This paper describes the development and application of a new unique tool to support designers to optimise the sustainability of urban neighbourhoods (SUNtool). In this the paper introduces (i) the software architecture, (ii) the integrated solver and related innovations in the modelling of radiation exchange, reduced thermal modelling, stochastic modelling of occupant presence and behaviour, and urban plant modelling, (iii) interface design and innovations in building attribution, (iv) results analysis methods. Finally the software is applied to demonstrate its application to the development of urban planning guidelines and also to the design of a masterplan.
This commentary describes and critiques criteria that, according to results from an Association for Business Communication (ABC) member survey, are having an impact on quality judgments about our journals. ABC members rank the Journal of Business Communication and Business Communication Quarterly as top research and pedagogical journals in business/management communication, a finding corroborated by a larger study of academics in business and technical communication. However, the growing importance of citation counts and journal rankings currently disadvantages our journals, presenting us with professional obligations and personal dilemmas in relation to them. The authors' purpose is to raise awareness of the various determinants of perceptions of journal quality, to explore Special thanks to Marie Flatley and Bruce Reinig of San Diego State University for assisting us with survey administration and analysis.
International students' adjustment to living in an unfamiliar cultural environment and studying in a different educational system and language has been a topic of much research. Literature has shown that support from the host community could be the difference between a smooth transition and one fraught with problems and difficulties. This article describes a "buddy project" used in an intercultural communication class in which each student was a buddy for a newly arrived international student for a semester. The purpose of the project was to give social support to international students in the crucial first few months of their sojourn while at the same time complementing host students' class-based theoretical learning with practical, meaningful experience with peers from another culture. The article discusses the outcomes, challenges, and students' evaluations of the experiential learning exercise. Recommendations for future projects are outlined.
The reasons for this reluctance are many. Some students are naturally quiet or shy; others, however, do not feel confident enough in their English proficiency to volunteer their opinions for fear of making mistakes and thus losing face. They may also feel that they would waste class time if they take too long to formulate their thoughts and express them in English.Another reason Asian ESL students tend to be uncomfortable in a discussion is that this mode of communication is a rather alien concept for them (Holmes, 2000;Warden, Chen, & Caskey, 2005). Although this "debate" type of communication "has been a central tenet of Western society since ancient Greek times . . . Asian culture has no real history of debate" (Warden et al., 2005, p. 228). Disagreeing with others, especially face to face, and arguing one's points are seen as confrontational and undesirable in many Asian cultures, in which harmony is highly valued (Samovar & Porter, 2001). Consequently, ESL students are often seen as passive, uninterested, uncooperative, or ignorant about topics. Studies have shown, however, that this is often not the case (Holmes, 2000;Tani, 2005). Tani (2005), for example, found that Asian students are very talkative outside class and during
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