1,721,087 research outputs found
Introduction [Green Building in Developing Countries]
No full textAlthough green buildings are defined in different ways, there is a common belief that the building design and construction industry should be more environmentally friendly. In response to this common environmental belief, many tools, techniques, and technologies have been introduced for the implementation of green buildings. Many books have been published on this topic to clarify the definition of green building, to introduce the best practice, to brand relevant green building certifica-tions, and to inform investors and policymakers.
One of early books, “Green Buildings Pay” by Edwards [6] is an example of this. The book advocated that the green building should be developed in the context of market realities. It had been updated for the third edition by Edwards and Naboni [7]. Books on green building costs written by Malaver and Muller [13] and RSMeans [14] presented economic analyses and best practices for building green. Yudelson [16, 17, 18, 19, 20]’s book series reiterated the sense of marketing strategies and tactics for green buildings in developed countries. All cases studies in the books were drawn from the UK, Europe, and the USA, aiming for better implementation of assessment schemes such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).No Full Tex
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Tree crowns and their associated summertime microclimatic adjustment and thermal comfort improvement in urban parks in a subtropical city of China
No full textTrees have significant shading and cooling effects because of their crowns. This study investigated the cooling effects of their crown attribute on urban microclimate adjustment and thermal comfort improvement. These attributes included the ratio of crown diameter to branching position height (D/PH) and crown porosity, which were measured using the leaf area index and leaf gap ratio. Field measurements and a questionnaire survey were conducted in two urban parks in Deyang, a heavy industrial city in China, with a subtropical climate. D/PH had a significant microclimatic impact, which was evident in its strong correlation with mean radiant temperature and thermal sensation vote. On hot summer days, increased D/PH from 0 to 8 could help decrease mean radiant temperature by approximately 15 °C while improving thermal sensation from 2 (warm) to 0 (neutral). The microclimatic effect of crown porosity was found to be insignificant, since few gaps in the crown were found in the leafy season. The results provide important directions for urban planning and landscape design in terms of plant selection for improving the urban microclimate.Full Tex
Reducing university energy use beyond energy retrofitting: The academic calendar impacts
No full textWith a strong commitment to sustainability, numerous universities set their carbon reduction targets, with the common measure being energy retrofitting of their campus buildings. Based on a complex understanding of the higher educational buildings’ energy consumption characteristics, this study addresses the role of the academic calendar that regulates the occupancy condition of campus buildings and consequently determines their energy consumption. Using an Australian university as a case study, the research collected energy data from its 122 campus buildings, analysed the data regarding the occupancy condition, and compared the data under two different academic calendars: semester and trimester. Among all campus building types, those used for teaching had the highest energy use, accounting for more than 50% of the whole campus energy consumption. Buildings that are used for research had the highest energy use intensity, at more than three times that of teaching. From a semester to a trimester academic calendar, the campus energy showed a reduction by 213,090 kWh per year (around 5% reduction). The energy consumption of teaching dedicated space decreased by 505,521 kWh per year (around 3% reduction), while that of research increased by 153,893 kWh per year (around 2% reduction). This indicated a decrease in teaching equivalent to an increase in research activities when transitioning to a more flexible enrolment calendar. The results suggest that the pattern of the occupancy condition regulated by the academic calendar should be adequately captured in the campus energy management and carbon reduction policy.No Full Tex
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Residential solar panel adoption in Australia: spatial distribution and socioeconomic factors
No full textAustralia is a region with one of the highest solar energy adoption rates per capita in the world. This study investigated the spatial distribution and related socioeconomic factors behind residential solar energy adoption. Residential solar panel installation data were collected for the 2563 postal areas of Australia. Through spatial autocorrelation analysis, this study revealed spatial aggregation and identified hot and cold spots in terms of the installation rate (the proportion of households with solar panels). Areas with high installation rates were clustered in South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia, while areas with low installation rates were clustered in the Northern Territory, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania. Furthermore, this study selected eight out of 25 socioeconomic factors and found their influential mechanisms on the solar panel installation rate. Areas with high installation rates had some similar characteristics, such as a mid-level of population density and personal income, with a low housing density and a young age profile, while areas with low installation rates were diverse in their socioeconomic profile. Energy policy should address the regional differences and the related socioeconomic factors identified in this study to formulate more effective incentives to promote solar technologies.No Full Tex
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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