Smarter Cities: Cleaning Electricity, Gas and Water Metered Consumption Data for Social and Urban Research

It is claimed that ‘Big Data’ could help cities become ‘smart’, utilise resources more efficiently, and improve inhabitants’ quality of life. Metered consumption data of electricity, gas and water are collected and stored for each household in Australia and provide a valuable source of information for researchers hoping to understand the patterns of consumption and improve resource utilisation. This work tests the assumption that these datasets are sufficiently ‘clean’ to allow interrogation and details the common errors encountered. An inspection of 1-7 years of meter readings of electricity, gas and water for ~60,000 households in Canberra, Australia as well as all datasets of the local government’s energy and water efficiency programs, found this not to be the case. Common errors found include: missing data, biases in erroneous data, errors generated by the data custodians, duplicate entries, the effect of different custodian objectives and of poor data constraints (free flowing text).This work was supported by the ACT Government Environment and Planning Directorate

Proposing A Web-Based Interactive Module for Education for Sustainable Development in English for Computer Science

English for Computer Science (ECS), as part of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), is designed to teach students the English required in computer science. In this paper, the writers proposed to incorporate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into ECS to encourage student engagement by presenting current concerns relevant to their life experiences. The work is a position paper in which the writers argue for the importance of building a web-based interactive module for ESD in ECS. Our arguments are supported in the following sections; English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), English for Computer Science (ECS), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Instructional Material limited to Module and E-Module, and related research. The writers propose developing an interactive web-based module for ESD in ECS so that students have more fun while they are studying. It is anticipated that students will be able to study the module at their own pace and according to their capabilities. This module is paperless; it contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As instructional materials, the module will also assist ECS students in overcoming classroom time constraints and relating what they learn to future concerns, careers, and professionalism