Factors Influencing Households’ Intention to Adopt Solar PV : A Systematic Review

Rising energy needs, concerns of energy security, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, climate change phenomenon and a push to utilize indigenous sources for energy generation purposes has encouraged the use of solar photovoltaics (PV). The technological advancements of the recent past, improvement in technologies’ performance, reduction in the prices, policy and regulatory support, and its applicability at household level has made solar energy as a preferred form of energy generation. However, despite its rapid diffusion, it is widely believed that its current application is insignificant compared to its potential. This leads us to ask why solar PV has not been adopted to the level it should have. The existing literature has highlighted a number of factors affecting solar PV adoption. This paper systematically reviews the literature to identify the factors that have been instrumental to solar PV adoption. By exploring the Scopus database, this research identifies 39 articles matching the study objectives. Findings of this research will help academics, technology companies and policymakers in understanding the factors influencing the process and proposing solutions to address these.©2020 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Leadership. AHFE 2020. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50791-6_36fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

The Economic Value of Environmental Services on Indigenous-Held Lands in Australia

Australians could be willing to pay from $878m to$2b per year for Indigenous people to provide environmental services. This is up to 50 times the amount currently invested by government. This result was derived from a nationwide survey that included a choice experiment in which 70% of the 927 respondents were willing to contribute to a conservation fund that directly pays Indigenous people to carry out conservation activities. Of these the highest values were found for benefits that are likely to improve biodiversity outcomes, carbon emission reductions and improved recreational values. Of the activities that could be undertaken to provide the services, feral animal control attracted the highest level of support followed by coastal surveillance, weed control and fire management. Respondents' decisions to pay were not greatly influenced by the additional social benefits that can arise for Indigenous people spending time on country and providing the services, although there was approval for reduced welfare payments that might arise

Anterior shear strength of the porcine lumbar spine after laminectomy and partial facetectomy

Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis is the most common reason for lumbar surgery in patients in the age of 65 years and older. The standard surgical management is decompression of the spinal canal by laminectomy and partial facetectomy. The effect of this procedure on the shear strength of the spine has not yet been investigated in vitro. In the present study we determined the ultimate shear force to failure, the displacement and the shear stiffness after performing a laminectomy and a partial facetectomy. Eight lumbar spines of domestic pigs (7 months old) were sectioned to obtain eight L2–L3 and eight L4–L5 motion segments. All segments were loaded with a compression force of 1,600 N. In half of the 16 motion segments a laminectomy and a 50% partial facetectomy were applied. The median ultimate shear force to failure with laminectomy and partial facetectomy was 1,645 N (range 1,066–1,985) which was significantly smaller (p = 0.012) than the ultimate shear force to failure of the control segments (median 2,113, range 1,338–2,659). The median shear stiffness was 197.4 N/mm (range 119.2–216.7) with laminectomy and partial facetectomy which was significantly (p = 0.036) smaller than the stiffness of the control specimens (median 216.5, 188.1–250.2). It was concluded that laminectomy and partial facetectomy resulted in 22% reduction in ultimate shear force to failure and 9% reduction in shear stiffness. Although relatively small, these effects may explain why patients have an increased risk of sustaining shear force related vertebral fractures after spinal decompression surgery

Biomechanical analysis of the lumbar spine on facet joint force and intradiscal pressure - a finite element study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Finite element analysis results will show significant differences if the model used is performed under various material properties, geometries, loading modes or other conditions. This study adopted an FE model, taking into account the possible asymmetry inherently existing in the spine with respect to the sagittal plane, with a more geometrically realistic outline to analyze and compare the biomechanical behaviour of the lumbar spine with regard to the facet force and intradiscal pressure, which are associated with low back pain symptoms and other spinal disorders. Dealing carefully with the contact surfaces of the facet joints at various levels of the lumbar spine can potentially help us further ascertain physiological behaviour concerning the frictional effects of facet joints under separate loadings or the responses to the compressive loads in the discs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A lumbar spine model was constructed from processes including smoothing the bony outline of each scan image, stacking the boundary lines into a smooth surface model, and subsequent further processing in order to conform with the purpose of effective finite element analysis performance. For simplicity, most spinal components were modelled as isotropic and linear materials with the exception of spinal ligaments (bilinear). The contact behaviour of the facet joints and changes of the intradiscal pressure with different postures were analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results revealed that asymmetric responses of the facet joint forces exist in various postures and that such effect is amplified with larger loadings. In axial rotation, the facet joint forces were relatively larger in the contralateral facet joints than in the ipsilateral ones at the same level. Although the effect of the preloads on facet joint forces was not apparent, intradiscal pressure did increase with preload, and its magnitude increased more markedly in flexion than in extension and axial rotation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Disc pressures showed a significant increase with preload and changed more noticeably in flexion than in extension or in axial rotation. Compared with the applied preloads, the postures played a more important role, especially in axial rotation; the facet joint forces were increased in the contralateral facet joints as compared to the ipsilateral ones at the same level of the lumbar spine.</p

Natural hazards in Australia: heatwaves

As part of a special issue on natural hazards, this paper reviews the current state of scientific knowledge of Australian heatwaves. Over recent years, progress has been made in understanding both the causes of and changes to heatwaves. Relationships between atmospheric heatwaves and large-scale and synoptic variability have been identified, with increasing trends in heatwave intensity, frequency and duration projected to continue throughout the 21st century. However, more research is required to further our understanding of the dynamical interactions of atmospheric heatwaves, particularly with the land surface. Research into marine heatwaves is still in its infancy, with little known about driving mechanisms, and observed and future changes. In order to address these knowledge gaps, recommendations include: focusing on a comprehensive assessment of atmospheric heatwave dynamics; understanding links with droughts; working towards a unified measurement framework; and investigating observed and future trends in marine heatwaves. Such work requires comprehensive and long-term collaboration activities. However, benefits will extend to the international community, thus addressing global grand challenges surrounding these extreme events

Understanding the role of natural hazards in internal labour mobility in Australia

Australia is among the countries most exposed to natural hazards, particularly wildfire, cyclones, floods and heat waves. Natural disasters are expected to increase in frequency and severity as climate changes. For some people, the increase in risk from these disasters is a reason to move away from certain places or avoid others. Contemporary migration literature has largely ignored environmental factors for mobility, concentrating instead on economic and amenity or lifestyle factors. In this study we fill this gap by exploring the extent to which people in Australia consider natural hazards in their location choices and mobility decisions. Results from a survey using best-worst scaling showed that non-environmental factors prevail, with safety from crime the factor people consider most important when moving somewhere for a new job, followed by living costs and provision of adequate health care. Environmental factors were secondary in people's migration decisions but more important than attractive scenery and educational opportunities. The reasons people in Australia are not particularly dissuaded from moving to places where the prospects of good employment opportunities are high even though they risk the effects of natural disasters, might be a belief in their ability to cope with the disasters should they occur (self-efficacy). Among the environmental factors, high wildfire risk was most important in people's migration decisions, even though the survey was conducted before the devastating wildfires in 2019/20 which were unprecedented in their extent and severity. Wildfires might since have become more important in people's migration decisions, leading to long-term demographic change if people start avoiding high fire risk regions

Breeding practices of indigenous pig genetic resources in Communal Production Systems of South Africa

Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected] Wetenskapp

Diurnal heat-related physiological and behavioural responses in South African indigenous gilts

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]