The residential sector in Ireland accounted for 25 per cent of energy related CO2 emissions in 2016 through burning fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change. In support…
Abstract
Purpose
The residential sector in Ireland accounted for 25 per cent of energy related CO2 emissions in 2016 through burning fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change. In support of Ireland’s CO2 reduction targets, the existing housing stock could contribute greatly to the reduction of space-heating energy demand through retrofit. Approximately 50 per cent of Ireland’s 2m dwellings pre-date building regulations and are predominantly of cavity and solid wall construction, the performance of which has not been extensively investigated at present. Although commitment to thermal upgrade/retrofit of existing buildings may increase under future government policies, the poor characterisation of actual thermal performance of external walls may hinder the realisation of these targets. Thermal transmittance (U-values) of exterior walls represents a source of uncertainty when estimating the energy performance of dwellings. It has been noted in research that the standard calculation methodology for thermal transmittance should be improved. Implementing current U-value calculation methods may result in misguided retrofit strategies due to the considerable discrepancies between in situ measurements and calculated wall U-values as documented in the case studies carried out in this research. If the method of hygrothermal analysis were to be employed as a replacement for the current standard calculation, it could have significant implications for policy and retrofit decision making. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This research project analysed a case study situated in Dublin, Ireland. The case studies offer an account of the in situ thermal transmittance of exterior walls and link these to hygrothermally simulated comparisons along with more traditional design U-values.
Findings
The findings of this research identify discrepancies between in situ and design U-values, using measurement, hygrothermal simulation and standard method U-value calculations. The outcomes of the research serve as an introduction to issues emanating from a larger research project in order to encourage researchers to understand and further explore the topic.
Originality/value
It has previously been highlighted that moisture content is linked to the increase in thermal conductivity of building materials, thus reducing the thermal effectiveness and increasing the elemental U-value. Therefore, it is vital to implement reliable prediction tools to assess potential thermal performance values. This paper presents the findings of a critical instance case study in Dublin, Ireland in which an existing west facing external wall in a semi-detached dwelling was analysed, simulated and measured to verify the elemental wall assembly and quantify thermal transmittance (U-value) incorporating the major criteria required for building performance simulation.
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Lance Brennan, Les Heathcote and Anton Lucas
This paper attempts to understand how the interaction of natural disasters and human behaviour during wartime led to famines in three regions under imperial control around the…
Abstract
This paper attempts to understand how the interaction of natural disasters and human behaviour during wartime led to famines in three regions under imperial control around the Indian Ocean. The socio-economic structure of these regions had been increasingly differentiated over the period of imperial rule, with large proportions of their populations relying on agricultural labour for their subsistence.
Before the war, food crises in each of the regions had been met by the private importation of grain from national or overseas surplus regions: the grain had been made available through a range of systems, the most complex of which was the Bengal Famine Code in which the able-bodied had to work before receiving money to buy food in the market.
During the Second World War, the loss of control of normal sources of imported grain, the destruction of shipping in the Indian Ocean (by both sides) and the military demands on internal transport systems prevented the use of traditional famine responses when natural events affected grain supply in each of the regions. These circumstances drew the governments into attempts to control their own grain markets.
The food crises raised complex ethical and practical issues for the governments charged with their solution. The most significant of these was that the British Government could have attempted to ship wheat to Bengal but, having lost naval control of the Indian Ocean in 1942 and needing warships in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1943 chose to ignore the needs of the people of Bengal, focussing instead on winning the war.
In each of the regions governments allowed/encouraged the balkanisation of the grain supply – at times down to the sub-district level – which at times served to produce waste and corruption, and opened the way for black markets as various groups (inside and outside government ranks) manipulated the local supply.
People were affected in different ways by the changes brought about by the war: some benefitted if their role was important to the war-effort; others suffered. The effect of this was multiplied by the way each government ‘solved’ its financial problems by – in essence – printing money.
Because of the natural events of the period, there would have been food crises in these regions without World War II, but decisions made in the light of wartime exigencies and opportunities turned crises into famines, causing the loss of millions of lives.
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Laura K. Taylor and Jeffrey R. Hanna
The purpose of this paper is to explore altruism born of suffering (ABS), a theory that explains how the experience of suffering within one’s own life may result in the motivation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore altruism born of suffering (ABS), a theory that explains how the experience of suffering within one’s own life may result in the motivation to help others, even outgroup members.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were 186 emerging adults (63 per cent female, 37 per cent male; 69 per cent Protestant, 41 per cent Catholic; average age =21.3, SD=2.57 years old) in Northern Ireland, a setting of protracted intergroup conflict. Participants were randomly assigned to an in/outgroup condition, read four types of adversity that occurred to same-sex victim(s), and indicated their empathetic response and how much they would like to help the victims.
Findings
Moderated mediation analyses revealed that empathy for the victim partially mediated the impact of perceived harm on desire to help; moreover, recent negative life events strengthened the link between harm and empathy. The path between empathy and helping was stronger in the outgroup compared to the ingroup condition.
Practical implications
These findings support ABS, highlighting empathy as a key factor underlying more constructive intergroup relations in a divided society.
Originality/value
This paper extends previous research on ABS by focusing on a post-accord context. The value of the current analyses demonstrate the important role of fostering empathy to promote outgroup helping in settings of divisive group identities.
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Ranjan Chaudhuri, Sheshadri Chatterjee, Alkis Thrassou and Demetris Vrontis
The purpose of this study is to determine the antecedents of obesity among the younger generation of Indians (Generation Y) from a psychological and lifestyle consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the antecedents of obesity among the younger generation of Indians (Generation Y) from a psychological and lifestyle consumer perspective. The study also investigates the moderating role of demography on the body mass index (BMI) of Indian youths.
Design/methodology/approach
The study initially develops a conceptual model, stemming from an extensive theoretical research, and subsequently validates this using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique with a sample size of 1,242 Indian youths.
Findings
The study concludes that consumers' food habits (FH) and physical activity (PA) positively impact consumers' physical health (PH), which influences their BMI levels (BLs). Anxiety (AX), depression (DE), stress (ST), peer pressure (PP) and work pressure (WP) impact individuals' mental health (MH), which also influences their BLs. Finally, there is a significant moderating impact of demographic factors, such as age (AG), gender (GE) and income levels (ILs) on the relationship between individuals' physical and MH and individuals' BLs.
Research limitations/implications
This study proposes a new model which highlights the issue of youth consumer obesity from the psychological and lifestyle perspectives. The model is effective as it has a high explanative power of 73%. The study investigates consumer obesity from emerging market like India perspective, but the study does not examine consumer food consumption behavior and obesity from developed market perspective.
Practical implications
Youth obesity could be considered a global pandemic, and obesity rates among the Indian youth are also increasing. This study provides valuable inputs and understanding of consumer markets to policy makers, consumer protection institutions, organizations related to the food and beverage industry, healthcare workers and consumers themselves regarding the antecedents of youth obesity (BL) in developing and emerging markets.
Originality/value
The study adds value to the body of literature related to consumer obesity, FH, consumer psychology and lifestyle through findings that are new in terms of findings' specificity, contextual focus and explication. Moreover, the study extends the cognitive theory of DE and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The research effectively offers significant theoretical and practicable market knowledge to both scholars and marketing practitioners, as well as policy makers and institutions dealing with youth obesity, particularly in emerging markets.