Fernández-Llamazares Álvaro, Ignacio Palomo, Pedro Jaureguiberry, Amano Tatsuya, Zeenatul Basher, Michelle Lim, Tuyeni Heita Mwampamba, Aibek Samakov, Odirilwe Selomane, Michelle Mei Ling Lim Feb 2021

Culturally Diverse Expert Teams Have Yet To Bring Comprehensive Linguistic Diversity To Intergovernmental Ecosystem Assessments, Abigail J. Lynch, Fernández-Llamazares Álvaro, Ignacio Palomo, Pedro Jaureguiberry, Amano Tatsuya, Zeenatul Basher, Michelle Lim, Tuyeni Heita Mwampamba, Aibek Samakov, Odirilwe Selomane, Michelle Mei Ling Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Multicultural representation is a stated goal of many global scientific assessment processes. These processes aim to mobilize a broader, more diverse knowledge base and increase legitimacy and inclusiveness of these assessment processes. Often, enhancing cultural diversity is encouraged through involvement of diverse expert teams and sources of knowledge in different languages. In this article, we examine linguistic diversity, as one representation of cultural diversity, in the eight published assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Our results show that the IPBES assessment outputs are disproportionately filtered through English-language literature and authors from Anglophone countries. To …


Public Transit Infrastructure And Heat Perceptions In Hot And Dry Climates, Yuliya Dzyuban, David M. Hondula, Paul J. Coseo, Charles L. Redman Jan 2021

Public Transit Infrastructure And Heat Perceptions In Hot And Dry Climates, Yuliya Dzyuban, David M. Hondula, Paul J. Coseo, Charles L. Redman

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Many cities aim to progress toward their sustainability and public health goals by increasing use of their public transit systems. However, without adequate protective infrastructure that provides thermally comfortable conditions for public transit riders, it can be challenging to reach these goals in hot climates. We took micrometeorological measurements and surveyed riders about their perceptions of heat and heat-coping behaviors at bus stops with a variety of design attributes in Phoenix, AZ, USA, during the summer of 2018. We identified the design attributes and coping behaviors that made riders feel cooler. We observed that current infrastructure standards and material choices …


Public Transit Infrastructure And Heat Perceptions In Hot And Dry Climates, Yuliya Dzyuban, David M. Hondula, Paul J. Coseo, Charles L. Redman Jan 2021

Public Transit Infrastructure And Heat Perceptions In Hot And Dry Climates, Yuliya Dzyuban, David M. Hondula, Paul J. Coseo, Charles L. Redman

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Many cities aim to progress toward their sustainability and public health goals by increasing use of their public transit systems. However, without adequate protective infrastructure that provides thermally comfortable conditions for public transit riders, it can be challenging to reach these goals in hot climates. We took micrometeorological measurements and surveyed riders about their perceptions of heat and heat-coping behaviors at bus stops with a variety of design attributes in Phoenix, AZ, USA, during the summer of 2018. We identified the design attributes and coping behaviors that made riders feel cooler. We observed that current infrastructure standards and material choices …


Sociological Perspectives On Climate Change And Society: A Review, Md Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu Jan 2021

Sociological Perspectives On Climate Change And Society: A Review, Md Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Society is at an important intersection in dealing with the challenges of climate change, and this paper is presented at a critical juncture in light of growing recognition that the natural sciences are insufficient to deal with these challenges. Critical aspects of sociological perspectives related to climate change research are brought together in this review in the hope of fostering greater interdisciplinary collaboration between the natural and social sciences. We fervently argue for the need to inculcate interdisciplinary approaches that can provide innovative perspectives and solutions to the challenges we face from the impacts of climate change. As such, some …


Peer-To-Peer Trade And The Economy Of Distributed Pv In China, Peiyun Song, Yiou Zhou, Jiahai Yuan Jan 2021

Peer-To-Peer Trade And The Economy Of Distributed Pv In China, Peiyun Song, Yiou Zhou, Jiahai Yuan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the deepening of power market reform, distributed power generation is gaining momentum. This paper tests the distributed photovoltaic (DPV) economy under different business models by taking three provinces to stand for typical resource zones. The Internal return rate (IRR) is used to measure the economy, while the improved levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is used to model the generation cost. Three business modes, namely pure producer (all generation sold to the grid), prosumer (self-use and the rest sold to the grid), and peer-to-peer trade (P2P, all generation traded via the grid) are studied. Results show that peer-to-peer trade is …