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1 – 10 of over 1000Afsin Gungor, Murat Gokcek, Fusun Yalcin, Abdulkadir Kocer, Ismet Faruk Yaka and Gozde Tugce Sardogan
Knowledge of the local solar radiation is important for many applications of solar energy systems. The global solar radiation on horizontal surface at the location of interest is…
Abstract
Knowledge of the local solar radiation is important for many applications of solar energy systems. The global solar radiation on horizontal surface at the location of interest is the most critical input parameter employed in the design and prediction of the performance of solar energy systems. In this study, 3 empirical sunshine based models are compared correlating the monthly mean daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface with monthly mean sunshine records for Nigde, Turkey. Models are compared using coefficient of determination (R2), the root mean square error (RMSE), the mean bias error (MBE) and the t-statistic. According to our results, all the models fitted the data adequately and can be used to estimate the specific monthly global solar radiation. The t-statistic was used as the best indicator; this indicator depends on both, and is more effective for determining the model performance. The agreement between the estimated and the measured data were remarkable and the method was recommended for use in Nigde, Turkey.
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Stephen F. Thode and James M. Maskulka
Many firms, wine producers among them, have successfully communicated the quality of their products to the market by emphasizing the geographic origin, or location of production…
Abstract
Many firms, wine producers among them, have successfully communicated the quality of their products to the market by emphasizing the geographic origin, or location of production of critical ingredient(s) found in the product. The purpose of this article is to: introduce the concept of a “place‐based” marketing strategy, i.e. a marketing strategy that identifies a consumer product with a specific geographic area; explain why it is essential to the wine business; and, why it may be superior to other types of marketing strategies for certain types of agricultural products. Additionally, traditional valuation techniques applied to agricultural land typically assume that agricultural goods are undifferentiable commodities. With the growing trend toward the production of “place‐based” agricultural products, the traditional valuation methods omit an important variable – the potential for the geographical source to help develop a product‘s brand equity. This paper also discusses land valuation techniques and applies the concept of products of place to the trend among Californian wine growers to produce wines with vineyard designations.
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Dramani J.M. File and Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile
This paper aims to draw on community risk assessment (CRA) for assessing vulnerability to climate change in north-western Ghana, focusing on sunshine, temperature and wind…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw on community risk assessment (CRA) for assessing vulnerability to climate change in north-western Ghana, focusing on sunshine, temperature and wind, elements of climate which are seldom explored in vulnerability assessments to climate change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on data collected from a qualitative research design that used participatory rural appraisal methods, particularly, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and seasonal calendar analysis in three selected rural communities of the Sissala East District. Furthermore, an inter-generational framework was adopted for comparative assessment of vulnerability and changes in vulnerability to climate change.
Findings
The results show that the current generation of smallholder farmers is more vulnerable to climate change than the past generation, the era of grandparents. Thus, farmers are exposed to higher-intensity sunshine, temperature and wind in contemporary times than was the case in the past. Consequently, their livelihoods are affected the most by the damaging effects of these climatic hazards. The CRA process revealed the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems for vulnerability assessments and at the same time, underpins the need for adaptation of such knowledge if it is to sustain smallholder farmer efforts at climate change adaptation at community levels.
Practical implications
The paper recommends an endogenous development approach to climate change adaptation planning (CCAP), one that will build on indigenous knowledge systems for effective community education, mobilization and participatory response to climate change. Policy interventions should aim at enhancing climate change adaptation through innovations in soil and water conservation, access to water for irrigation and domestic use, climate smart-housing architecture and agro-forestry within the framework of decentralization and district development planning.
Originality/value
This paper will contribute to climate change research in two ways: first, by drawing attention to the usefulness of CRA in vulnerability assessment; and second, by focusing on climate elements which are critical for CCAP but rarely given sufficient attention in vulnerability assessments.
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B.F. Giannetti, Feni Agostinho, C.M.V.B. Almeida, Marcos José Alves Pinto Jr, Maritza Chirinos Marroquín and Medardo Delgado Paredes
The study of sustainability within universities is recognized as essential for debates and research; in the long term, the “sustainable university” concepts can contribute to…
Abstract
Purpose
The study of sustainability within universities is recognized as essential for debates and research; in the long term, the “sustainable university” concepts can contribute to sustainability from a larger perspective. This study aims to propose a conceptual model for evaluating the students’ sustainability considering their interactions with the university and the environment. The proposed model is titled Sunshine model. It is applied to students of the La Salle University, Peru.
Design/methodology/approach
The model combines academic performance, happiness and the ecological footprint to quantify university students’ sustainability. A structured questionnaire survey was elaborated and applied to get the raw data that feeds the three methods. The students’ average grades evaluate academic performance. Happiness is quantified by the happiness index method, and the ecological footprint is measured by the demand for food, paper, electricity, transport and built-up areas. Results are evaluated under both approaches, overall group performance and clusters.
Findings
The proposed model avoids misleading interpretations of a single indicator or discussions on sustainability that lack a conceptual model, bringing robustness in assessing students’ sustainability in universities. To have a low ecological footprint, the student needs to need up to 1 planet for their lifestyle, be considered happy with at least 0.8 (of 1) for happiness index, and have good academic performance with at least a grade of 7 (of 10) in their course. Regarding the case study, La Salle students show a high academic grade degree of 7, a high level for happiness index of 0.8 and low performance for ecological footprint by demanding 1.8 Earth planets, resulting in an “environmentally distracted” overall classification for students with 2019 data. From a cluster approach, 81% of evaluated students (n = 603) have low performance for ecological footprint, whereas 31% have low performance for indicators of recreational activities of happiness. Changing lifestyles and making more recreational activities available play crucial roles in achieving higher sustainability for the La Salle students.
Research limitations/implications
The happiness assessment questionnaire can be subject to criticism, as it was created as a specific method for this type of audience based on existing questionnaires in the literature. Although it can be seen as an important approach for diagnoses, the proposed model does not consider the cause–effect aspect. The decision-maker must consider the sociocultural aspects before implementing plan actions.
Practical implications
University managers can better understand why university students have high or low sustainability performance and provide more effective actions toward higher levels of students’ sustainability.
Originality/value
The proposed model, Sunshine model, overcomes the single-criteria existing tools that access the sustainability of universities. Rather than focusing on university infrastructure, the proposed model focuses on the students and their relationship with the university.
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Within each political subdivision of the state of Florida, there is an ordinance which applies to the procurement of goods and services for agencies under its jurisdiction. One…
Abstract
Within each political subdivision of the state of Florida, there is an ordinance which applies to the procurement of goods and services for agencies under its jurisdiction. One common requirement in all these ordinances is the use of the Request for Proposal when purchasing goods or services above a given threshold. In contrast to an Invitation to Bid, the RFP is structured in such a way as to allow other criteria to be evaluated, along with the bottom line price submitted by vendors. The issue in this analysis is whether each meeting of the evaluation committee set up to review these criteria is subject to Florida’s Sunshine Law. Several court decisions and opinions of Attorneys General have held that meetings of ad-hoc committees, advisory committees, and other panels of staff or non-staff members are subject to the Sunshine Law. It appears clear, after a discussion of a few cases relating to the Sunshine Law, that any agency procurement officer must be very careful to avoid even the suggestion of making any recommendation outside of the public view. Public notice should be posted at least seventy-two hours prior to any meeting of the committee. Only by closely adhering to both the letter and the intent of the law will procurement officers avoid having their agency brought into court for a violation of the Sunshine Law.
Vincent P. Magnini, Erika Quendler and Muzaffer Uysal
Using the context of a farm holiday venue, the purpose of this study is to empirically test whether textual references can have significant influences on potential consumers'…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the context of a farm holiday venue, the purpose of this study is to empirically test whether textual references can have significant influences on potential consumers' affective responses and interest in advertisements.
Design/methodology/approach
In a between-subjects experiment, a reference to sunshine (the underlined phrase in the following narrative) was inserted into a Facebook advertisement for a farm holiday venue: “Relax and Rejuvenate for a couple of days on our farm. Great food, fun, and sunshine … See More”.
Findings
Results indicate that a reference to sunshine significantly improves consumers' affective responses to the advertisement and significantly increases their interest (propensity to click “see more”). This study also examines the potential influence of a textual reference to fresh air as well as fresh air in combination with sunshine. No statistically significant results are found with the fresh air reference.
Originality/value
While a number of studies have examined text-based sensory details in marketing stimuli (Magnini and Gaskins, 2010; Torto, 2016), the notion of inserting textual references to fresh air and/or sunshine in advertising has not been empirically examined in the body of the existing literature.
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Parastoo Pourvahidi, Mesut B. Ozdeniz and Polat Hancer
This research will analyze the traditional Iranian buildings according to the climatic factors by the use of graph theory. By this way, the hypothesis that climate factor has a…
Abstract
This research will analyze the traditional Iranian buildings according to the climatic factors by the use of graph theory. By this way, the hypothesis that climate factor has a major effect on the organization of the spaces in traditional Iranian buildings will be tested. Access graphs have been used to clarify the connectivity and depth of a building’s spaces from the socio-cultural point of view. However, it cannot be applied to climate studies. Thus, this study developed the existing technique to define building layouts in terms of climate and thermal comfort. The thermal comfort was graphically evaluated by the two main factors like solar gain and wind effect, with the use of a simple multi-attribute rating technique. All the analysis had been done in the interval of zero (the worst condition) to three (the best condition). The proposed orientation-weighted graph method proved that the thermal comfort factors of the buildings under study match the seasonal movements of their inhabitants. Consequently, the developed orientation-weighted graph method can be used to study space organization in traditional Iranian building in terms of solar gain and wind effect.
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Robert Rehder, Marta Smith and Katherine Burr
Increasing recognition is being given to the fact that simplesolutions to organisational problems are no longer effective in complexenvironments. Corporations are now…
Abstract
Increasing recognition is being given to the fact that simple solutions to organisational problems are no longer effective in complex environments. Corporations are now acknowledging many advantages in changing from a traditional to new non‐traditional models of organisations. The article considers how an American corporation aimed to remain competitive in a sharply competitive environment, while still retaining its reputation for quality creativity and leadership.
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M.H. Saffaripour and M.A. Mehrabian
The purpose of this paper is to predict the global solar radiation intensity in areas where meteorological stations do not exist and information on solar radiation cannot be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to predict the global solar radiation intensity in areas where meteorological stations do not exist and information on solar radiation cannot be obtained experimentally.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach to achieve the objective of the paper is developing multiple regression relations between the global solar radiation intensity (the dependent variable) and geographical, geometrical, astronomical and meteorological parameters (the independent variables). The independent variables used for this purpose were selected based on their ease of measurability outside the meteorological station and without expensive equipment. The number of independent variables is arbitrarily chosen and directly affects the accuracy of predictions.
Findings
Linear regression relations using one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven independent variables were developed to predict the global solar radiation intensity on horizontal surfaces. An advanced computer program based on least square analysis was used to obtain the regression coefficients. The relations having the highest correlation coefficients were selected. The study shows even when only one independent variable (declination angle) is used, the one variable regression relation predicts the global solar radiation with an accuracy that is satisfactory in most engineering applications.
Originality/value
The diversity of regression relations introduced in this paper gives the engineer such a broad freedom of choice, that knowing only an astronomical parameter of the site makes him capable of estimating the global solar radiation intensity within acceptable margins. The predicted values of global solar radiation intensity by this approach can be used for the design and performance estimation in solar applications. The statistical model developed in this research was validated when compared with the measured data in Yazd airport. The measured data used to analyze the model equations were collected in a 13‐year period. No investigation of this type exists having such degree of accuracy in geographical, geometrical, astronomical and meteorological parameters in Iran.
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Breeanna Campbell, Michelle Curran, Raymond Inkpen, Mary Katsikitis and Lee Kannis-Dymand
Metacognitive beliefs and processes have been found to perpetuate anxiety and depression in youth and adults. However, the presence of metacognitive beliefs in children with…
Abstract
Purpose
Metacognitive beliefs and processes have been found to perpetuate anxiety and depression in youth and adults. However, the presence of metacognitive beliefs in children with autism spectrum disorder is somewhat unclear and has received limited research attention to date. The purpose of this paper is to explore metacognitive beliefs in children with autism and associations with anxiety and depression.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 23 high functioning participants (17 male and 6 female) between the ages of 8 and 12 (M=10.38) diagnosed on the autism spectrum completed the study. Participants completed the Revised Children’s Scale of Anxiety and Depression and the Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children.
Findings
Correlation analyses revealed that positive and negative metacognitive beliefs were found, as hypothesised, to be prevalent in this sample.
Originality/value
Despite methodological limitations, this is one of the first research evaluations to provide evidence for metacognitive beliefs in high functioning children with autism and comorbid anxiety or low mood.
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