The impact of sensory learning modalities on children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in the perception of their school environment

Learning style models recognised that individuals differ in the sense learning modality of stimuli from which they best absorb, retain and process new information. The effect of sensory learning modalities on individual children’s sensitivity to sensory cues has so far been neglected. This paper reports on a study that sought to establish whether individual differences in children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in their perception of their school environmental features is influenced by their sensory learning modalities. Participants included Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils (N = 151) from four primary schools in South Gloucestershire, UK. The study used a child-friendly Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic questionnaire to establish children’s learning style modality. All children, independent of their learning style category, were exposed to three types of sensory cues, consisting of photo-safari, speech frequency and Global Positioning System. The analysis revealed that children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in their perception of school environmental features varied significantly between the three sensory learning modalities: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. The implications of these findings on research, policy and practice are discussed.     

Quantifying the sources of ozone, fine particulate matter, and regional haze in the Southeastern United States

A detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify the contributions of various emission sources to ozone (O₃), fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), and regional haze in the Southeastern United States. O₃ and particulate matter (PM) levels were estimated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system and light extinction values were calculated from modeled PM concentrations. First, the base case was established using the emission projections for the year 2009. Then, in each model run, SO₂, primary carbon (PC), NH₃, NO_x or VOC emissions from a particular source category in a certain geographic area were reduced by 30% and the responses were determined by calculating the difference between the results of the reduced emission case and the base case.The sensitivity of summertime O₃ to VOC emissions is small in the Southeast and ground-level NO_x controls are generally more beneficial than elevated NO_x controls (per unit mass of emissions reduced). SO₂ emission reduction is the most beneficial control strategy in reducing summertime PM_2.5 levels and improving visibility in the Southeast and electric generating utilities are the single largest source of SO₂. Controlling PC emissions can be very effective locally, especially in winter. Reducing NH₃ emissions is an effective strategy to reduce wintertime ammonium nitrate (NO₃NH₄) levels and improve visibility; NO_x emissions reductions are not as effective. The results presented here will help the development of specific emission control strategies for future attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in the region.     

A spatial multicriteria decision making tool to define the best agricultural areas for sewage sludge amendment

Sewage sludge amendment on agricultural soils has recently become a practice of heightened interest, as a consequence of sewage sludge production increase. This practice has benefits to soil and crops, however it may also lead to environmental contamination, depending on the characteristics of the fields. In order to define the suitability of the different agricultural fields to receive sewage sludge, a spatial tool is proposed. This tool, elaborated in GIS platform, aggregates different criteria regarding human exposure and environmental contamination.The spatial tool was applied to a case study in the region of Catalonia (NE of Spain). Within the case study, each step of the tool development is detailed. The results show that the studied region has different suitability degrees, being the appropriate areas sufficient for receiving the total amount of sewage sludge produced. The sensitivity analysis showed that “groundwater contamination”, “distance to urban areas”, “metals concentration in soil” and “crop type” are the most important criteria of the evaluation.The developed tool successfully tackled the problem, providing a comprehensive procedure to evaluate agricultural land suitability to receive sewage sludge as an organic fertilizer. Also, the tool implementation gives insights to decision makers, guiding them to more confident decisions, based on an extensive group of criteria.     

Applications of fuzzy faulty tree analysis and expert elicitation for evaluation of risks in LPG refuelling station

A method is presented for analysis of reliability of complex engineering systems using information from fault tree analysis and uncertainty/imprecision of data. Fuzzy logic is a mathematical tool to model inaccuracy and uncertainty of the real world and human thinking. The method can address subjective, qualitative, and quantitative uncertainties involving risk analysis. Risk analysis with all the inherent uncertainties is a prime candidate for Fuzzy Logic application. Fuzzy logic combined with expert elicitation is employed in order to deal with vagueness of the data, to effectively generate basic event failure probabilities without reliance on quantitative historical failure data through qualitative data processing.The proposed model is able to quantify the fault tree of LPG refuelling facility in the absence or existence of data. This paper also illustrates the use of importance measures in sensitivity analysis. The result demonstrates that the approach is an apposite for the probabilistic reliability approach when quantitative historical failure data are unavailable. The research results can help professionals to decide whether and where to take preventive or corrective actions and help informed decision-making in the risk management process.     

Response of the buried steel pipeline caused by perilous rock impact: Parametric study

One of threatening buried steel pipeline in bad geological regions is collapsed rock. Buckling behavior of a buried pipeline impacted by a perilous rock with spherical shape was investigated by numerical simulation. Effects of pipeline parameters (internal pressure, wall thickness, diameter, buried depth) and perilous rock parameters (impact velocity, radius, eccentric distance) on deformation, stress and strain of the buried pipeline were discussed. Buckling behaviors of the buried pipeline under transverse and longitudinal inclined impacts also were studied. The results show that cross section shape of the buried pipeline becomes to an oval, then to a peach shape, and finally to a crescent shape or gourd shape in the process of rock’s impact. The deformation process of a buried pipeline can be divided into four stages. They are elastic deformation stage, buckling stage, elastic recovery stage and final deformation stage. Buckling mode of no-pressure pipeline is more serious than the pressure pipeline. The impact dent’s length and depth increase with the decreasing of buried depth, wall thickness and internal pressure. But they increase with the increasing of impact velocity, perilous rock’s radius and pipeline’s diameter. The maximum stress and plastic strain decrease with the increasing of buried depth and wall thickness. Under rock’s eccentric impact, impact dent trends to one side. Stress and plastic deformation decrease with the eccentric distance increases. Under rock’s transverse and longitudinal inclined impacts, cross section shape of the buried pipeline is an oval shape when the incidence angle α ≤ 45°, and there is no plastic deformation. When α > 45°, impact dent appears. Buckling is more serious with the incidence angle increases. Destructive powers of transverse and longitudinal inclined impacts are smaller than the vertical impact.     

The utility of behavioral studies for aquatic toxicology testing: A meta-analysis

Behavioral responses have been applied for decades as tools for aquatic toxicity testing, but have received far less attention than studies assessing lethality, development or reproduction. With improved visual and non-visual assessment tools and increased knowledge of the importance of behavior for organism health and fitness, interest in behavioral analysis has increased in recent years. However, to our knowledge there has never been a quantitative assessment of the available techniques for organismal toxicity testing, so it is not clear whether behavioral studies represent valuable additions to environmental monitoring. We performed a meta-analysis comparing the relative sensitivities and average durations of behavioral studies to those assessing acute lethality, development and reproduction. Results demonstrate that the average duration of behavioral studies is consistently less than developmental or reproductive studies, and that behavioral endpoints are generally more sensitive than those assessing development or reproduction. We found effect sizes to be lower but power to be higher in behavioral and reproductive studies compared to studies assessing development, which likely relates to low sample sizes commonly used in developmental studies. Overall, we conclude that behavioral studies are comparatively fast and sensitive, and therefore warrant further attention as tools for assessing the toxicological effects of environmental contaminants. We suggest that research aimed at developing and optimizing techniques for behavioral analysis could prove extremely useful to the field of toxicology, but that future work must be directed at determining what specific behaviors are most sensitive to various classes of contaminants, and at understanding the relevance of changes to discrete behaviors for influencing organismal and population-level health and fitness.     

Uncertainty evaluation in air quality planning decisions: a case study for Northern Italy

In recent years, evaluating the robustness of environmental models results has become essential in order to effectively support decision makers to define suitable emission control strategies. This evaluation is performed in literature through uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. Therefore, the application of such methodologies to air quality Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) is extremely challenging. In fact, in this case uncertainty and sensitivity analyses should be assessed not only for each single component of the system, but also for the overall IAM. In the paper, an attempt is made to extend and systematize the information available on uncertainty/sensitivity analysis, at first considering environmental models in general, and then focusing on air quality IAMs. The study aims to offer a tentative framework addressed to modelers and decision makers in the implementation of IAM and evaluation of its results. The framework has been tested on Lombardy region (Northern Italy). The results show how the uncertainty on Drivers of emissions propagates on the whole modelling chain characterizing an integrated assessment study.