scholarly journals Are Cross-Border Classes Feasible for Students to Collaborate in the Analysis of Energy Efficiency Strategies for Socioeconomic Development While Keeping CO2 Concentration Controlled?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1584
Author(s):  
Roberto Araya ◽  
Pedro Collanqui

Education is critical for improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2 concentration, but collaboration between countries is also critical. It is a global problem in which we cannot isolate ourselves. Our students must learn to collaborate in seeking solutions together with others from other countries. Thus, the research question of this study is whether interactive cross-border science classes with energy experiments are feasible and can increase awareness of energy efficiency among middle school students. We designed and tested an interactive cross-border class between Chilean and Peruvian eighth-grade classes. The classes were synchronously connected and all students did experiments and answered open-ended questions on an online platform. Some of the questions were designed to check conceptual understanding whereas others asked for suggestions of how to develop their economies while keeping CO2 air concentration at acceptable levels. In real time, the teacher reviewed the students’ written answers and the concept maps that were automatically generated based on their responses. Students peer-reviewed their classmates’ suggestions. This is part of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education project on energy efficiency using APEC databases. We found high levels of student engagement, where students discussed not only the cross-cutting nature of energy, but also its relation to socioeconomic development and CO2 emissions, and the need to work together to improve energy efficiency. In conclusion, interactive cross-border science classes are a feasible educational alternative, with potential as a scalable public policy strategy for improving awareness of energy efficiency among the population.

Author(s):  
Pedro Collanqui ◽  
Roberto Araya

Early education is critical for improving energy efficiency. The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of Interactive Cross-Border Classes to increase awareness of energy efficiency among middle school students. We designed and tested an Interactive Cross-Border class between Chilean and Peruvian 8th-grade classes. The classes were synchronously connected and all students answered open-ended questions on an online platform. Some of the questions were designed to check conceptual understanding while others asked for suggestions of how to develop their economies while keeping CO₂ air concentration at acceptable levels. In real-time, the teacher reviewed the students’ written answers and the concept maps that were automatically generated based on their responses. Students peer-reviewed their classmates’ suggestions. This is part of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) STEM Education project on Energy Efficiency using APEC databases. We found high levels of student engagement, where students discussed not only the cross-cutting nature of energy, but also its relation to socioeconomic development and CO₂ emissions, and the need to work together to improve energy efficiency. In conclusion, Interactive Cross-Border classes are a feasible educational alternative, with potential as a scalable public policy strategy for improving awareness of energy efficiency among the population.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 6875
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kuzior ◽  
Marek Staszek

Energy is crucial to economic development, but its production usually has a negative impact on the environment. This ambivalence leads to the need for methods to improve energy efficiency. Transportation is one of the largest global energy consumers. Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of transportation is crucial for sustainable development. The aim of this article is to show the limitations of energy management in railways, resulting from the model of market regulation. The question in this context is whether only technological methods can be used in railways to steer its energy efficiency, as is suggested by the existing research. Critical analysis, desk research and a case study of Polish railway undertaking were used to find an answer to the research question. The discussion of the results shows that the European regulatory system leads to greater complications in the field of energy management than in other global regions, where railways are also important for the economy. Due to these limitations, rail operators use indirect methods to measure energy efficiency. Results indicate that although energy efficiency improvements are being achieved, they are mainly due to organizational measures and not technological ones as could be expected based on previous research.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4343
Author(s):  
Dan Wu ◽  
Ching-Cheng Lu ◽  
Xiang Chen ◽  
Pei-Chieh Tu ◽  
An-Chi Yang ◽  
...  

This study introduces the translation adjustment model of Seiford and Zhu (2002) into dynamic DEA models to measure and analyze the dynamic energy efficiency of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies from 2010 to 2014. The APEC economies are divided into annual energy and overall energy efficiency ratings, and improvement directions are proposed for the different variables. With the proposal of magnitude, this study discusses the changes in intertemporal conversion variables and proposes suggestions for improvement. Finally, this study analyzes the implications of energy investment and the efficiency policies of APEC economies. The results show that economies with the lowest overall energy efficiency ratings have great potential for improvement. Reducing capital stock, labor, fossil fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions while increasing GDP can increase energy efficiency ratings. However, economies do not want to reduce the state’s capital stock, and labor and population birth adjustments are difficult. Energy efficiency can only start by adjusting the consumption of fossil fuels, CO2 emissions, and GDP. The results indicate that to improve energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, economies are expected to increase their GDP unless they enact cuts through policy and technical approaches, appropriately adjust their energy policies, and actively develop new energy technologies to effectively reduce CO2 emissions and achieve optimal energy efficiency.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radosław Wolniak ◽  
Sebastian Saniuk ◽  
Sandra Grabowska ◽  
Bożena Gajdzik

The steel sector is crucial for the national economy of Poland and the global economy. In response to the challenges of the global steel market and the need to increase the sector’s competitiveness, a number of actions have been taken to increase the energy efficiency of steel production. Based on the synthesis of the literature and our own research, we describe the issues related to energy efficiency and the Industry 4.0 concept. The main aim of this paper is to identify energy efficiency trends in enterprises, especially those that focus on increasing the energy efficiency of production processes, and to make recommendations for investment policy for the Polish steel sector in the era of Industry 4.0. To achieve our goals and answer the research question, we used data from 2000–2019 for the Polish steel industry. The calculations and models in this paper were made by using Gretl software. Using direct research, an econometric model was built that verified the hypothesis regarding the relationship between investment in new technologies and the energy efficiency of steel production. Future investment policies should take the implementation of Industry 4.0 tools in the steel sector into account, which, according to the authors, will measurably improve energy efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Colmore S. Christian

The island-nation of Dominica, 790 km2 in area, is located approximately 1126.5 km Southeast of Florida, USA. In the mid-1990s, Dominica embarked on developing the 183.5 km Waitukubuli National Trail (WNT), the first and only national trail model in the Eastern Caribbean. The 14-segment WNT, officially opened in May 2013, passes through some of the island’s most diverse landscapes. WNT was designed to link as many rural communities as possible and promote ecotourism and community socioeconomic development. Rehabilitation work continues on the WNT and the rest of Dominica, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria of 2017. This article, based primarily on a limited questionnaire survey, selected interviews, and literature review, explored the research question ‘What were the challenges faced by a small-island nation in the development of a National Trail? Five specific research objectives focused on the conceptualization, implementation challenges, partnerships fostered, national and sub-regional significance, and future outlook of the Trail were considered. Questionnaire respondents identified the island’s topography and negotiations with private landowners as significant trail construction challenges. A 100% of survey respondents anticipate that reliable funding to support timely maintenance would likely be a critical future issue. Some respondents identified marketing, public engagement, and visitor safety as potential issues. Face-to-face interviews found strong support for the WNT. The interviewees were confident that Dominica would realize sustainable socioeconomic benefits from the Trail. The article concludes with lessons learned and proposes strategies and research themes to ensure the Trail’s sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Villegas Vázquez ◽  
J C Leyva Chipol ◽  
K C Cervantes Gómez ◽  
S I Valencia Almeida ◽  
F G Márquez Celedonio ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Within the current context in our Mexico, major states of violence for women have been manifested on a daily basis without having any more reason than being female. Veracruz is the first place in feminicides in Mexico with a rate of 3.44 per 100 thousand women. Research question: What is the intensity of the violence committed and victimization in the courtship of young students of the Upper Middle level in the Veracruz - Boca del Río area, according to their gender? Material and Methods A cross-sectional, prospective, observational and analytical study was carried out from December to February 2020. Middle-high school students from the Veracruz-Boca del Río region were included, who had a dating relationship and were excluded those who did not accept to participate. The variable “violence committed and victimization in courtship” was quantified with the CADRI instrument. The spss v22 software was used, Sudent's T was calculated for independent samples, with statistical significance p < 0.05. Results 741 students were included. There was a prevalence of violence committed of 86.2% and victimization of 89.2%. Of the total number of students who suffered and committed violence, women occupy 66.3% and 66.7% respectively. There is a difference in the intensity of violence between women and men in verbal-emotional violence (4.5 ± 4.2 vs. 3.4 ± 3.4), physical violence (0.6 ± 1.3 vs. 0.36 ± 3.6) and violence in general (5.7 ± 5.7 vs 4.3 ± 4.8) (p < 0.05), while victimization scores do not make a difference between both genders (p > 0.05). The history of psychological and sexual violence in previous relationships, as well as sexual violence in daily life are more frequent in the female sex (p < 0.05) Conclusions The violence generated is more intense in women, however, they also have a history of having suffered violence more frequently in previous relationships and in their daily lives. Key messages Women suffer more aggressions at different stages of their lives, which may increase the risk to tolerate aggressions or be more aggressive or suffer mental health problems. We must study if the violence generated by women is a response to a previous aggression from their boyfriend.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Kotaro Tadano ◽  
Gangyan Li ◽  
Toshiharu Kagawa

Factories are increasingly reducing their air supply pressures in order to save energy. Hence, there is a growing demand for pneumatic booster valves to overcome the local pressure deficits in modern pneumatic systems. To further improve energy efficiency, a new type of booster valve with energy recovery (BVER) is proposed. The BVER principle is presented in detail, and a dimensionless mathematical model is established based on flow rate, gas state, and energy conservation. The mathematics model was transformed into a dimensionless model by accurately selecting the reference values. Subsequently the dimensionless characteristics of BVER were found. BVER energy efficiency is calculated based on air power. The boost ratio is found to be mainly affected by the operational parameters. Among the structural ones, the recovery/boost chamber area ratio and the sonic conductance of the chambers are the most influential. The boost ratio improves by 15%–25% compared to that of a booster valve without an energy recovery chamber. The efficiency increases by 5%–10% depending on the supply pressure. A mathematical model is validated by experiment, and this research provides a reference for booster valve optimisation and energy saving.


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