The guessing of mine safety signs meaning: effects of user factors and cognitive sign features

This study investigated the effects of user factors and cognitive sign features on the guessability of mine safety signs. Sixty na?ve participants guessed the meanings and rated the cognitive sign features of 42 Mainland Chinese mine safety signs. The results showed that some user factors were significant predictors of guessing performance, while some were not. As expected, guessability scores varied significantly with the cognitive sign features of familiarity, concreteness, simplicity, meaningfulness and semantic closeness. The findings emphasize the need to create awareness of the importance of mine safety and promote understanding of mine safety sign meanings amongst people in their work environments. To design more user-friendly mine safety signs, industrial designers should develop and evaluate signs with consideration of the significant user factors and the 5 sign features tested here.     

Perspectives on area-based conservation and its meaning for future biodiversity policy

During 2021, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are expected to meet in Kunming, China, to agree on a new global biodiversity framework aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss, encouraging the sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensuring the equitable sharing of its benefits. As the post-2020 global biodiversity framework evolves, parties to the convention are being exposed to a range of perspectives on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, relating to the future framework as a whole or to aspects of it. Area-based conservation measures are one such aspect, and there are diverse perspectives on how new targets might be framed in relation to these measures. These perspectives represent different outlooks on the relationship between human and nonhuman life on Earth. However, in most cases there is a lack of clarity on how they would be implemented in practice, the implications this would have for biodiversity and human well-being, and how they would contribute to achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity of “living in harmony with nature.” We sought to clarify these issues by summarizing some of these perspectives in relation to the future of area-based biodiversity conservation. We identified these perspectives through a review of the literature and expert consultation workshops and compiled them into 4 main groups: Aichi+, ambitious area-based conservation perspectives, new conservation, and whole-earth conservation. We found that although the perspectives Aichi+ and whole earth are in some cases at odds with one another, they also have commonalities, and all perspectives have elements that can contribute to developing and implementing the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and achieving the longer term CBD 2050 Vision.     

The fate and transport of arsenic species in the aquatic ecosystem: a case study on Bestari Jaya,Peninsular Malaysia

The field of arsenic pollution research has grown rapidly in recent years. Arsenic constitutes a broad range of elements from the Earth’s crust and is released into the environment from both anthropogenic and natural sources due to its relative mobility under different redox conditions. The toxicity of arsenic is described in its inorganic form, as inorganic arsenic compounds can leach into different environments. Sampling was carried out in the Bestari Jaya catchment while using a land use map to locate the site, and experiments were conducted via sequential extraction and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy to quantify proportions of arsenic in the sediment samples. The results show that metals in sediments of nonresidual fractions, which are more likely to be likely released into aquatic environments, are more plentiful than the residual sediment fractions. These findings support the mobility of heavy metals and especially arsenic through sediment layers, which can facilitate remediation in environments heavily polluted with heavy metals.     

Assessment of personal integrated exposure to fine particulate matter of urban residents in Hong Kong

Metropolitan residents are concerned about their exposure to airborne pollutants. But establishing these exposures is challenging. A compact personal exposure kit (PEK) was developed to evaluate personal integrated exposure (PIE) from time-resolved data to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) in five microenvironments, including office, home, commuting, other indoor activities (other than home and office), and outdoor activities experienced both on weekdays and weekends. The study was conducted in Hong Kong. The PEK measured PM_2.5, reported location and several other factors, stored collected data, as well as reported the data back to the investigators using global system for mobile communication (GSM) telemetry. Generally, PM_2.5 concentrations in office microenvironment were found to be the smallest (13.0 μg/m³), whereas the largest PM_2.5 concentration microenvironments were experienced during outdoor activities (54.4 μg/m³). Participants spent more than 85% of their time indoors, including in offices, homes, and other public indoor venues. On average, 42% and 81% of the time were spent in homes, which contributed 52% and 79% of PIE (during weekdays and weekends, respectively), suggesting that improvement of air quality in homes may reduce overall exposures and indicating the need for actions to mitigate possible public health burdens in Hong Kong. This study also found that various indoor/outdoor microenvironments experienced by urban office workers cannot be accurately represented by general urban air quality data reported from the regulatory monitoring. Such personalized air quality information, especially while in transit or in offices and homes, may provide improved information on population exposures to air pollution.

Implications: A newly developed personal exposure kit (PEK) was used to monitor PM_2.5 exposure of metropolitan citizens in their daily life. Different microenvironments and time durations caused various personal integrated exposure (PIE). The stationary monitoring method for PIE was also compared and evaluated with PEK. Positive protection actions can be taken after understanding the major contribution to PM_2.5 exposure.     

Satisfying shoppers’ psychological needs: From public market to cyber-mall

In many cities in North America and Europe, shopping centres are replacing the traditional high street shops. At the same time, electronic shopping is growing rapidly. In this paper, the results of a literature review of environment–behaviour research on shopping and shopping environments (e.g., farmer's markets, shopping centres, and electronic shopping) are presented. The focus of analysis is on how the physical features (e.g., layout and background music) influence shoppers’ experiences, and on how well these environments satisfy the psychological needs of their shoppers (e.g., social interaction, sensory stimulation, and security and comfort). Any implications for environmental design, and the future of shopping environments are discussed. A conceptual framework and suggestions for future research are proposed.     

The System Dynamics of Nuclear Energy in Singapore

In this article, a system dynamics model is developed to study the complex issues involving nuclear energy in Singapore by assessing four essential aspects, namely (1) Economic, (2) Environment, (3) Social, and (4) Political in various scenarios. The first factor juxtaposes the monetary benefit from deploying nuclear energy with the current situation. The second deals with carbon dioxide emission, nuclear waste, and thermal pollution from nuclear power plant. The third part discusses the safety and social acceptance toward nuclear project, and the last section analyzes the political stability in provision of nuclear energy advent. The proposed system dynamic model incorporates all four components that allow us to run sensitivity analysis based on various scenarios and enables us to gain insight in how each domain evolves with time. Based on the model, we present advantages and disadvantages of possessing nuclear power plants in Singapore and suggest remedies to rectify the drawbacks.