Combining 2D and 3D Visualization with Visual Analytics in the Environmental Domain

The application potential of Visual Analytics (VA), with its supporting interactive 2D and 3D visualization techniques, in the environmental domain is unparalleled. Such advanced systems may enable an in-depth interactive exploration of multifaceted geospatial and temporal changes in very large and complex datasets. This is facilitated by a unique synergy of modules for simulation, analysis, and visualization, offering instantaneous visual feedback of transformative changes in the underlying data. However, even if the resulting knowledge holds great potential for supporting decision-making in the environmental domain, the consideration of such techniques still have to find their way to daily practice. To advance these developments, we demonstrate four case studies that portray different opportunities in data visualization and VA in the context of climate research and natural disaster management. Firstly, we focus on 2D data visualization and explorative analysis for climate change detection and urban microclimate development through a comprehensive time series analysis. Secondly, we focus on the combination of 2D and 3D representations and investigations for flood and storm water management through comprehensive flood and heavy rain simulations. These examples are by no means exhaustive, but serve to demonstrate how a VA framework may apply to practical research.

Environmental preferences of occupants: A multi-domain approach in the Swiss open office case study

Defining indoor environmental conditions that meet the needs and preferences of occupants in open space offices can be challenging since the same space might be occupied by people with different individual needs and preferences regarding what constitutes a comfortable work environment. This study presents outcomes of a set of longitudinal point-in-time comfort surveys that were designed to capture instantaneous preference votes about momentary environmental conditions twice a day covering all four major domains of IEQ. The surveys were disseminated during two weeks across three seasons (fall, winter, summer) to 31 occupants in a Swiss open space office and supplemented with environmental data simultaneously measured in-situ at the occupant’s desk level. These surveys (up to 670 responses per environmental domain) offered insights into the discrepancies of expressed environmental preferences with respect to measured environmental conditions in open space offices.

Part IV Normative Development, Ch.26 Private and Quasi-Private Standards

This chapter discusses the concept of private and quasi-private standards in the environmental domain. While many of these standards involve the labelling of compliant products, others do not. The chapter begins by defining the concept of private and quasi-private standards, examining their rise and the reasons for this. A standard is considered to be private when the document in question is adopted by one or more non-governmental entities, including for example firms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and trade unions. Private standards may be firm- or sector-specific, or they may focus on a particular commodity such as sugar, palm oil, or soy. Meanwhile, the concept of a quasi-private standard is less clear and needs to be carefully defined. The chapter then looks at how these standards interact with international law in a variety of important ways. It also assesses the effectiveness and legitimacy of private and quasi-private standards.

Rural–urban differences in quality of life and associated factors among community-dwelling older persons in Oyo state, South-Western Nigeria

Aim The decline of health and functional status as a result of old age makes it necessary to assess the Quality of Life (QoL) among older persons. There is, however, limited information in this regard from low and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. This study compares the QoL and associated factors among rural and urban community-dwelling older persons (≥ 60 years) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Subject and methods A cross-sectional, comparative community-based study was carried out using an interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire. The QoL was determined using the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Brief Scale (WHOQOL-BREF). Data were analysed using Stata version 14 at p < 0.05. Results Overall, 1,180 (588 urban and 592 rural-dwelling) respondents were interviewed. Females constituted more than half of the respondents in both communities, accounting for over two thirds (69.2%) of the population. The mean QoL scores were similar in the psychological (54.2 ± 7.4) and environmental (54.7 ± 9.5) domains. However, the mean score for the physical domain was 69.2 ± 17.0 and 74.1 ± 12 for the social domain. There was no statistically significant difference between mean scores of the QoL in the two locations except in the environmental domain (p < 0.05). Good self-rated health was a common positive predictor of higher mean scores across the four domains in both the rural and urban settings (p < 0.05). Conclusion The rural–urban differences in the mean quality of life scores in the environmental domain in the study and poorer scores in the psychological and environmental domains necessitate areas for targeted intervention and more in-depth research.

Quality of life among cancer patients approaching healthcare facilities in United Arab Emirates

Background: The main aim of the study was to compare the quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients and healthy adults according to different domains.Methods: The study was conducted in Gulf medical university, Tawam hospital, Al Ain and Thumbay hospital, Ajman from March 2018 until January 2019. In addition, our study was a cross sectional study that included 250 cancer patients and 250 healthy adults. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and a self-administered questionnaire were used. The research was conducted in Tawam hospital, Gulf medical university and Thumbay hospitals/clinics over a period of 9 months. SPSS version 24 was used for analysis. F test and t test were used to assess the difference between mean QOL levels in various groups.Results: The highest mean score for healthy subjects accounts for the social domain followed by physical, then psychological and the lowest is the environmental domain with values of (73.9, 70.7, 70.3 and 68.9 respectively). While the highest mean score of QOL for cancer patients was related to psychological domain followed by environmental, then social and lastly the lowest domain is associated with physical accounting for values of (66.6, 66.5, 66.2 and 60.6 accordingly). Over all the mean scores regarding all the domains of healthy adults with is higher than in cancer patients.Conclusions: Healthy adults had higher mean QOL score levels than cancer patients. Moreover, cancer patients have a 1.65-fold risk of having poor QOL. It has been concluded that the highest mean score for healthy subjects accounts for the social domain (73.9) followed by physical (70.7), then psychological (70.3) and the lowest is the environmental domain (68.9).

The belief-action gap in environmental psychology: How wide? How irrational?

The belief-action gap was originally conceptualized by psychologists who aimed to ground behaviour in beliefs but found that their models had little predictive value. The recurrent use of this concept often comes with the assumption that human behaviour is somewhat irrational or weirdly misaligned with their beliefs. This gap is particularly striking in the environmental domain, where many people seemingly think one way but act another. In this chapter, we review a number of factors that hinder general beliefs from translating into actual behaviours. We emphasize the existence of measurement issues, information deficits about the exact impact of one’s actions, structural factors and psychological factors that together impact the robustness of the association between beliefs and actions. In particular, socio-cognitive factors have a massive impact on people’s decisions to act in ways that are aligned with their deep- seated beliefs. Once all these factors are properly taken into account, it becomes clear that the belief-action gap is not a token of human irrationality but should in fact be expected.

Hunt-Vitell’s General Theory of Marketing Ethics Predicts ‘Attitude-Behaviour’ Gap in Pro-Environmental Domain

The inconsistency between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour, known as the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap, is not uncommon to ethical decision-making, however it’s exceptionally pronounced in scenarios associated with ‘green’ choice. Despite existing research offering numerous attempts to investigate the causes of the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap in the pro-environmental domain, it is surprising that the major factors driving the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap are still unknown. Therefore, we have grounded this study in Hunt-Vitell’s moral philosophy-based framework of ethical decision-making, which assumes morality as the central force impacting one’s behaviour and tested its effectiveness in predicting pro-environmental intentions vs. behaviours. The results from an online study of 612 MTurk participants from the US revealed that participants’ decision-making indeed depended on deontological and teleological framing of pro-environmental scenarios, and this in turn predicted the declining relationship between intention vs. behaviour. These findings suggest that morality is central to pro-environmental decision-making, and the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap is the result of the disintegrated effects of moral dimension. For this reason, strengthening the impact of morality could be sufficient for aligning intentions with behaviours and thus closing the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap.

Life satisfaction is the most significant determinant of quality of life in the elderly

Background<br />Quality of life tends to decrease as age increases. This study aimed to determine the most significant risk factors (family support, spirituality, and life satisfaction) for the elderly’s quality of life. <br /><br />Methods<br />This was a cross-sectional study of 101 subjects aged ³60 years in West Jakarta. The variables were assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL–BREF), Family Support, Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) instruments. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between quality of life and its determinant factors.<br /><br />Results<br />Based on sociodemographic characteristics, the respondents were mostly women (66.3%), had more than nine years of education (79.2%), and were married (56.4%). The analysis showed that life satisfaction was significantly associated with overall quality of life (OR=9.71; 95% CI:2.04–46.26; p=0.004) and general health (OR=7.52; 95% CI:1.70–33.25; p=0.008). Life satisfaction was also a risk factor for the environmental domain (OR=36.02; 95% CI:5.07–255.82; p&lt;0.001). Furthermore, spirituality was found to be a risk factor for the physical health domain (OR=4.18; 95% CI:1.51–11.59; p=0.006), psychological domain (OR=6.67; 95% CI:2.4–17.86; p&lt;0.001), and environmental domain (OR=11.46; 95% CI:3.10–42.37; p&lt;0.001).<br /><br />Conclusion<br />Life satisfaction plays a significant role in increasing the environmental domain of quality of life, the overall quality of life, and general health among the elderly. Awareness of these factors can assist providers in identifying people at risk and guide new intervention programs to improve care for these invaluable elderly of our communities.