Abstract

Two types of air conditioning (AC) systems generally exist, namely, centralized and decentralized AC systems. This study focuses on three actual engineering projects of residential communities where centralized AC systems are adopted. The applicability of centralized AC systems in residential buildings is discussed and analyzed. In addition, the key elements that lead to different building energy consumptions and system efficiencies between centralized and decentralized AC systems in residential buildings are investigated. This study shows that in residential buildings, at the point where the centralized feature of the system meets the decentralized feature of users’ load, the problems of high energy consumption and low energy efficiency could easily occur.

Abstract

Some of the historical and political aspects that have shaped Library and Information Science professions in Spain, and other countries such as Brazil and the United States, are reviewed. This paper aims to identify some of the key trends and to propose some contents that should be covered by graduate and undergraduate programs. I propose a greater emphasis on technology, ethics, critical theories, and research in LIS studies, as well as a closer collaboration with Journalism, Communication, and Computer Science.

Abstract

This paper maps out recent trends in transportation, communication and mobility, against the background of the need for comparative research on a Transatlantic basis. Particular attention is given to the importance of the ICT sector. Questions on comparability and transferability are dealt with, in particular from a sustainability perspective. The paper is concluded with an overview of future research challenges. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

The web is central to the work and social lives of a substantial fraction of the world’s population, but the role of popular websites may not always be subject to academic scrutiny. This is a concern if social scientists are unable to understand an aspect of users’ daily lives because one or more major websites have been ignored. To test whether popular websites may be ignored in academia, this article assesses the volume and citation impact of research mentioning any of twenty major websites. The results are consistent with the user geographic base affecting research interest and citation impact. In addition, site affordances that are useful for research also influence academic interest. Because of the latter factor, however, it is not possible to estimate the extent of academic knowledge about a site from the number of publications that mention it. Nevertheless, the virtual absence of international research about some globally important Chinese and Russian websites is a serious limitation for those seeking to understand reasons for their web success, the markets they serve or the users that spend time on them. The sites investigated were Google, YouTube, Facebook, Baidu, Wikipedia, QQ, Tmall, Taobao, Yahoo, Amazon, Twitter, Sohu, Live, VK, JD, Instagram, Sina, Weibo, Yandex, and 360.