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This self-reflective article considers the support mechanisms from which new lecturers from a teaching background may benefit upon their entry to academia. The concept of academic identity is explored and the suggestion of a continually evolving professional identity is discussed. Emergent themes of reciprocity and critical friendship, team teaching and personal skills and qualities are examined. The framework for this article is the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework and recommendations for higher education practice are made in support of this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, China implemented market-oriented reforms to its electric power industry, aimed at improving the generation efficiency of its thermal power plants. In this paper, we use the polynomial functions, PLS (partial least squares) algorithm, and generation efficiency data from 1993 to 2012 to evaluate the effect of these reforms. Empirical analysis shows that the reforms caused a sudden down shift of 0.142 kW h per kg SCE (standard coal equivalent) to the “natural” generation efficiency curve of the thermal power industry, resulting in 555.8 million tons of SCE of wasted fossil energy during 2003–2012. This was mainly due to the non-implementation of electricity price bidding. To improve the generation efficiency of the thermal power plants, market competition should be further introduced into China's electric power industry as a matter of urgency. The major policy adjustment directions include: a) Electricity price bidding should be promoted by sub-region according to the unified trading rules designed by the central government; b) Over-the-counter transaction should be permitted; as well as c) Dynamic incentive mechanisms for renewable energy development should be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated control of consumer electricity loads, or active demand (AD) management, is a key component of many smart grid futures. Within the sociology of expectations, expectations define the future role and responsibilities of actors with respect to a new technology and in so doing set a trajectory for design and development. This paper explores the expectations of the behaviour of end users, envisaged by the designers and engineers of an AD project. Three main themes emerge. The first theme is that designers situate the new technology in an electricity consumption ideal, where households harmonise daily routines to service electricity retail markets. In the second theme, AD is aligned to new technological landscapes and enhanced through digital innovations. These visions are crucial for achieving the third theme, namely economically rational consumers. For widespread adoption of AD, however, the technology needs to be designed for real, as opposed to ideal users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

'Are you going to tell me off for flying?' This question was asked three times by a lady in South Manchester, England, when we asked her to participate in our qualitative in-home study on flying. She asked it once when we approached her in the street to ask if we may interview her. She asked again when we phoned to confirm the time and address of the interview, and she asked it a third time while serving tea and biscuits at the beginning of the interview. Needless to say we had given absolutely no indication that the interview would pass 'judgment' on her flying activities. The lady had undertaken six return trips by air for leisure in the previous year, and in the final section of the interview commented 'I will have a conscience, but I won't not fly to Miami...'. As this one example shows, the frequent flying/environmental impact question is currently a hot topic. It brings forth a cocktail of rich unprompted discussion and a mixed bag of responses, it has become emotionally charged and polemic. Accounts and justifications concerning frequent flying range from surprise that a taken-for-granted everyday activity which until very recently had been considered a culturally desirable thing to do, has suddenly become frowned upon; to a sense of almost guilty pleasure, apology and, at its extremes, defiance. What the significance and explanation for this might be in sociological terms is the focus of this paper. The answers are important, in particular for policy stakeholders seeking to curb consumption behaviours as one of a portfolio of emissions reduction strategies. It is to the policy audience that this paper primarily speaks. It also provides a quite different - out of the box - insight and contribution to the aviation and emissions debate, which complements the more 'supply side' technology and research and development focused papers which dominate the aviation and emissions-reduction literature currently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of coalition building in the implementation of renewable-energy policy. Applying a discourse analysis framework to wind-energy development in the North West of England, two strong coalitions operating within the wind-energy development arena were identified. By combining this framework with a multicriteria assessment, it is revealed that each coalition had very different priorities during the evaluation of wind-energy schemes. Overall, only when offshore wind is evaluated are there elements of common ground. This technology therefore appears to offer a solution to sharp contrasts in discourse. Based on this assessment, it is concluded that the implementation of national energy-policy objectives is contingent upon the regional government developing coherent storylines to attract the support of as broad a coalition of stakeholders as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the context for energy policy and how renewable energy policy is implemented in Great Britain. Authors argued that policy-making in the country has moved away from government and towards governance. Numerous definitions of governance is characterized by an increase number of actors participating in policy-making and implementation. This change could be manifested by energy policy with institutional and policy changes. Planning system is considered to be the only direct way in which regional and local authorities can influence the construction of renewable energy schemes.

The rapid growth of photovoltaic (PV) installations in recent years has largely been driven by government incentive schemes that make PV an attractive option for building owners seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs. As government incentives are reduced or withdrawn the incorporation of battery storage, to lower building electricity grid imports through increased on-site PV self-consumption, is an option to sustain rooftop PV uptake. This study combines a life cycle assessment approach and discounted cash flow analysis to assess the CO 2 and financial impact of adding battery storage to a PV assemblage in the context of future incentive withdrawal, electricity system decarbonisation and changing technology costs. An example non-domestic building in the UK with a 20 kW mono-crystalline silicon PV and lithium-ion battery storage is modelled. With electricity grid decarbonisation in line with the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the PV and battery system here reduces the building's CO 2 emissions by 17% (19tCO 2 ) compared with the grid-only reference over a 30year lifetime. The analysis also highlights that adding battery storage does not necessarily increase C0 2 savings achieved by PV alone for the building, if grid decarbonisation is considered. PV systems without batteries in the UK are however found to be viable in 2020 without government incentives. For system considered here the battery costs of <£334/kWh available capacity are needed in 2020 for batteries to positively affect the financial performance of PV. The study therefore concludes that UK battery costs have to continue to reduce rapidly, or additional revenue from providing electricity system services is needed to make batteries financially attractive in lower insolation areas like the UK. Policy to reduce electricity system CO 2 through building integrated battery uptake requires better understanding of the net system CO 2 impact in line with other changes in electricity generation and demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To guide the adjustment of the electricity policies of the 13th Five-year Plan and the present market-oriented reforms, this paper performs a scenario analysis of the CO 2 emissions from China's electric power industry. By using a logarithmic linear equation to explain the relationship between CO 2 emissions and their influence factors, a hybrid model to forecast the “natural” development of the explanatory variables, and emission-relative data from 2001 to 2013 to estimate the equation parameters, five scenarios are designed, and the CO 2 emissions of each scenario are forecasted for the period of 2016–2030. On the basis of the modeling results, the sensitivity and contribution of each variable are also measured. Empirical analysis draws the following conclusions. (1) The electric power industry of China cannot easily reach its CO 2 emission peak before 2030. This will impose considerable pressure on the Chinese government to realize its emission mitigation target. (2) Compared with the non-fossil energy share in electricity generation, the CO 2 emissions from China's electric power industry are more sensitive to the changes in total electricity consumption and thermal power generation efficiency. (3) The increase in total electricity consumption is the single most important contributor to CO 2 emission growth from the electric power industry of China. (4) To mitigate future CO 2 emissions from the electric power industry, the Chinese government should optimize the industrial export structure and enhance its awareness of the increase in household electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐dose computed tomography lung cancer screening has mortality benefits. Yet, uptake has been low. To inform strategies to better deliver and promote screening, in 2018, we interviewed 27 long‐term smokers immediately following lung cancer screening in Australia, prior to receiving scan results. Existing lung screening studies employ the Health Belief Model. Reflecting growing acknowledgement of the centrality of emotions to screening uptake, we draw on psychological and sociological theories on emotions to thematically and abductively analyse the emotional dimensions of lung cancer screening, with implications for screening promotion and delivery. As smokers, interviewees described feeling stigmatised, with female participants internalising and male participants resisting stigma. Guilt and fear related to lung cancer were described as screening motivators. The screening itself elicited mild positive emotions. Notably, interviewees expressed gratitude for the care implicitly shown through lung screening to smokers. More than individual risk assessment, findings suggest lung screening campaigns should prioritise emotions. Peer workers have been found to increase cancer screening uptake in marginalised communities, however the risk to confidentiality—especially for female smokers—limits its feasibility in lung cancer screening. Instead, we suggest involving peer consultants in developing targeted screening strategies that foreground emotions. Furthermore, findings suggest prioritising humanistic care in lung screening delivery. Such an approach may be especially important for smokers from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who perceive lung cancer screening and smoking as sources of stigma and face a higher risk of dying from lung cancer and lower engagement with screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress toward decarbonizing shipping has been slow compared with other sectors. To explore the scope for an urgent step-change cut in CO2, this paper presents results from a participatory technology roadmapping exercise. Results: Combining existing incremental and novel technologies with slow-steaming can deliver reductions in CO2 of over 50% even in the short term for existing ships. However, roadmaps for three vessel types illustrate barriers to change including the sector's complexity, infrastructure lock-in and a need for tailored market and vessel-specific roadmaps to support decision-making. Conclusions: Through technology and engineering, the outlook for the shipping sector to significantly cut its CO2 emissions, even in the short term, is promising. Nevertheless, the scale of change requires support to demonstrate how the long-term low-carbon vision offers enough benefit to overcome necessary short-term investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: GHG budgets highlight a need for urgency, yet analyses are often CO2-focused, with less attention paid to non-CO2. Results: In this paper, scenarios are used to explore non-CO2 drivers and barriers to their mitigation, drawing out implications for CO2 management. Results suggest that even optimistic technological and consumption-related developments lead to on-going increases in global N2O, largely to improve food security within a changing climate. This contrasts with existing analysis, where lower levels of N2O by 2050 are projected. Conclusions: As avoiding '2ｰC' limits the emissions budget, constraints on reducing non-CO2 add pressure to energy system decarbonization. Overlooking how a changing climate and rising consumption restricts efforts to curb non-CO2 will result in policies aiming to avoid 2ｰC falling short of the mark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the banner of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), governments, industry, and civil society organisations have supported many energy access projects since 2015. Notably, funding and investments allotted to renewable energy are regarded not only to provide 'energy for all' but also support the delivery of other SDGs related to climate change, food security, health, and poverty reduction, among others. With less than 10 years left to meet the SDG 7 targets, it is timely to take stock and examine how the provision of access to energy is driving development initiatives, impacting local communities, and influencing governance processes. This paper offers a critical review and analysis of the impact of access to energy projects based on empirical work from eight country case studies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It interrogates how these projects contribute towards achieving SDG 7 and other sustainable development goals, highlights challenges, and then draws lessons for research, policy, and development practice. To advance SDGs, it recommends action in four areas: addressing rural-urban disparities, ensuring that energy is linked to sustainable outcomes, balancing top-down and bottom-up agendas, and appraising implications of techno-economic factors. [Display omitted] • Energy access has been constrained by multiple factors outside of policy decisions. • Governance decisions have overlooked local actors who are key to project sustainability. • Improved efficiency is more vital to energy security and access than increased generation. • Alignment between policies, governance processes, and institutional commitments is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation sector is in turbulent times. On top of increased security concerns, oil price rises and health scares, it now finds itself at the centre of the climate change debate. Previously highly resilient to short-term 'shocks', it remains unclear as to how the aviation sector will respond to persistent and significant pressure to mitigate its global carbon emissions. From a technological point of view, mitigation is not straightforward, with few, if any, low-carbon technologies available in the short-term and significant time-lags in achieving the necessary penetration of the global fleet. Moreover, many drivers within the sector are aligned towards growth and despite political recognition of the increasing importance of aviation's CO2 emissions, policies encouraging growth of the industry continue to conflict with the climate change agenda. Given the complexity of the aviation system within a dynamic commercial environment, scenarios, rather than economic forecasts, are used here to explore opportunities for the aviation industry to develop within the constraints of the EU's own climate change targets. The scenarios illustrate a variety of feasible aviation futures, but all require other sectors to make emission reductions well in excess of those levels currently envisaged, due to the expansion of the EU's aviation industry within a constrained carbon cap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scope 3 emissions from the UK higher education sector are globally significant, and long-distance air travel and catering are particularly emissions-intensive aspects of workplace routine. They each present complex problems, as transition to low-carbon alternatives requires the reconfiguration of professional practices. This paper examines the sustainability policies of 66 UK universities to establish the extent to which planning and action in these areas are commensurate with climate emergency declarations. The findings indicate that universities recognize their role in creating demand for long-distance travel and sustaining high-carbon diets. However, few have specific emissions reduction targets or action plans that would rapidly and substantially reduce emissions in these areas. Discussion focuses on two core points; first, how greater cohesion in reporting and target-setting can be achieved across the sector to raise the ambition of targets and intervention; and second to identify opportunities for institutions to disrupt and reshape professional practices to reduce emissions in these areas. Key Policy Insights Reducing emissions in the higher education sector requires organizations to foster low-carbon academic practices by engaging with the systemic cultural and material conditions that support high-carbon academic practices. The establishment of robust targets, action plans and monitoring processes would further support sector-wide decarbonization, and require consensus across HE institutions and governing bodies. Sector-wide agreement on the level and pace of emissions reduction will help to accelerate ambition regarding Scope 3 emissions reduction and determining the appropriate contribution of different institutions will help identify where action is most urgently required. Findings suggest a need for absolute targets for emissions reduction associated with long-distance travel, and that food policies focus on achieving a volumetric reduction in the weight of meat served so that absolute levels of greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. Travel and food provision are complex aspects of university emissions, but a climate emergency framing requires all organizations to use their full range of influence to rapidly and substantially reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather is frequently used in music to frame events and emotions, yet quantitative analyses are rare. From a collated base set of 759 weather ‐ related songs, 419 were analysed based on listings from a karaoke database. This article analyses the 20 weather types described, frequency of occurrence, genre, keys, mimicry, lyrics and songwriters. Vocals were the principal means of communicating weather: sunshine was the most common, followed by rain, with weather depictions linked to the emotions of the song. Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the most weather ‐ related songs, partly following their experiences at the time of writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid-1990s, the aim of keeping climate change within 2 °C has become firmly entrenched in policy discourses. In the past few years, the likelihood of achieving it has been increasingly called into question. The debate around what to do with a target that seems less and less achievable is, however, only just beginning. As the UN commences a two-year review of the 2 °C target, this article moves beyond the somewhat binary debates about whether or not it should or will be met, in order to analyse more fully some of the alternative options that have been identified but not fully explored in the existing literature. For the first time, uncertainties, risks, and opportunities associated with four such options are identified and synthesized from the literature. The analysis finds that the significant risks and uncertainties associated with some options may encourage decision makers to recommit to the 2 °C target as the least unattractive course of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the method of decomposition analysis, and briefly discusses how it has been used in relation to patterns of energy consumption. It then uses decomposition analysis to discuss two radically different scenarios of UK energy use through to 2050, both of which result in a 60% reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide. The ratios of the decomposition analysis are discussed in relation to the social and economic drivers of energy use, and the kinds of changes in these drivers which would be necessary to bring the ratios about. In this way decomposition analysis is shown to be a useful technique both to generate quantitative scenarios of this kind, and to cast light on the socio-economic conditions which they imply. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]