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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have long-time environmental impacts. The purpose of this paper is to assess the environmental footprint of two advanced wastewater treatment (WWT) technologies in a life cycle and sustainability perspective and identify the improvement alternatives.

In this study life cycle-based environmental assessment of two advanced WWT technologies (moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR)) has been carried out to compare different technological options. Life cycle impacts were computed using GaBi software employing the CML 2 (2010) methodology. Primary data were collected and analysed through surveys and on-site visits to WWTPs. The present study attempts to achieve significantly transparent results using life cycle assessment (LCA) in limited availability of data.

The results of both direct measurements in the studied wastewater systems and the LCA support the fact that advanced treatment has the best environmental performance. The results show that the operation phase contributes to nearly 99 per cent for the impacts of the plant. The study identified emissions associated with electricity production required to operate the WWTPs, chemical usage, emissions to water from treated effluent and heavy metal emissions from waste sludge applied to land are the major contributors for overall environmental impacts. SBR is found to be the best option for WWT as compared to MBBR in the urban context. In order to improve the overall environmental performance, the wastewater recovery, that is, reusable water should be improved. Further, sludge utilisation for energy recovery should be considered. The results of the study show that the avoided impacts of energy recovery can be even greater than direct impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from the wastewater system. Therefore, measures which combine reusing wastewater with energy generation should be preferred. The study highlights the major shortcoming, i.e., the lack of national life cycle inventories and databases in India limiting the wide application of LCA in the context of environmental decision making.

The results of this study express only the environmental impacts of the operation phase of WWT system and sludge management options. Therefore, it is recommended that further LCAs studies should be carried out to investigate construction and demolition phase and also there is need to reconsider the toxicological- and pathogen-related impact categories. The results obtained through this type of LCA studies can be used in the decision-making framework for selection of appropriate WWT technology by considering LCA results as one of the attributes.

The results of LCA modelling show that though the environmental impacts associated with advanced technologies are high, these technologies produce the good reusable quality of effluent. In areas where water is scarce, governments should promote reusing wastewater by providing additional treatment under safe conditions as much as possible with advanced WWT. The LCA model for WWT and management planning can be used for the environmental assessment of WWT technologies.

The current work provides a site-specific data on sustainable WWT and management. The study contributes to the development of the regional reference input data for LCA (inventory development) in the domain of wastewater management.

The new economies of the twenty‐first century require new approaches to learning and teaching from higher education (HE). Accordingly many universities have gradually scaled‐up learner‐centred approaches, including flexible delivery and technology‐enhanced learning, from the domains of enthusiasts towards the institutional level. This paper seeks to argue that these new economies and styles of learning and teaching bring similar requirements for scaling of assessment practices in HE, in particular, that it is now time for many universities to consider change initiatives to scale‐up the assessment of experiential learning to the institutional level.

The need to scale‐up assessment of experiential learning in the Australian and international higher HE contexts is discussed and a variety of change initiatives to scale‐up assessment of experiential learning at the University of South Australia is described. These initiatives are explored in the wider context of change management in HE.

Assessment of experiential learning is at a tipping point where it needs to transition from the enthusiasts towards the mainstream of academics. Support for this process is a new challenge for academic developers, educational technologists, librarians and other stakeholders, akin to other recent challenges such as mainstreaming flexible learning and technology‐enhanced learning. It is argued that for change to succeed learners and academics require local or regional evidence that experiential learning and its assessment are both beneficial and manageable.

Taking assessment of experiential learning to the institutional level is a challenge that is reminiscent of the need to scale‐up flexible delivery and technology‐enhanced learning over the past decade. Information that can help universities to graduate large numbers of knowledge workers with appropriate graduate attributes developed through experiential learning should be beneficial to the graduates, the institutions and society at large.

The increasing availability of the internet has facilitated the development of web-based tools for the assessment of students’ learning in higher learning institutions (HLIs). However, research reveals that the use of such tools is largely dependent on the attitudes of academic and non-academic staff. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate those attitudes from the standpoint of Eric Rogers’ (1983, 2003) theory of diffusion of innovation.

This is study of the attitudes of higher education staff members towards web-based student assessment, using Eric Rogers’ theory of diffusion of innovation as a lens.

Promisingly, the survey of staff members in (HLIs) in Tanzania, a developing country, indicates moderately favourable attitudes towards adoption, diffusion and sustained use of web-based assessment of student learning.

This is a unique look at HLIs in Tanzania and how staff attitudes are leaning in favour of embracing online assessment technology.

This chapter presents “what we know” about the application of technology to instruction for students with learning and behavioral disabilities. Information is presented on research-based effective practices in technological interventions for teaching specific academic skills, delivering content at the secondary level and using technology as a tool for assessment. The chapter concludes with a discussion on Universal Design for Learning and the promises this paradigm holds for educating not only students with special needs, but all learners. The chapter begins where parents and teachers typically begin: the consideration of technology.

The purpose of this paper is to build an assessment-centred blended learning (BL) framework to assess learners, to analyse and to evaluate the impact of the technology support in the form of formative assessment in students’ positive learning.

This research proposed an assessment-centred BL framework at the course level to support formative assessment in students by designing a variety of online learning activities combined with e-assessment tools of learning management system (LMS) to analyse and evaluate the impact of the technology application in the form of formative assessment student learning initiative. The author has tested this model in five years with more than 200 courses.

Experimental results have shown that formative assessment evaluation form is more efficient when supported by technology such as LMS.

This research proposed an assessment-centred BL framework at the course level by using LMS tools combined with traditional teaching.

The paper attempts to highlight and discuss the limitations of the current discourse around the role of hydrogen‐based energy in a more sustainable future.

The paper draws upon preliminary findings from qualitative fieldwork in three case studies. Focus groups were conducted with members of the public in three different areas of the UK where hydrogen projects are being planned and/or developed. Findings are connected to evidence gathered in other similar studies addressing the relationship between publics and new technologies.

In the case of hydrogen energy and its role in a future economy, questions about safety were present but did not dominate the debate. Participants in our focus groups were not only concerned about the technical and economic aspects of hydrogen technologies, but they also wanted to understand what hydrogen as an energy carrier and fuel would mean for them and in their daily lives; whether it would deliver the promise of realising a better future, for the global environment and the people; and whether it would disrupt people's lifestyles and require a significant change in collective and individual behaviour. Moreover, a frequent issue raised by many people was their ambivalence about what, and whom, to trust in the provision of information about hydrogen.

This research on public attitudes to a future hydrogen economy provides empirical insights about the socio‐cultural contexts in which lay understandings of new, unfamiliar technologies and technological systems are developed, and what issues are raised by members of the general public when an informed debate is encouraged. The research attempts to contribute to the wider debate about public engagement in technological change.

This paper aims to present an overview of the various ethical, societal and critical issues that micro- and nanotechnology-based small, energy self-sufficient sensor systems raise in different selected application fields. An ethical approach on the development of these technologies was taken in a very large international, multitechnological European project. The authors approach and methodology are presented in the paper and, based on this review, the authors propose general principles for this kind of work.

The authors’ approach is based on a great amount of experience working together in multi-disciplinary teams. Ethical issues have usually been handled in the authors’ work to some degree. In this project, the authors had the opportunity to emphasise the human view in technological development, utilise the authors’ experience from previous work and customise the authors’ approach to this particular case. In short, the authors created a wide set of application scenarios with technical and application field experts in the authors’ research project. The scenarios were evaluated with external application field experts, potential consumer users and ethics experts.

Based on the authors’ experiences in this project and in previous work, the authors suggest a preliminary model for construction activity within technology development projects. The authors call this model the Human-Driven Design approach, and Ethics by Design as a more focussed sub-set of this approach. As all enabling technologies have both positive and negative usage possibilities, and so-called ethical assessment tends to focus on negative consequences, there are doubts from some stakeholders about including ethical perspectives in a technology development project.

The authors argue that the ethical perspective would be more influential if it were to provide a more positive and constructive contribution to the development of technology. The main findings related to the ethical challenges based on the actual work done in this project were the following: the main user concerns were in relation to access to information, digital division and the necessity of all the proposed measurements; the ethics experts highlighted the main ethical issues as privacy, autonomy, user control, freedom, medicalisation and human existence.

Various technology assessment models and ethical approaches for technological development have been developed and performed for a long time, and recently, a new approach called Responsible Research and Innovation has been introduced. The authors’ intention is to give a concrete example for further development as a part of the development of this approach.

The authors’ study in this particular case covers various consumer application possibilities for small sensor systems. The application fields studied include health, well-being, safety, sustainability and empathic user interfaces. The authors believe that the ethical challenges identified are valuable to other researchers and practitioners who are studying and developing sensor-based solutions in similar fields.

The authors’ study covers various consumer application possibilities of small sensor systems. The studied application fields include health, well-being, safety, sustainability and empathic user interfaces. The findings are valuable to other researchers and practitioners who are studying and developing sensor-based solutions to similar fields.

The agri-food industry is experiencing a revolutionary shift due to the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies to improve efficiency, transparency and sustainability. The importance of agri-food supply chains (AFSC) in promoting sustainability is expanding as the globe struggles with issues including resource scarcity, climate change and population growth. In order to better understand how Industry 4.0 might improve sustainability in a world that is changing quickly, this work aims to focus on identifying various sustainability assessment factors influencing AFSC to increase overall sustainability, minimize resource consumption, cut waste and streamline operations.

Important sustainability assessment factors are identified from the past academic literature and are then validated using the fuzzy-Delphi method. A method called decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is used to examine and analyze structural models with complex causal linkages. The results are then validated using sensitivity analysis.

The factors that emerged as the highest ranked for evaluating the sustainability of Industry 4.0 in AFSC are market competitiveness, and knowledge and skill development, followed by resource efficiency. Industry 4.0 technologies are essential for increasing the marketability of agricultural products because of the major implications of market competitiveness. The significance of knowledge and skill development draws attention to Industry 4.0’s contribution to the promotion of chances for farmers and agricultural employees to increase their capability.

By outlining the nexus between Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability, the study presents a comprehensive framework that would be relevant for researchers, policymakers and industry stakeholders who want to leverage Industry 4.0 technology to build more sustainable AFSC in the future. The study findings can help the farmers or producers make sensible choices that adhere to sustainability standards and guarantee long-term financial viability.

The originality of this work lies in the identification of sustainability assessment factors especially for AFSC in the era of digitalization which has not been discussed previously.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of a blended learning strategy in a company law course for accounting students and to evaluate its impact on assessment and student self-reflection.

A case study approach is used to describe the development of blended learning technologies within an elevator pitch assessment item in four cohorts over a two-year period. This is complemented by teacher observations, an online survey and student interviews to evaluate the assessment item, the technology used and its impact as a self-reflection and assessment tool.

The case study reveals the benefits of blended learning technologies but also a series of logistical, assessment-related, behavioural and technological issues and how these issues were addressed. The preliminary evidence from the online survey and student interviews suggests that the blended learning technologies have facilitated flexibility in assessment (both from a student and teacher perspective), student self-reflection and fairness in assessment practices.

The study identifies the benefits of and likely issues facing educators when considering the deployment of blended learning technologies to teach and assess oral communication skills. The paper contributes to pedagogy by describing the innovative use of video cameras in assessing elevator pitches and extends the literature on video presentations in higher education, in particular, its positive influence on student self-reflection.

Barriers exist on large scale assessment when students are not able to perform at potential for a variety of reasons. Accommodations are mostly available for students who meet criteria for diagnosed disability or criteria for the identification of students who have English as a second language. However, knowing that students have diverse needs, accommodations for a few may not be providing appropriate access for all. Options for designing broader universal design for learning (UDL) on large scale assessment, through strategies that are typically restricted to special accommodations, increase access.