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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Secondary Students' Ideas About Scientific Concepts Underlying Climate Change, Lorna E. Jarrett, George J. Takacs
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 …
Performance Simulation And Evaluation Of Net Zero Energy Buildings In An Australian Coastal Climate, Joel Anderson, Duane A. Robinson, Zhenjun Ma
Performance Simulation And Evaluation Of Net Zero Energy Buildings In An Australian Coastal Climate, Joel Anderson, Duane A. Robinson, Zhenjun Ma
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B
Net zero energy buildings (NZEB) are becoming more common, and as new energy saving designs and technologies become available, the ability to estimate overall energy use and understand the impact on operation of building appliances will become important. This paper outlines simulation results of performance improvements achieved by modifying various components (glazing, lighting, thermal comfort settings) of two tertiary education NZEBs and a typical modern commercial building. The DesignBuilder models' thermal performance and energy consumption were validated using real data from case study buildings. The work shows validating models of smaller, less conven-tional, buildings is more difficult than for larger …
A Combined Experimental And Simulation Method For Appraising The Energy Performance Of Green Roofs In Ningbo's Chinese Climate, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Jo Darkwa, Kate Yuan
A Combined Experimental And Simulation Method For Appraising The Energy Performance Of Green Roofs In Ningbo's Chinese Climate, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Jo Darkwa, Kate Yuan
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A
A passive means of lowering the energy demand of buildings is the application of green roofs. The complexity between heat and moisture exchanges in green roof layers and the large variations of green roof types make the need for experimental or simulation assessments necessary for quantifying the energy benefits from green roofs. The current treatment of green roofs in simulation programs is either over-simplistic, for example by ignoring heat and moisture exchanges such as evapotranspiration, or the more advanced models have limitations and require inputs that are rarely available in practice. In this paper a combination of experimental and modelling …
Integrated Dehumidification And Downdraft Evaporative Cooling System For A Hot-Humid Climate, Sriraj Gokarakonda, Georgios Kokogiannakis
Integrated Dehumidification And Downdraft Evaporative Cooling System For A Hot-Humid Climate, Sriraj Gokarakonda, Georgios Kokogiannakis
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A
Unlike in hot-dry climates, in hot-humid climates evaporative cooling techniques are not readily suitable for space cooling. In order to effectively use evaporative cooling in hot-humid climates, dehumidification of ambient air is necessary before it passes over an evaporative medium for cooling. The present study explores the combined process of dehumidification and evaporation and its effect on thermal comfort in a typical small residential building located in a hot humid climate. A novel system has been investigated with the combination of an Earth Tube Ventilation (ETV) (for pre-cooling of air), a rotary wheel desiccant dehumidifier (for dehumidification) along with a …
Climate Change Mitigation With Integration Of Renewable Energy Resources In The Electricity Grid Of New South Wales, Australia, Md Abu Abdullah, Ashish Agalgaonkar, Kashem M. Muttaqi
Climate Change Mitigation With Integration Of Renewable Energy Resources In The Electricity Grid Of New South Wales, Australia, Md Abu Abdullah, Ashish Agalgaonkar, Kashem M. Muttaqi
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A
The implementation of climate change mitigation strategies may significantly affect the current practices for electricity network operation. Increasing penetration of renewable energy generation technologies into electricity networks is one of the key mitigation strategies to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Additional climate change mitigation strategies can also contribute to emission reduction thereby supplementing the renewable energy generation participation, which may be limited due to technical constraints of the network. In this paper, the penetration requirements for different renewable energy generation resources are assessed while concurrently examining other mitigation strategies to reduce overall emissions from electricity networks and meet requisite …
Development And Validation Of A Concept Inventory For Introductory-Level Climate Change Science, Lorna Jarrett, Brian Ferry, George Takacs
Development And Validation Of A Concept Inventory For Introductory-Level Climate Change Science, Lorna Jarrett, Brian Ferry, George Takacs
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A
This paper follows on from Jarrett, Takacs and Ferry (2011) which reported the first stage in development of a high school level concept inventory (CI) for the science of climate change: the climate change concept inventory (CCCI). In order to develop a reliable and valid instrument, it is necessary to follow appropriate procedures. This paper details the process of CI item development; reports statistical results of initial field trials and outlines how these will be used to further refine the CCCI. Item difficulty, discrimination, and point biserial coefficient were calculated for each item. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest data were used …