Browsing by Author "Olweny, Mark R. O."

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    Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?
    (Elsevier, 2020-01-10) Schweiker, Marcel; Maíra, Andréu; Al-Atrash, Farah; Al-Khatri, Hanan; Alprianti, Rea Risky; Alsaad, Hayder; Amin, Rucha; Ampatzi, Eleni; Arsano, Alpha Yacob; Azar, Elie; Bannazadeh, Bahareh; Batagarawa, Amina; Becker, Sussanne; Buonocore, Carolina; Cao, Bin; Choi, Joon-Ho; Chun, Chungyoon; Daanen, Hein; Damiati, Siti Aisyah; Daniel, Lyrian; Vecchi, Renata De; Dhaka, Shivraj; Domínguez-Amarillo, Samuel; Dudkiewicz, Edyta; Edappilly, Lakshmi Prabha; Fernández-Agüera, Jesica; Folkerts, Mireille; Frijns, Arjan; Gaona, Gabriel; Garg, Vishal; Gauthier, Stephanie; Jabbari, Shahla Ghaffari; Harimi, Djamila; Hellwig, Runa T; Huebner, Gesche M; Jin, Quan; Jowkar, Mina; Kim, Jungsoo; King, Nelson; Kingma, Boris; Koerniawan, M. Donny; Kolarik, Jakub; Kumar, Shailendra; Kwok, Alison; Lamberts, Roberto; Laska, Marta; Lee, M.C. Jeffrey; Lee, Yoonhee; Lindermayr, Vanessa; Mahaki, Mohammadbagher; Udochukwu, Marcel-Okafor; Marín-Restrepo, Laura; Marquardsen, Anna; Francesco, Franscesco; Mathur, Jyotirmay; Mino-Rodriguez, Isabel; Montazami, Azadeh; Mou, Di; Moujalled, Bassam; Nakajima, Mia; Ng, Edward; Okafor, Marcellinus; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Ouyang, Wanlu; Abreu, Ana Lígia Papst de; Pérez-Fargallo, Alexis; Rajapaksha, Indrika; Ramos, Greici; Rashid, Saif; Reinhart, Christoph F.; Rivera, Ma. Isabel; Salmanzadeh, Mazyar; Schakib-Ekbatan, Karin; Schiavon, Stefano; Shooshtarian, Salman; Shukuya, Masanori; Soebarto, Veronica; Suhendri, Suhendri; Tahsildoost, Mohammad; Tartarini, Federico; Teli, Despoina; Tewari, Priyam; Thapa, Samar; Trebilcock, Maureen; Trojan, Jörg; Tukur, Ruqayyatu B.; Voelker, Conrad; Yam, Yeung; Yang, Liu; Zapata-Lancaster, Gabriela; Zhai, Yongchao; Zhu, Yingxin; Zomorodian, ZahraSadat
    People’s subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results col- lected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are inde- pendent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collabo- rative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from ther- mal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability.
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    Sustainable Energy Transitions in Sub-Saharan African Cities: The Role of Local Government
    (Elsiever, 2018) Bawakyillenuo;, Simon; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Anderson, Megan; Borchers, Mark
    Sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing fast, and by 2040 the population of the subcontinent is expected to be predominantly urban, placing a vastly increased burden on urban governance. Energy futures modeling indicates that 75% of energy demand will be urban by 2040. By implication, energy transitions will be increasingly linked to urban governance in the future. Without substantial support, governance capacity is unlikely to be able to rise to emerging energy challenges, which could erode the welfare of citizens as well as the achievement of global and national ambitions around sustainable energy as espoused by Sustainable Development Goal 7, covering renewable energy, energy efficiency, and access to modern energy. This paper provides an overview of selected energy research cases in urban Sub-Saharan Africa, including the results of energy futures modeling, to help highlight the emerging urban sustainable energy challenges. It further explores the energy-related mandates of local vis-a-vis national governments, looks at areas where urban renewable energy can be promoted, and discusses important elements to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, in particular the capacity support requirements.