Evaluation of urban sustainability based on transportation and green spaces: the case of Limassol, Cyprus

Promoting urban sustainability has been on the agenda of researchers, planners, and policymakers. This paper uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to evaluate the sustainability of the Cypriot city of Limassol through transportation and green spaces indicators. The quantitative approach relies on a geostatistical evaluation of six indicators to describe the transportation sector and the proximity and provision of urban green spaces. The qualitative approach is based on a questionnaire (N = 387) conducted in the city. Results showed that car trips represent more than 90% of the modal share, and around 90% of the city’s transportation infrastructure is designed for cars. In terms of urban green spaces, only 5% of the areas with the highest population density are within 300 m of a green space > 2 ha. The questionnaire confirmed that 71% of the residents are not satisfied with the conditions provided by the city to walk and cycle, while 76% are not satisfied with the green spaces available in the city. This study contributes to informing planners and decision-makers about the need to promote walking, cycling, and greening policies to make Limassol and other similar cities more sustainable.(undefined

Humans and nature relationship : images and text of ecology and environmental education

The present study investigated whether and how ecology and environmental education (EEE) affects the understanding of the Human-Nature relationship by images and historical, ethical and socio-economical textual information existing in textbooks targeting 14-15-year old children. Four subtopics - Uses of Resources; Pollution; Biodiversity; Ecosystems and Cycles – from textbooks of 15 different European and African countries were specifically selected, analyzed and comparisons were made. Results indicated that ecocentrism is the starting position. Historical, ethical and socio-economical dimensions relating to EEE is usually poor. There were also limited references to juridical norms and international agreements concerning environmental protection, biodiversity and sustainability issues.European Project FP6 Biohead-Citizen CIT2-CT-2004-506015.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - LIBEC/CIFPEC - Unidade de investigação (16/644)

Images of twins and the notion of the genetic program in the school textbooks of biology: a comparative study held among 15 countries

Genetic concepts have been strongly evolved during these last ten years, and have been found less connected to reductionist or hereditarist values. The aim of the specific research was to analyze and identify if the current school textbooks of biology ensue this progress, in the way the topic “human genetics” is taught in the textbooks of 15 different countries. Results show that the notion of the genetic program remained central in some countries, while it fades behind the notion of genetic information in some others. In addition, almost all the twins’ pictures demonstrate the following pattern: they are identically dressed and they have the same hairstyle, which gives evidence of a strong obstinacy of a determinist reductionist ideology.European project FP6 Biohead-Citizen CIT2-CT-2004-506015.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - LIBEC/CIFPEC - Unidade de investigação (16/644)

Saving energy in the workplace: why, and for whom?

Saving energy at work might be considered altruistic, because often no personal benefits accrue. However, we consider the possibility that it can be a form of impure-altruism in that the individual experiences some rewards. We develop a scale to measure motivations to save energy at work and test its predictive power for energy-saving intentions and sustainable choices. In two studies (N = 293 and N = 94) motivations towards helping their organization and the planet were rated as important motivations, as was warm-glow (feeling good), indicating that impure-altruism does exist in this context. Energy saving was predicted by environmental concern and the desire to help one's organization. Notably, the stronger the motivations to promote one's reputation were, the weaker was the intention to save energy. Promoting motivations, particularly those that focus on benefits to the organization, may be an effective addition to environmental messages typically used as motivations in campaigns

A socio-technical approach to improving retail energy efficiency behaviours

In recent years, the UK retail sector has made a significant contribution to societal responses on carbon reduction. We provide a novel and timely examination of environmental sustainability from a systems perspective, exploring how energy-related technologies and strategies are incorporated into organisational life. We use a longitudinal case study approach, looking at behavioural energy efficiency from within one of the UK's leading retailers. Our data covers a two-year period, with qualitative data from a total of 131 participants gathered using phased interviews and focus groups. We introduce an adapted socio-technical framework approach in order to describe an existing organisational behavioural strategy to support retail energy efficiency. Our findings point to crucial socio-technical and goal-setting factors which both impede and/or enable energy efficient behaviours, these include: tensions linked to store level perception of energy management goals; an emphasis on the importance of technology for underpinning change processes; and, the need for feedback and incentives to support the completion of energy-related tasks. We also describe the evolution of a practical operational intervention designed to address issues raised in our findings. Our study provides fresh insights into how sustainable workplace behaviours can be achieved and sustained over time. Secondly, we discuss in detail a set of issues arising from goal conflict in the workplace; these include the development of a practical energy management strategy to facilitate secondary organisational goals through job redesign

Intervening to change behaviour and save energy in the workplace: a systematic review of available evidence

Workplaces worldwide are a major source of carbon emissions and changing energy use behaviour in these environments has the capacity for large carbon savings. This paper reviews and synthesises empirical evidence to identify what types of behaviour change intervention are most successful at saving energy in an office-type workplace. We draw on the field of health-related behaviour change interventions and adopt the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al., 2014) as a framework through which to assess the success of the interventions reviewed here (n = 22 studies). We find that interventions creating social and physical opportunities for employees to save energy are the most successful i.e. which constitute Enablement (including direct support and greater control to employees), Environmental Restructuring (particularly automated and retrofitted technologies) and Modelling (various forms of social influence). The communal nature of most workplaces demands scrutiny to understand the effect of social influences. We provide recommendations for future research, including the need to consider forms of intervention not yet researched; Coercion, Restriction, and Training. We conclude by calling for further, well evaluated, energy saving behavioural interventions in a variety of workplaces to identify those techniques which offer the greatest success in saving energy and thus reducing carbon emissions

Occupant productivity and office indoor environment quality : a review of the literature

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature to draw an understanding of the relationship between indoor environmental quality and occupant productivity in an office environment. The study reviews over 300 papers from 67 journals, conference articles and books focusing on indoor environment, occupant comfort, productivity and green buildings. It limits its focus to the physical aspects of an office environment. The literature outlines eight Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) factors that influence occupant productivity in an office environment. It also discusses different physical parameters under each of the IEQ factors. It proposes a conceptual model of different factors affecting occupant productivity. The study also presents a review of the data collection methods utilised by the research studies that aim to investigate the relationship between IEQ and occupant productivity. The study presents a comprehensive discussion and analysis of different IEQ factors that affect occupant productivity. The paper provides a concise starting point for future researchers interested in the area of indoor environmental quality

Examining the association between users creative thinking and field dependence-independence cognitive style through eye movement components

This eye tracking study investigated the association between individuals' field dependence - independence cognitive style and level of creative thinking based on users' eye movement behaviour while interacting with a set of visual perceptual tasks. Subjects FD-I cognitive style and creativity were measured with the use of the Hidden Figures Test (HFT) and Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The psychometric methods and the eye tracking-derived data were statistically examined demonstrating a relationship between users' cognitive style, creativity attributes and eye gaze behaviour. This research study adds further to the evidence and theory base of Human-computer interaction for applications in the user-centred design and suggests future directions for research

Using Eye Tracking and Electroencephalography to assess and evaluate students' cognitive dimensions

Field dependence-independence (FD/FI) is an important dimension of cognitive styles. The current thesis seeks to identify individuals' level of field independence during visual stimulus tasks processing. It intends to examine brain signals with the use of the EEG neuroimaging method and the eye tracking device. Specifically, it aims to value the relationship between the Hidden Figure Test (HFT) scores, the Eye Tracking metrics and the EEG brain signals device by examine whether and how humans' cognitive behaviour (cognitive abilities) can be identified and clarified through the two cutting edge technologies. Additionally, it seeks to investigate if differences exist among the cognitive groups on a sample of students retrieved from a Public University in Cyprus. The progress achieved so far is outlined and further agenda of the work-in-progress is addressed