Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Novel Empirical Heat Transfer Model For A Solar Thermal Storage Process Using Phase Change Materials, Yu Bie, Ming Li, Fei Chen, Grzegorz Krolczyk, Lin Yang, Zhixiong Li, Weihua Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Numerical and experimental analyses are often used to evaluate the solar thermal system with latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES). However, the relationship between the numerical simulation and actual heat transfer process is still unclear. This work compares the simulated average temperature of two different phase change materials (PCMs) with experimental result at different operation conditions for the purpose of developing a temperature correction model. A novel empirical heat transfer model is then established to improve the simulation accuracy of PCM-based solar thermal systems. The contributions of this work include that (1) the system performance could be evaluated by the …

Secondary Students' Ideas About Scientific Concepts Underlying Climate Change, Lorna E. Jarrett, George J. Takacs

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

We present ideas about concepts underlying climate change, held by students in years 9 and 10. Misconceptions about climate change are common among students, and may be due to misconceptions about underlying concepts. To investigate this, we developed the Climate Change Concept Inventory (CCCI), and trialed it with 229 students; corroborating findings through focus group interviews. Our interview method and data analysis methods are described. Findings included overestimation of human contributions to atmospheric carbon inputs, ultra violet radiation in sunlight, and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Students were unaware that CO2 dissolves in water, and of the role of oceans …

Impact Of Climate Change And Human Activity On Soil Landscapes Over The Past 12,300 Years, Leo Rothacker, Anthony Dosseto, Alexander Francke, Allan Chivas, Nathalie Vigier, Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Davide Menozzi

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Soils are key to ecosystems and human societies, and their critical importance requires a better understanding of how they evolve through time. However, identifying the role of natural climate change versus human activity (e.g. agriculture) on soil evolution is difficult. Here we show that for most of the past 12,300 years soil erosion and development were impacted differently by natural climate variability, as recorded by sediments deposited in Lake Dojran (Macedonia/Greece): short-lived ( < 1,000 years) climatic shifts had no effect on soil development but impacted soil erosion. This decoupling disappeared between 3,500 and 3,100 years ago, when the sedimentary record suggests an unprecedented erosion event associated with the development of agriculture in the region. Our results show unambiguously how differently soils evolved under natural climate variability (between 12,300 and 3,500 years ago) and later in response to intensifying human impact. The transition from natural to anthropogenic landscape started just before, or at, the onset of the Greek 'Dark Ages' (~3,200 cal yr BP). This could represent the earliest recorded sign of a negative feedback between civilization and environmental impact, where the development of agriculture impacted soil resources, which in turn resulted in a slowdown of civilization expansion.

Solar-Assisted Hvac Systems With Integrated Phase Change Materials, Zhenjun Ma, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Shugang Wang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Solar-assisted heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are receiving increasing attention. This chapter presents the development of HVAC systems with integrated solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors and phase change materials (PCMs) to reduce building energy consumption while providing satisfactory indoor thermal comfort. PVT collectors, which can generate both thermal energy and electricity simultaneously, are a promising technology for developing high-performance buildings. As solar energy is intermittent, the integration of phase change materials (PCMs) with PVTdriven HVAC systems can provide an opportunity to effectively utilise solar energy and maximise the performance of HVAC systems. The results showed that the coefficient of performance …

A Randomized Controlled Trial To Evaluate The Impact Of A Geo-Specific Poster Compared To A General Poster For Effecting Change In Perceived Threat And Intention To Avoid Drowning 'Hotspots' Among Children Of Migrant Workers: Evidence From Ningbo, China, Yinchao Zhu, Xiaoqi Feng, Hui Li, Yaqin Huang, Jieping Chen, Guozhang Xu

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

Drowning among children of migrant workers is a major, though neglected public health issue in China.

Methods

A randomised controlled trial was used to examine the potential impact of viewing a preventive health poster with/without geo-located drowning events on perceptions of drowning risk among Chinese migrant children. A total of 752 children from three schools in Jiangbei district were selected by multi-stage sampling and randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 380) or control (n = 372). Multilevel models were used to analyse changes in responses to the following questions after viewing the assigned poster for 10 …

Wheat, Sheep Or Elvis Presley? Rural Australia Has Had To Change Its Tune, John Connell, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Rural and regional Australia have had a hard time of late. The economies of Sydney and Melbourne are growing, but much of the rest of their states are not. The population of regional areas is stagnating and agriculture is struggling. Perhaps worst of all there is a feeling that no-one in Canberra or in the booming coastal periphery cares about this. The people of Orange have apparently spoken. Outside Sydney, behind what seems like an impervious sandstone curtain, not all is well. Even the largest towns in regional New South Wales are struggling to retain their populations and have faced …

Development Of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material For Solar Thermal Energy Storage, Weiguang Su, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper a novel microencapsulated phase change material (MF-3) has been developed and tested for solar assisted hot water storage systems. Even though the morphology of the sample was affected by the type of emulsifier used for fabrication it recorded the highest energy storage capacity of 126 kJ/kg with encapsulation efficiency of 97.4% as compared with other developed samples. For the purpose of assessing its thermal effectiveness it was theoretically evaluated in a compacted fixed bed TES unit and found to be capable of achieving a higher energy storage density as well as relatively smaller physical storage size than …

Heat Transfer Analysis Of An Integrated Double Skin Facade And Phase Change Material Blind System, Yilin Li, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

In this study, the heat transfer in an integrated double skin facade (DSF) and phase change material (PCM) blind system has been theoretically analysed. Both heat transfer and airflow models with CFD methods have been developed for the integrated DSF and PCM blind system. Data from an existing typical DSF building have been obtained in order to define input parameters for the simulation exercise and validate the numerical models. The temperature and velocity fields in DSF with the PCM blind system has been predicted under overheating scenario using the ANSYS Workbench FLUENT software and been compared with case of conventional …

Performance Evaluation Of A Novel Frost-Free Air-Source Heat Pump Integrated With Phase Change Materials (Pcms) And Dehumidification, Zhihua Wang, Fenghao Wang, Zhenjun Ma, Chun Li, Yibo Xu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Air-source heat pump (ASHP) has been widely used in domestic and commercial buildings because of its energy savings, high efficiency and environmental friendliness. However, the heating capacity of an ASHP system is greatly influenced by the frost accumulation on the surface of the outdoor exchanger. To solve this problem, a novel frost-free ASHP system, integrating with Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and dehumidification, has been developed. In this paper, the schematic design of this system is first presented. The effect of the match relationship between the desiccant materials and PCM thermal energy storage on the performance of the novel system is …

Thermal Performance Evaluation Of An Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal-Phase Change Material System Using Taguchi Method, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Zhenjun Ma, Wenke Fan

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper presents the performance evaluation of an integrated photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector-phased change material (PCM) thermal energy storage (TES) system. The PVT collectors can generate both electricity and low-grade thermal energy during the daytime, and the thermal energy generated can be temporarily stored in the PCM TES unit and used for space heating during the night-time. Taguchi method and analysis of variance are used for the simulation design and data analysis, respectively. The thermal performance of the proposed system was evaluated in terms of the useful energy stored in the TES system. The results showed that the outlet air …

Preparation Of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (Mepcm) For Thermal Energy Storage, Weiguang Su, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Tongyu Zhou, Yilin Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) could be used for energy saving applications in buildings due to their relatively high energy storage capacities at constant temperature, which could passively reduce peak cooling loads in summer. In this study, poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (PMMA-MAA) was used as a shell material to fabricate MEPCM by crosslinking methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) through in-situ suspension-like polymerization method. The effects of initiator weight percentage and the ratio of shell monomers for the preparation of MEPCM were also investigated. The experimental results showed that the best MEPCM sample was achieved with a shell monomer weight …

Length Of Stay As A Predictor Of Reliable Change In Psychological Recovery And Well Being Following Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Brie Turner, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose Longer length of stay (LOS) in residential drug and alcohol treatment has been associated with more favourable outcomes, but the optimal duration has yet to be determined for reliable change indices. Optimal durations are likely a function of participant and problem characteristics. The current study aims to determine whether LOS in a residential therapeutic drug and alcohol treatment community independently predicts reliable change across a range of psychological recovery and well being measures.. Design/methodology/approach Three hundred and eighty clients from Australian Salvation Army residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities were assessed at intake and three months post-discharge using the …

Geography And The New Social Contract For Global Change Research, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Anxious about the failure of decisionmakers to significantly reduce 'the human impact' on Earth, many global change researchers are looking for ways and means to influence public policy, business strategy and civil society more strongly. As part of this, there is a greater emphasis on understanding and altering the 'human dimensions' of global environmental change. A number of physical and society-environment geographers are involved in this endeavour, building on some valuable past achievements. But what lies ahead? I address this question by examining the rich idea of a 'social contract' - one little used in disciplinary debates about Geography's past, …

Broaden Research On The Human Dimensions Of Climate Change, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Human actions are causing global environmental changes that, in turn, have significant human impacts and demand human responses. The magnitude of change, impact and response will only increase in the decades to come. For too long science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects have dominated research into how people are altering the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. We now urgently need to understand, and seek to alter, human behaviour so that our planet remains a liveable one for all people.

Introduction To "Construing Change: Special Issue From The 20th International Congress On Personal Construct Psychology", Peter Caputi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The 20th International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology was held in Sydney, Australia, in July 2013. The theme of the congress centered on change, whether personal, societal, or organizational. Thirty-four high-quality papers from national and international delegates were presented at the congress over two days.

Geographies Of Global Issues: Change And Threat In Young People's Lives, Natascha Klocker, Nicola Ansell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Children and young people, throughout the world, are experiencing a time of immense and rapid change - environmental, social, political, economic, and cultural. This chapter introduces readers to a volume entitled Geographies of Global Issues: Change and Threat, which is part of the Geographies of Children and Young People series. It provides an overview of the chapters contained in that volume and outlines four key themes that run across those chapters. First, children's geographies are also - fundamentally - about adults. It does not make sense to do children's geographies, without taking the perspectives of adult decision-makers into account. Second, …

A Meta-Ethnography To Synthesise Household Cultural Research For Climate Change Response, Lesley M. Head, Christopher R. Gibson, Nicholas J. Gill, Chontel A. Carr, Gordon R. Waitt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cultural change is critical to climate change responses, but the in-depth qualitative research that investigates culture is necessarily conducted at scales difficult to integrate with policy. A focus of climate change mitigation and adaptation is affluent developed world households. Adapting methods used elsewhere in social science, we report and assess a meta-ethnography of household sustainability research, scaling up findings from 12 studies encompassing 276 Australian households. Seven themes are dominant: family concerns are central to household practice; adaptiveness is contingent but more pervasive than often assumed; households make sense of climate change not through abstract arguments, but through physical resources …

Re-Thinking Climate Change Adaptation And Capacities At The Household Scale, Stephanie Toole, Natascha Klocker, Lesley M. Head

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The reality of anthropogenic climate change has rendered adaptive responses at all scales an imperative. Households are an increasing focus of attention, but more in the developing world than the developed world, because of the presumed lesser vulnerabilities and stronger adaptive capacities of the latter. Critiques of such presumptions, and the quantitative, macro-scale focus of much adaptation research are emergent. How relatively affluent households, as complex social assemblages, may adapt to climate change impacts encountered in their day-to-day functioning remains unclear. There is, however, a sizeable body of research on household environmental sustainability in the developed world. That research has …

'We Are History In The Making And We Are Walking Together To Change Things For The Better': Exploring The Flows And Ripples Of Learning In A Mentoring Program For Indigenous Young People, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Samantha Mcmahon, Amy Priestly, Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, Valerie Harwood

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article explores the unique mentoring model that the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) has established to assist Australian Indigenous young people succeed educationally. AIME can be described as a structured educational mentoring programme, which recruits university students to mentor Indigenous high school students. The success of the programme is unequivocal, with the AIME Indigenous mentees completing high school and the transition to further education and employment at higher rates than their non-AIME Indigenous counterparts. This article reports on a study that sought to deeply explore the particular approach to mentoring that AIME adopts. The study drew upon interviews, observations …

An Organisational Change Intervention For Increasing The Delivery Of Smoking Cessation Support In Addiction Treatment Centres: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Billie Bonevski, Ashleigh Guillaumier, Anthony Shakeshaft, Michael P. Farrell, Flora Tzelepis, Scott Walsberger, Catherine A. D'Este, Christine L. Paul, Adrian Dunlop, Andrew Searles, Peter James Kelly, Rae Fry, Robert Stirling, Carrie Fowlie, Eliza Skelton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: The provision of smoking cessation support in Australian drug and alcohol treatment services is sub-optimal. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of an organisational change intervention to reduce smoking amongst clients attending drug and alcohol treatment services. Methods/design: A cluster-randomised controlled trial will be conducted with drug and alcohol treatment centres as the unit of randomisation. Biochemically verified (carbon monoxide by breath analysis) client 7-day-point prevalence of smoking cessation at 6 weeks will be the primary outcome measure. The study will be conducted in 33 drug and alcohol treatment services in four mainland states and territories of Australia: New South …

Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Materials For Improved Building Performance, Zhenjun Ma, Wenye Lin, Mohammed I. Sohel

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Nano-enhanced phase change materials (PCMs) have attracted increasing attention to address one of the key barriers (i.e. low thermal conductivity) to the wide adoption of PCMs in many industrial applications. This paper discusses the generic problem and key issues associated with appropriately using this new class of materials in buildings for effective thermal management and improved energy performance. An overview on major recent development and application of nano-enhanced PCMs as thermal energy storage media is provided. A case study based on a PCM ceiling ventilation system integrated with solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors is then performed to evaluate the potential …

Predictive Inference For Big, Spatial, Non-Gaussian Data: Modis Cloud Data And Its Change-Of-Support, Aritra Sengupta, Noel A. Cressie, Brian H. Kahn, Richard Frey

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Remote sensing of the earth with satellites yields datasets that can be massive in size, nonstationary in space, and non-Gaussian in distribution. To overcome computational challenges, we use the reduced-rank spatial random effects (SRE) model in a statistical analysis of cloud-mask data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on board NASA's Terra satellite. Parameterisations of cloud processes are the biggest source of uncertainty and sensitivity in different climate models' future projections of Earth's climate. An accurate quantification of the spatial distribution of clouds, as well as a rigorously estimated pixel-scale clear-sky-probability process, is needed to establish reliable estimates …

The Social Phenomenon Of Body-Modifying In A World Of Technological Change: Past, Present, Future, Sharon Bradley-Munn, Katina Michael, M G. Michael

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The current level of uncritical adoption in bodymodifying devices, and the propensity for remaking the human body through the aid of technology, is moving society closer to a human-machine fusion. We are at the brink of postmodernity in all its fullness. This paper speculates on the pros and cons of such a reality and insists on the right of the individual to be able to self-govern his/her own body, maintaining the right to choose. How individual choice is limited is also discussed, as industry innovation cycles get faster, and the need for continuous disruption means that the consumer is often …

Optimization Of A Ceiling Ventilation System With Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors And Phase Change Materials, Zhenjun Ma, Wenye Lin, Mohammed I. Sohel

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents the performance evaluation and design optimization of a ceiling ventilation system with integrated solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors and phase change materials (PCMs) by using a hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization and Hooke-Jeeves Pattern search (PSO-HJ) algorithm. In this novel ceiling ventilation system, the PVT collectors are used to generate electricity and provide the low-grade heating energy for buildings by using the winter daytime solar radiation, while the PCM is integrated into the building ceiling as part of the ceiling insulation and at the same time, as a centralized thermal energy storage unit to temporally store the low-grade …

A 6-Month Randomised Controlled Trial Investigating Effects Of Mediterranean-Style Diet And Fish Oil Supplementation On Dietary Behaviour Change, Mental And Cardiometabolic Health And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Adults With Depression (Helfimed): Study Protocol, Dorota M. Zarnowiecki, Jihyun Cho, Amy Wilson, Svetlana Bogomolova, Anthony Villani, Catherine Itsiopoulos, Theo Niyonsenga, Kerin O'Dea, Sarah Blunden, Barbara J. Meyer, Leonie Segal, Natalie Parletta

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Modern diets, characterised by excess consumption of processed foods, are accompanied by an epidemic of chronic diseases. Cardiovascular disease and depression carry a large burden of disease and often occur together. Poor dietary patterns have been identified as an independent risk factor for depression while healthy diets with minimally processed food are protective. Traditional Mediterranean diets have been shown to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease; however there is a need for clinical trials in people with depression. This paper reports the study protocol of a Mediterranean-style diet intervention conducted in adults with self-reported depression. Methods/design: HELFIMED is a parallel …

Thermal Performance Evaluation And Optimal Design Of Buildings With Integrated Air-Based Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors And Phase Change Materials Using The Hooke-Jeeves Pattern Search Method, Wenye Lin, Zhenjun Ma, Paul Cooper

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Over the last several decades, many low energy technologies have been developed and deployed to reduce building energy consumption. Among various solutions, solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors and phase change materials (PCMs) are among the most promising methods receiving increasing attention. This paper presents a thermal performance evaluation and optimal design of buildings integrated with air-based solar PVT collectors and PCMs embedded in the building envelope by using The Hooke-Jeeves pattern search method. The Hooke-Jeeves generalized pattern search is used to search for optimal solutions of the optimization problem. The variables optimized include the PVT air flow rate, additional wall …

Development Of A Novel Phase Change Material Emulsion For Cooling Systems, Jingjing Shao, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper, a novel phase change material emulsion (PCE-10) consisting of an organic PCM (RT10) and water has been developed. Its thermophysical properties such as heat of fusion, viscosity and sub-cooling temperature have been established. The chemical stability during both storage and discharge periods have also been evaluated. The results indicate low sub-cooling temperature and relatively long period of stability without any sign of segregation but the viscosity was found to be much higher than that of water.Further improvement and experimental studies into its flow characteristics are therefore being encouraged.

Life In The Gayborhood: Safety, Difference And Change In The Urban Gay Neighbourhood, Scott J. Mckinnon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review of: Amin Ghaziani There Goes the Gayborhood? Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2014 (280 pp). ISBN 9-78069115-879-2 (hard cover) RRP $64.00.

Teachers: Technology, Change And Resistance, Sarah Katherine Howard, Adrian Mozejko

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This chapter explores the way in which a culture of educational technology-related policy and curriculum change has arguably resulted in minimal improvement in teaching and learning. Moreover, it is argued that such a culture of change has instead simply increased teacher disengagement and thereby resulted in teachers being erroneously labelled by polichy actors, administrators and technology enthusiasts as 'resistant' to change, 'luddites' and 'risk averse'. Accordingly, this chapter challenges these simplistic labels, and offers a more critical perspective of how and why teachers (dis)engage with technology.

Changing The Anthropo(S)Cene: Geographers, Global Environmental Change And The Politics Of Knowledge, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article explores the relationships between geographers and the 'Anthroposcene'. The latter comprises the networks, institutions and publications devoted to comprehending and responding to a fast-changing Earth departing from Holocene boundary conditions. The Anthroposcene necessarily mediates peoples' understanding of what are said to be epochal alterations to our planetary home. It is currently dominated by geoscientists and certain environmental social scientists. Some geographers are among their number. Whilst these researchers are working hard to alert decision-makers and publics to the epic scale, scope and magnitude of 'the human impact', their work currently tends to screen out the insights of both …