Measuring sustainability performance within the Australian energy industry

Sustainability has become crucial for the energy industry as projects in this industry are extensively large and complex and have significant impacts on the environment, community and economy. It demands the energy industry to proactively incorporate sustainability ideas and commit to sustainable project development. This study aims to investigate how the Australian energy industry responds to sustainability requirements and in particular what indicators used to measure sustainability performance. To achieve this, content analysis of sustainability reports, vision statements and policy statements of Australian energy companies listed in the 2013 PLATTS Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings and government reports relating to sustainability has been conducted. The findings show that the energy companies extensively discuss sustainability aspects within three dimensions, i.e. community, environment, and economy. Their primary goals in sustainability are supplying cleaner energy for future, and doing business in a way that improves outcomes for shareholders, employees, business partners and the communities. In particular, energy companies have valued the employees of the business as a one of the key area that needs to be considered. Furthermore, the energy industry has become increasingly aware of the importance of measuring sustainability performance to achieve sustainability goals. A number of sustainability indicators have been developed on the basis of the key themes beyond economic measures. It is envisaged that findings from this research will help stakeholders in the energy industry to adopt different indicators to evaluate and ultimately achieve sustainability performance.

Defining green road infrastructure projects—A critical review

Green infrastructure is considered as a strategic approach to address the ecological and social impacts of urban sprawl. The main elements of green infrastructure have been well established and include a series of multifunctional ecological systems, such as green urban space, green road infrastructure and the links between these systems. However, it should be noted that the elements of green road infrastructure have only been briefly mentioned in isolated life cycle stages, e.g. design, procurement, construction, maintenance and operation. The definition of green road infrastructure and the elements in green road infrastructure projects remain largely unknown. To explore the elements in green road infrastructure, a critical review was adopted. As the development of green road infrastructure projects is guided by rating systems, a comparison of three major green roads rating systems, including GreenroadsTM, EnvisionTM and Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Tool—IS, was conducted. The comparison reveals that green roads can be defined as road projects that have superior performance in economic, social and environmental sustainability. The sustainability features in green roads mainly include environmental sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability, quality, pavement technology and innovation. The results will contribute to an increased understanding of green roads and will be useful to improve the performance of road projects on these sustainability features.

Are green project management practices applicable to traditional projects?

As the social environment begins to create more awareness in the area of conserving the natural environment, a new generation of building has emerged. A trend of constructing buildings that minimise impacts on the environment has been established in the construction industry. Therefore, suitable project management practices have been adopted to efficiently manage the construction of these green buildings. This study aims at investigating practices of project management in traditional and accredited green construction projects, with the purpose of discovering if Green Project Management (GPM) practices can be applied to traditional projects to achieve more successful outcomes. The process of GPM contains what applied to traditional projects, could possibly result in benefits in terms of budget control and constructability. Currently the construction industry has been known to suffer difficulties within these areas; therefore GPM practices could possibly hold a solution to these common problems.

Improving the competence of construction management consultants to underpin sustainable construction in China

As a vital component of construction professional services (CPS), construction management consultancy is in nature knowledge-intensive and client-tailored. Although recent studies have acknowledged the increasing role of this subsector of CPS in the attainment of sustainable construction, little attention has been given to the education and training of its main body, namely construction management consultants (CMCs). This study investigated the competence and knowledge structure of CMCs by taking China as an example. Using the methods of interview and questionnaire survey, three key competences of CMCs and the underpinned knowledge structure were identified. The identified competences are personnel quality, onsite practical skills, and continuing professional learning. Underpinned these competences are the knowledge structure composed of a number of disciplines including construction cost planning and control, civil engineering and construction, engineering contract and law, and construction project management. The research findings lay a solid foundation for future studies to probe into the role of construction management consultants in the area of sustainable construction.

A study on the evolution of regional structure of foreign engineering consultation industry in China [我国对外工程咨询业区域结构演变研究]

Based on the construction industry of 27 province over the period of 1995-2008,this paper analyzes the evolution of regional structure of foreign engineering consultation industry.It is found that this industry translates weak overall strength,unbalanced regional structure to a more developed and balanced status,keeps pushing this change can improve the strength of our country’s engineering consultation industry,improve the international competition of construction.

Multidimensional classroom support to inclusive education teachers in Beijing, China

Classroom support plays a salient role in successful inclusive education, hence it has been widely debated in the literature. Much extant work has only focused on a particular aspect of classroom support. A comprehensive, systematic discussion of classroom support is sporadic in the literature. Relevant research concerning the Chinese context is even more limited. To address this gap, our study developed and validated a multidimensional classroom support model conducive to teachers’ inclusive education practices. Data were drawn from our large-scale survey with inclusive education teachers in Beijing. Further analyses were conducted to compare different dimensions within the classroom support model. Drawing insights from the results, we provide some recommendations for practice and research.

Knowledge and behaviors of drunk-driving offenders in Guangzhou, China

Aims To better understand the knowledge and behaviors of drunk-driving offenders relating to alcohol use and driving in the context of recently amended Chinese legislation, and to investigate the involvement of alcohol-use disorders. Design The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2012. Setting and participants: Data were collected at a local jail and 101 participants were recruited while in detention. Measures Questionnaire items examined demographic characteristics as well as practices and knowledge relating to alcohol use and driving. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking levels. Findings Knowledge about the two legal limits for “drink driving” and for “drunk driving” was low, at 28.3% and 41.4%, respectively. AUDIT scores indicated that a substantial proportion of the offenders had high levels of alcohol-use disorders. Higher AUDIT scores were found among the least experienced drivers, those who lacked knowledge about the legal limits, and recidivist drunk drivers. Conclusions Limited awareness of legal alcohol limits might contribute to offending; high AUDIT scores suggest that hazardous drinking levels may also contribute. This study provides important information to assist in refining community education and prevention efforts.

General motor vehicle drivers' knowledge and practices regarding drink driving in Yinchuan and Guangzhou, China

Objective: Drink driving contributes to significant levels of injury and economic loss in China but is not well researched. This study examined knowledge, drink-driving practices, and alcohol misuse problems among general drivers in Yinchuan. The objectives were to gain a better understanding of drink driving in Yinchuan, identify areas that need to be addressed, and compare the results with a similar study in Guangzhou. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a survey designed to collect information on participants’ demographic characteristics and their knowledge and practices in relation to drinking and driving. The survey was composed of questions on knowledge and practices in relation to drink driving and was administered to a convenience sample of 406 drivers. Alcohol misuse problems were assessed by using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results: Males accounted for the main proportion of drivers sampled from the general population (“general drivers”). A majority of general drivers in both cities knew that drunk driving had become a criminal offense in 2011; however, knowledge of 2 legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits was quite low. Fewer drivers in Yinchuan (22.6%) than in Guangzhou (27.9) reported having been stopped by police conducting breath alcohol testing at least once in the last 12 months. The mean AUDIT score in Yinchuan (M = 8.2) was higher than that in Guangzhou (M = 7.4), and the proportion of Yinchuan drivers with medium or higher alcohol misuse problems (31.2%) was correspondingly higher than in Guangzhou (23.1%). In Yinchuan, males had a significantly higher AUDIT score than females (t = 3.454, P < .001), similar to Guangzhou. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on potential predictors of the AUDIT score (age, gender, monthly income, education level, years licensed, and age started drinking). There were significant individual contributions of gender (beta = 0.173, P = .09) and age at which drinking started (beta = 0.141, P = .033), but the overall model for Yinchuan was not significant, unlike Guangzhou. Conclusions: The results show that there are shortfalls in knowledge of the legislation and how to comply with it and deficiencies in police enforcement. In addition, there was evidence of drink driving and drink riding at high levels in both cities. Recommendations are made to address these issues.

International representations of inclusive education: How is inclusive practice reflected in the professional teaching standards of China and Australia?

Inclusive education focuses on addressing marginalisation, segregation and exclusion within policy and practice. The purpose of this article is to use critical discourse analysis to examine how inclusion is represented in the education policy and professional documents of two countries, Australia and China. In particular, teacher professional standards from each country are examined to determine how an expectation of inclusive educational practice is promoted to teachers. The strengthening of international partnerships to further support the implementation of inclusive practices within both countries is also justified.

High-throughput sequencing of IL23R reveals a low-frequency, nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism that is associated with ankylosing spondylitis in a Han Chinese population

Objective Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a highly heritable common inflammatory arthritis that targets the spine and sacroiliac joints of the pelvis, causing pain and stiffness and leading eventually to joint fusion. Although previous studies have shown a strong association of IL23R with AS in white Europeans, similar studies in East Asian populations have shown no association with common variants of IL23R, suggesting either that IL23R variants have no role or that rare genetic variants contribute. The present study was undertaken to screen IL23R to identify rare variants associated with AS in Han Chinese. Methods A 170-kb region containing IL23R and its flanking regions was sequenced in 50 patients with AS and 50 ethnically matched healthy control subjects from a Han Chinese population. In addition, the 30-kb region of peak association in white Europeans was sequenced in 650 patients with AS and 1,300 healthy controls. Validation genotyping was undertaken in 846 patients with AS and 1,308 healthy controls. Results We identified 1,047 variants, of which 729 were not found in the dbSNP genomic build 130. Several potentially functional rare variants in IL23R were identified, including one nonsynonomous single-nucleotide polymorphism (nsSNP), Gly149Arg (position 67421184 GA on chromosome 1). Validation genotyping showed that the Gly149Arg variant was associated with AS (odds ratio 0.61, P = 0.0054). Conclusion This is the first study to implicate rare IL23R variants in the pathogenesis of AS. The results identified a low-frequency nsSNP with predicted loss-of-function effects that was protectively associated with AS in Han Chinese, suggesting that decreased function of the interleukin-23 (IL-23) receptor protects against AS. These findings further support the notion that IL-23 signaling has an important role in the pathogenesis of AS.

Association of ERAP1, but not IL23R, with ankylosing spondylitis in a Han Chinese population

Objective The results of a recent genome-wide association study have shown that ERAP1 and IL23R are associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Caucasian populations from North America and the UK. Based on these findings, we undertook the current study to investigate whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the genes ERAP1 and IL23R are associated with AS in a Han Chinese population. Methods A case-control study was performed in Han Chinese patients with AS (n = 527) and controls (n = 945) from Shanghai and Nanjing. All patients met the modified New York criteria for AS. The Sequenom iPlex platform was used to genotype cases and controls for 21 tag SNPs covering IL23R and 38 tag SNPs covering ERAP1. Statistical analysis was performed using the Cochran-Armitage test for trend. Results Multiple SNPs in ERAP1 were significantly associated with AS (for rs27980, P = 0.0048; for rs7711564, P = 0.0081). However, no association was observed between IL23R and AS (for all SNPs, P > 0.1). The nonsynonymous SNP in IL23R, rs11209026, widely thought to be the primary AS-associated SNP in IL23R in Europeans, was found not to be polymorphic in Chinese. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that genetic polymorphisms in ERAP1 are associated with AS in Han Chinese, suggesting a common pathogenic mechanism for the disease in Chinese and Caucasian populations, and that IL23R is not associated with AS in Chinese, indicating a difference in the mechanism of disease pathogenesis between Chinese and Caucasian populations. This may result from the fact that rs11209026, the nonsynonymous SNP in IL23R, is not polymorphic in Chinese patients, providing further evidence that rs11209026 is the key polymorphism associated with AS (and likely inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis) in this gene.

Novel risk loci for rheumatoid arthritis in Han Chinese and congruence with risk variants in Europeans

Objective To investigate differences in genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Han Chinese as compared with Europeans. Methods A genome-wide association study was conducted in China with 952 patients and 943 controls, and 32 variants were followed up in 2,132 patients and 2,553 controls. A transpopulation meta-analysis with results from a large European RA study was also performed to compare the genetic architecture across the 2 ethnic remote populations. Results Three non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) loci were identified at the genome-wide significance level, the effect sizes of which were larger in anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive patients than in ACPA-negative patients. These included 2 novel variants, rs12617656, located in an intron of DPP4 (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, P = 1.6 × 10 -21), and rs12379034, located in the coding region of CDK5RAP2 (OR 1.49, P = 1.1 × 10-16), as well as a variant at the known CCR6 locus, rs1854853 (OR 0.71, P = 6.5 × 10-15). The analysis of ACPA-positive patients versus ACPA-negative patients revealed that rs12617656 at the DPP4 locus showed a strong interaction effect with ACPAs (P = 5.3 × 10-18), and such an interaction was also observed for rs7748270 at the MHC locus (P = 5.9 × 10-8). The transpopulation meta-analysis showed genome-wide overlap and enrichment in association signals across the 2 populations, as confirmed by prediction analysis. Conclusion This study has expanded the list of alleles that confer risk of RA, provided new insight into the pathogenesis of RA, and added empirical evidence to the emerging polygenic nature of complex trait variation driven by common genetic variants. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.

Critical risk factors affecting the implementation of PPP waste-to-energy projects in China

Since 2003, Mainland China has been promoting the public–private partnership (PPP) procurement model in the waste-to-energy incineration sector to reduce the waste burying rate and improve environmental quality. Five critical risk factors (CRFs) that affect the construction and operation of waste-to-energy incineration projects have been identified from real-life risk events of 14 PPP waste-to-energy incineration plants through content analysis. These risk factors are insufficient waste supply, disposal of non-licensed waste, environmental risk, payment risk, and lack of supporting infrastructure. A recently completed PPP waste-to-energy incineration plant, the Shanghai Tianma project, was investigated to learn from the effective management of CRFs. First-hand data about the Shanghai Tianma project was collected, with a focus on project negotiation and concession agreement. Lessons learned about risk management were acquired. This paper presents a detailed study of the contractual structure, risk sharing scheme, risk response measures to CRFs, and project transfer of a PPP project. The study results will provide governments with management implications to prepare equitable concession agreements and benefit private investors by effectively mitigating and managing risks in future PPP waste-to-energy incineration projects.

The association between ambient temperature and children's lung function in Baotou, China

The objective of this study is to examine the association between ambient temperature and children’s lung function in Baotou, China. We recruited 315 children (8–12 years) from Baotou, China in the spring of 2004, 2005, and 2006. They performed three successive forced expiratory measurements three times daily (morning, noon, and evening) for about 5 weeks. The highest peak expiratory flow (PEF) was recorded for each session. Daily data on ambient temperature, relative humidity, and air pollution were monitored during the same period. Mixed models with a distributed lag structure were used to examine the effects of temperature on lung function while adjusting for individual characteristics and environmental factors. Low temperatures were significantly associated with decreases in PEF. The effects lasted for lag 0–2 days. For all participants, the cumulative effect estimates (lag 0–2 days) were −1.44 (−1.93, −0.94) L/min, −1.39 (−1.92, −0.86) L/min, −1.40 (−1.97, −0.82) L/min, and −1.28 (−1.69, −0.88) L/min for morning, noon, evening, and daily mean PEF, respectively, associated with 1 °C decrease in daily mean temperature. Generally, the effects of temperature were slightly stronger in boys than in girls for noon, evening, and daily mean PEF, while the effects were stronger in girls for morning PEF. PM2.5 had joint effects with temperature on children’s PEF. Higher PM2.5 increased the impacts of low temperature. Low ambient temperatures are associated with lower lung function in children in Baotou, China. Preventive health policies will be required for protecting children from the cold weather.

Spatiotemporal pattern of bacillary dysentery in China from 1990 to 2009: What is the driver behind?

BACKGROUND Little is known about the spatiotemporal pattern of bacillary dysentery (BD) in China. This study assessed the geographic distribution and seasonality of BD in China over the past two decades. METHODS Data on monthly BD cases in 31 provinces of China from January 1990 to December 2009 obtained from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and data on demographic and geographic factors, as well as climatic factors, were compiled. The spatial distributions of BD in the four periods across different provinces were mapped, and heat maps were created to present the seasonality of BD by geography. A cosinor function combined with Poisson regression was used to quantify the seasonal parameters of BD, and a regression analysis was conducted to identify the potential drivers of morbidity and seasonality of BD. RESULTS Although most regions of China have experienced considerable declines in BD morbidity over the past two decades, Beijing and Ningxia still had high BD morbidity in 2009. BD morbidity decreased more slowly in North-west China than other regions. BD in China mainly peaked from July to September, with heterogeneity in peak time between regions. Relative humidity was associated with BD morbidity and peak time, and latitude was the major predictor of BD amplitude. CONCLUSIONS The transmission of BD was heterogeneous in China. Improved sanitation and hygiene in North-west China, and better access to clean water and food in the big floating population in some metropolises could be the focus of future preventive interventions against BD. BD control efforts should put more emphasis on those dry areas in summer.