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Peak oil, energy, and society

Welcome to the learning project on Peak Oil, Energy, and Society.

This learning project is an online version of a course at a small high school in progress from March-May 2008. You are welcome to add! Additions, comments, and questions by all are very welcome.

Content summary
What happens when the oil runs out? Oil is a highly-concentrated, easily portable source of energy which has made our society what it is today. Yet some say that we will soon reach the peak of global oil production and that oil will then become extremely expensive. How will our society change if and when that happens? How much does our culture depend on cheap energy, and what would a future without it be like? And, what can we do about it? ksafasklf kajsfbsfbajkf

Subpages
Anyone can create a new subpage - click the "edit this page" tab at the top, then put the cursor where you want to put the link to your new page, type in the name, and put brackets and a slash around the name of your new subpage... like this: '/nameofyourpage/' (leave out the quotes). If it's red, that means it has no content yet; click on it to create it and add content. You could change the name of your page, too, by editing this page.

Building recycling

Geothermal

/Ian's page/

/Adam's page/

/Caleb's page/

/Meg's page/

/Charlotte's page/

/Frederick's page/

Topics and homework for each unit
Peak Oil, Peak Everything

Read:
 * Intro: PD, chap 1, §1,3,4,6
 * Standard: PE, Introduction

How Systems Function: Ecology, Economy, Energy Flow, Our Homes, & Complex Societies

Read: Also Read: Selected news articles.
 * Intro: LE, chap 7, part 1
 * Standard: Van Der Ryn, chap 6
 * Advanced: Diamond, Prologue

Ecological Footprinting

 * Intro: Watch The Ecological Footprint
 * Advanced: Read “The Ecological Footprint” pages (7) at

Renewable Energy: the solution?

Read: One chapter from either:
 * Chiras, Guide to Renewable Energy
 * OR Pahl, Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook

Renewables, continued, & Farming

Read:
 * Intro: PE, ch. 2, “Fifty Million Farmers”
 * Advanced: Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels

Climate Change
 * View An Inconvenient Truth

Despair & Social Change

Read:
 * PE, ch. 7, “The Psychology of Peak Oil”

Actions for Our Future

Read:
 * PO chap 6 “Managing the Collapse”
 * AND PD chap 2-5 ONE chap of your choice.

Reading Notes Due Each Tuesday

Lessons

 * Lesson 1: /.../
 * Lesson 2: /.../

Activities

 * Activity 1
 * Etc.

Learning materials
Readings, Wiki links, Web links, other resources

Wiki links
Links to pages in Wikiversity that you could work on, or you might find useful. Please add links!
 * About Sustainability & Energy
 * Sustainability Full of useful links and sub-topics. This project is one of them!
 * Topic:Ecological sustainability Also has good links; this project also is listed on this topic.
 * Category:Sustainability Categories are collections of links to related pages. This is the best category of the three; has the most useful links.
 * Category:Ecological Sustainability
 * Category:Renewable energy
 * Topic:Renewable_Energy Needs adding to.
 * Topic:Renewable_energy Different page, also needs adding to.
 * Renewable energy systems Could use some adding to.

 * About Wikiversity
 * Introduction Great way in for beginners!
 * Introduction to Wikiversity More detailed explanations and instructions on editing.
 * Adding content tutorial Useful for adding whole pages.
 * Learning projects The concept behind the name.
 * Learning Philosophy of learning at Wikiversity. Very abstract, but Frederick's into it.
 * Learning by doing More educational philosophy.
 * Wikiversity teachers

 * Wikipedia add good links you find here!

 * Web links add good webpage links you find here
 * View Ian & Adam's bookmarks at del.icio.us
 * View Frederick's bookmarks at del.icio.us
 * Massachusetts Innovation Center in Fitchburg

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Learning materials
Learning materials and learning projects are located in the main Wikiversity namespace (i.e. without any prefix such as 'Topic:' or 'School:'). Simply make a link to the name of the learning resource, lesson, or learning project (these are independent pages in the main namespace, and sometimes subpages when appropriate) and start writing!

You should also read about the Wikiversity:Learning model. Lessons should center on learning activities for Wikiversity participants. Learning materials and learning projects can be used by multiple projects - and you are encouraged to cooperate with other departments that use the same learning resource.

 * }

Bibliography and abbreviations

 * Chiras, Dan. The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2006.

 * Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. London: Penguin, 2005.

 * PE: Heinberg, Richard. Peak Everything: Waking up to the century of declines. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2007.

 * PD: Heinberg, Richard. Powerdown: Options and actions for a post-carbon world. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2004.

 * PO: Heinberg, Richard. The Party’s Over: Oil, war, and the fate of industrial societies. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2003.

 * LE: Kunstler, James Howard. The Long Emergency: Surviving the end of oil, climate change, and other converging catastrophes of the twenty-first century. New York: Grove Press, 2006.

 * Merkel, Jim. Radical Simplicity: Small footprints on a finite Earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2003.

 * Pahl, Greg. The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community solutions to a global crisis. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2007.

 * Pfeiffer, Dale. Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, food, and the coming crisis in agriculture. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2006.

 * Van Der Ryn, Sim. Design for Life: the architecture of Sim Van Der Ryn. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2005.

Notes & Responses
For each unit we’ll have two (2) assignments: notes or reports on the readings, and responses to the issue. The responses are small products (such as a one-page paper) of your thinking; many of them may focus on actions or strategies. Once each in the term, your response must include a graph, a map, a drawing, a budget, a wiki entry, and a story: please see the separate menu of assignment options.

Major Project
The major project involves identifying and carrying out (1) a change or improvement to the Meeting School’s ecological sustainability; (2) a community awareness-raising effort, or (3) an experiment in renewable energy. The class will choose a format (e.g., blog, wiki, paper handbook) and publish its work for use by the other members of the community (e.g., the board’s Sustainability Committee, the community’s Physical Plant Committee, parents)

 * Potential Projects
 * Make biodiesel in a five-gallon pail
 * Grow oil (for biodiesel) with algae
 * Apply for a grant (write first draft) to install a full-scale renewable-energy system at TMS
 * Buy & install a small photovoltaic (PV) panel
 * Set-up a House-by-House energy audit for one source (e.g. oil, electricity, wood, etc.)
 * Organize & host an awareness event, e.g, a “second hour” at Monadnock Quaker Meeting; a café evening at the Peterborough or Winchendon Unitarian-Universalist churches; a presentation to Mountain Shadows School, etc
 * Insulate the damn water heaters and install timers on them
 * Do a rough ecological footprint or carbon audit for the campus, using a book or website calculator
 * Create a budget for offsetting TMS’s carbon footprint using RECS
 * Write a proposal for building a methane generator on the campus.

Learning Project Summary

 * Time investment: 65-70 hours? (8 weeks)
 * Assessment suggestions: See below.
 * Portal:(List main portal/s here) Portal:Interdisciplinary Studies
 * School:(List main school/s here) School:Practical Human Life
 * Department: Topic:Ecological_Sustainability
 * Level: Work level aimed at high-school (ages 14-18) but uses readings aimed at the general adult public.

Active participants
Active participants in this Learning Group
 * Frederick 05:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

title: Peak oil, energy, and society


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Design for the Environment/Office Chair Foam

This page is part of the Design for the Environment course

More than 60% of the 2.1 billion pounds of flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) produced worldwide is used in the home/office furnishings sector. FPF is a polymeric foam consisting of two main components: petroleum derived polyols and man-made, amine based isocyanates. FPF production consumes 6.6 million tonnes of petroleum yearly, 0.2% of the world’s yearly oil supply. It is desirable to find a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to be used in the production of office furniture. The goal of furniture companies such as Teknion Inc. is to reduce the environmental impacts of the office furniture sector by replacing petroleum constituents in foam cushioning with renewable alternatives. The two alternatives under consideration are soy -based polyurethane foam (soy foam or soy FPF) and natural latex foam (latex foam). The soy based alternative reduces the total amount of petroleum products used in manufacturing FPF by direct substitution of petrol-derived polyether polyols with polyols derived from soy oil. Although development of high percentage soy-based FPF is currently being pursued by companies such as Woodbridge Group, Lear Corporation, and Bayer, the analysis will focus on soy FPF with 15% soy polyol content. For latex foam, the natural latex resin used to produce the foam is extracted from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree and transformed to latex foam through the Dunlop process.

Project Information
Section 1 Group 18 A. Marangoni (A_Marangoni) P. Mitassov (Pmitassov) S. Memme (Smemme)

Background
Both FPF foams use the same manufacturing process: the two primary chemical ingredients (polyols and isocyanates) are injected into a mold using a multiple stream, high pressure mixing head attached to a robotic arm. Flame retardants, stabilizers and water are also added to this mix. The water and isocyanates react to produce CO2, which creates the characteristic bubbles of the foam. Each mold is lined with a release agent (to ensure that the products can be easily removed). No further curing processes are needed once the final product is removed from the mold. Approximately 10 000 FPF cushions can be produced daily on a typical manufacturing line.

Latex foam is created through the Dunlop process which uses an Oakes mixer: a mixing machine which combines the ingredients with air bubbles through high speed mixing. Additives such as ethyl zimate, zetax, potassium oleate, sulphur and zinc oxide are required during the latex foaming process to induce vulcanization, stabilization, frothing, etc. The liquid latex compound is then injected into mold pallets, which progress along a conveyor belt through a steam curing chamber, washing chamber and finally a drying oven.

Highlights and Recommendations
Functionally, polyurethane, soy-based and latex foam behave similarly, with latex foam possessing slightly higher performance than the FPF alternatives (see density verses compression plots below for more information). Latex foam is more resilient than FPF, but does not show significant benefits in the long term. Overall, the differences in the performance of the foam alternatives as cushioning materials are not significant; any of the three is suitable for use as office chair padding. It should also be noted that the life expectancy of the three foams is not factored into the performance analysis since the useful life of the foam is typically greater than that of the office chair (which is usually discarded for reasons other than foam performance, such as mechanical failures, aesthetics, etc). Please see the Functional Analysis section for more detail.

The lifecycle assessment of the three alternatives resulted in the conclusion that latex foam was the most environmentally friendly product. It was also shown that the major impacts arose from the pre-manufacturing and manufacturing lifecycle stages of the foams, with the use, delivery and end of life phases being virtually identical (please see the SLCA section for details).

The Streamlined Lifecycle Assessment (SLCA) results demonstrated that natural latex foam was the most environmentally-friendly of the three alternatives thanks to its extremely clean premanufacturing lifecycle stage. In comparison to a natural latex resin, regular and soy FPF use virgin petroleum to produce polyols, and hazardous materials in the production of isocyanates (includes toluene, phosgene, HCl, CO). The gathering of latex resin also uses far less energy than the extraction of the oil and coal that used in the production of the polyols and isocyanates, or the energy used in soybean farming (farming equipment, electricity for irrigation pumps, fertilizer pridyction etc ). Latex also produces virtually no liquid, solid or gaseous residues compared to the alternatives (please see the SLCA - Premanufacturing section).

It should be noted that the latex foam has the least environmentally friendly manufacturing stage, due to the high amount of energy used to manufacture the latex foam. (Since each cushion needs to be cured, washed and dryed ). However, the almost ideal pre-manufacturing stage of the latex foam makes the alternative with the cleanest overall lifecycle.

Based on the EIOLCA, polyurethane foam was considered the most environmentally friendly alternative since it emits lower amounts of air pollutants and consumes less energy. Although latex and soy are renewable, farming and energy use substantially hinders them in terms of environmental compatibility.

According to Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Analyses for each alternative, the primary conventional air pollutants emitted during foam production are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The soy and latex alternatives are by far the worst in terms of the production of air pollutants due to higher NOx, SO2 and CO emissions in comparison to conventional FPF. For each of the foam products, CO is the largest pollutant, with soy foam having the highest overall output of CO. However, the NOx, SO2 and VOC emissions are also significant (please see EIOLCA section for more information).

As seen in the the total energy consumption chart to the right, latex uses by far the most energy. Each alternative relies most heavily on natural gas as an energy source. This is especially true for latex foam manufacturing, which uses natural gas heaters and furnaces. Since large amounts of electric energy are also required, coal is also a major energy source for the process (since many electric power plants run on coal).

Based on an economic analysis of the three foam alternatives FPF is the most economically viable option for an office furniture manufacturer since its costs are substantially less than the other alternatives. The producer prices of the foam alternatives are shown in the table below.

Since purchasing the foam is the only expense incurred by the manufacturer during the product’s lifecycle, (ie. no maintenance, identical recycling methods - Please see Details - End of Life), the decision of FPF as the most economic choice was based solely on its low relative cost to the other alternatives. The additional cost associated with latex foam in comparison to FPF arises from the time required for the rubber trees to produce large quantities of latex. The rubber tree only starts to produce latex once it is approximately 8 years old, resulting in large periods of unproductivity. Likewise, farming equipment, water, fertilizers, distillation etc, contribute to the high cost of soy FPF. Refer to Details- Cost Analysis for more reasons as to why the soy and latex foam alternatives are more expensive than FPF.

The table above demonstrates the conclusions of the completed analysis. Since FPF is less than half the price of a natural latex cushion, and 60% of a soy FPF cushion, it is not justifiable for a office chair manufacturer to pay so much more for soy or natural latex foams while seeing only marginal decreases in the total environmental impacts of the product. With current technology, FPF is the alternative which demonstrates the lowest cost, while having comparable environmental impacts to the other alternatives. Therefore, our group recommends that FPF be used for office furniture padding.

Comfort/Durability
The comfort, durability and ability to support weight are characteristics that are directly related to the density of the foam. Most low density polyurethane and soy FPF used in furniture have a density between 14.2 kg/m3 and 40.5 kg/m3 (0.9 lb/ft3 - 2.5 lb/ft3), which has been proven to be sufficiently resilient while remaining comfortable for the user. Soy foam density is known to increase with increased biomass. The density of latex foam generally varies between 25 kg/m3 and 300 kg/m3 (1.56 lb/ft3 and 18.97 lb/ft3), with the lower values in this range being more commonly used for seating applications.

Flammability
All three foam alternatives pass the regulated smouldering cigarette test, during which the upholstered furniture must not ignite in the presence of a smouldering cigarette. The cellular structure of the FPF alternatives makes it quite flammable even after the addition of phosphorus containing flame retardants. However, flame retardants help these materials meet all fire related regulations. Natural latex foam, on the other hand, surpasses all fire safety and flammability requirements without needing fire-repelling additives

Toxicity/Allergic Reactions
Solid state FPF (regular and soy based) is non-toxic, and completely inert when in contact with the human body. Like most other materials, fine FPF dusts may cause coughing and skin irritation at concentrations higher than 6mg/m3. Similarly, latex foam is naturally hypoallergenic and non-toxic. The open cell structure of latex foam, combined with a careful washing process, ensures removal of most or all of the protein culprits in latex allergic reactions. Latex foam is also dust mite resistant, which is beneficial for some allergy sufferers (those allergic to dust mite excrement).

Odour
Soy based FPF may produce odours in a solid state when made with high concentrations of soy (>50%). If an ultraviolet (UV) process is used for treating the soy polyol, no odour is created, whereas using a heat treatment creates an odour

Streamlined Lifecycle Analysis (SLCA)

The Streamlined Lifecycle Assessment (SLCA) technique is a method of evaluating the environmental impact of a product or process over its entire lifecycle. For products, five life stages (pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, delivery, use and end of life) are evaluated based on five categories of environmental impacts (materials choice, energy use, solid residues, liquid residues and gaseous residues). A set of guidelines and scoring criteria are used to aid the evaluation, these can be found in various reference books such as "Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment" by T.Graedel. The results of the SLCA analyses for each of the alternatives are shown in the following table.

Solid Residues
The production of natural latex does not leave any solid residues, resulting in a perfect score for the process. Polyurethane foam premanufacturing produces more solid residues than the latex foam due to the large sulphur releases associated with mining of the coal used in FPF production. This results in the acidification of the soil and surrounding bodies of water. Conversely, the primary residue of soy farming is the plant stover, which does not have any substantial impact, and is used primarily as animal feed.

Liquid Residues
The possible leaks/spills that occur in both the extraction/transportation of oil and runoff from coal mines are the primary causes of liquid residues in FPF production. These possible spills are far more hazardous than spilling natural latex since latex is a natural substance. A major liquid residue, and the largest environment impact of soy farming, is the nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff which is responsible for large dead zones in the aquatic bodies it enters. The disruption of the ecosystem in nearby bodies of water due to the algal blooms produced by the runoff, and the contamination of the ground water are severe effects which reduce soy foam’s score for this section.

Gaseous Residues
Emissions from transporting raw materials are the only gaseous residues associated with latex foam. However, since these emissions are also present for the other alternatives, they were disregarded when formulating the scores. The primary contributor of gaseous residues in the production of the FPF alternatives is the production of isocyanates, which releases small amounts of isocyanate into the atmosphere, usually much lower than the accepted limits (scrubbers remove more than 98% of all isocyanate from the escaping air). Finally, the emissions from the machinery used in the production of soybeans are also considered adverse gaseous residues.

Material Choice
Chemicals of relatively low toxicity are added to the primary raw materials to increase the stability of all three foam alternatives. Likewise, both processes use readily available, natural blowing agents (see SLCA Manufacturing - Basics) to produce the characteristic bubbles of the foam. FPF requires the addition of flame retardants, whereas latex foam is able to complete the task naturally. However, since the flame retardants have little if any environmental effects, both processes merit a score of 2, due to the relatively low toxicity of the materials used.

Energy Use
The production of latex foam is more energy intensive than that of FPF since latex foam must pass through steam curing and washing chambers and finally a drying oven, each of which consume a lot of energy due to their high operating temperatures. The production of molded FPF does not require any curing since the chemical reaction which produces the CO2 is exothermic and produces all the energy needed to cure the foam. Additionally, the latex foam production process does not attempt to utilize a single heating system for the drying oven and the steam curing chamber; a design that would have increased the overall energy efficiency.

Solid Residues
The only solid residues produced while manufacturing the foam alternatives are small scrap pieces. Since the products are molded in both manufacturing processes, it is assumed that only about 1% of the foam material becomes scrap, with the majority being recycled.

Liquid Residues
Latex foam manufacturing produces substantially more liquid residues than the FPF manufacturing process due to the need to wash the molds after the production of each latex foam cushion, thereby diluting the mold release agents into the cleaning water. This water is neither treated nor reused. In comparison, the FPF manufacturing process produces no liquid residues directly related to the manufacturing line.

Gaseous Residues
For both processes, the main contributor to VOC emissions are the naphtha based mold release agents. Additional gaseous residues for FPF foam include carbon dioxide produced in the chemical reaction between isocyanates and water, and the emissions of isocyanates themselves. Though these residues have low environmental impacts due to their low relative concentrations and the treatment of the emissions, they do not exist in latex foam production, resulting in the latter being given a slightly higher score.

Delivery
The delivery of the final molded foam part to the client is generally the same for polyurethane, soy and latex based foams. Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) boxes are the preferred packaging material in the foam padding industry due to their low cost and ability to contain multiple parts. Since corrugated fiberboard is paper-based, a functioning recycling infrastructure also exists. Depending on the location of the customer, transportation of the product may require air, land or sea vehicles. Since transportation is a major component of the delivery phase, numerous gaseous emissions (i.e. CO2) are expelled from the various vehicles. The size of an order may also influence the mode of transportation and in turn the amount of emissions due to weight considerations.

Use
Once manufactured and assembled, the three alternatives do not require any form of maintenance or care over the course of their useful life. Therefore no material or energy inputs are required, and no liquid, gaseous or solid residues are created with the exception of polyurethane. Generally, the various foams are encased with fabric in office chair use. Therefore, chunking or tearing of the foam is usually not a concern. In the case of polyurethane foam, it has been found that trace amounts of VOCs may be released into the atmosphere over the course of the products life. Therefore, health risks ranging from acute anaesthesia to long term illnesses are possible, though in the vast majority of cases, they pose negligible risks due to low concentrations.

End of Life
The non-chemical recycling options are the same for all three foam alternatives. One option is to grind up old cushions and mix the resulting powder with the various ingredients required during virgin foam manufacturing, thus creating new foam. Another option is to bond and re-mold old foam strips together to produce a new product. More than 80% of all carpet underlay, for example, comes from recycled FPF. The recycling of soy and polyurethane foams may also be completed using hydrolosis, glycolosis, and pyrolosis to extract the polyols from the scrap foam. However, these recycling processes require great deals of energy and generate an increased amount of liquid residues. Latex foam recycling focuses on regrinding, rebonding and stuffing. Adhesives used to bond scrap pieces of foam together end up in waste water when the molds are washed, generating more liquid residue than the original manufacturing process (since adhesives are not originally required) Note that even with multiple recycling techniques, the sheer volume of scrap foam that is generated (mainly due to old cushions) is greater than the rate at which it can be recycled. Therefore, a fair portion of the scrap is land-filled.

Background
By quantifying the amount of economic activity that the purchase of a foam seat cushion stimulates in the entire economy, the Economic Input-Output LCA model outputs a list of environmental impacts divided into 4 main categories: Conventional Air Pollutants, Greenhouse Gases, Energy, and Toxic Releases. Notes:
 * Model based on the US economy in 1997; all dollar inputs into the model were converted to 1997 dollars using a Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator.
 * Use, delivery and recycling life cycle stages for each of the three alternatives have similar environmental impacts and therefore were not analyzed in the model (see SLCA Delivery, Use and End of Life).

Conventional Air Pollutants
High CO emissions are attributed to transportation needed in foam production since CO is a by-product of combustion. As seen in the table below, these emissions are significantly higher for latex and soy based foams since their raw materials are delivered from tropical climates such as Brazil for latex, for example.

NOx and SO2 coming from the power generation sector were also significant contributors to air pollution during production, with latex having the largest overall emissions. Coal fired power plants in this sector are estimated to produce more than 10 000 tonnes of NOx and SO2 in an average year in the United States. Latex foam is a larger producer of these two compounds due to its heavier dependence on electricity use in its manufacturing stage ( see SLCA Manufacturing - Basics).

VOC emissions were approximately equal to 7% of the total conventional air pollutants for each alternative. The primary sources of VOC production for the alternatives were the manufacturing of organic chemicals and transportation sectors. VOCs are also largely emitted when using petroleum distillates in the foam manufacturing sector (solvents, fuel) and in the production of organic chemicals, all of which are facets of regular and soy FPF production (i.e. petroleum based polyols, naphtha mold release agents, isocyanate production).

Greenhouse Gases
The CO2 emissions of the foam are detailed below. As can be seen, latex foam has the highest emissions, closely followed by the soy foam.

Part of this total owes to the electricity used in running a foam manufacturing process (a large portion of electricity generation still depends on fossil fuels). While the synthetic rubber manufacturing sector contributes to CO2 production for latex foam, this is due to the inclusion of petroleum based products that are not applicable to natural latex foam. Therefore, the actual CO2 emissions of latex foam are lower than displayed.

Soy foam produces a large amount of N2O which is a direct result of soy bean farming (see the bar chart to the right). This N2O primarily comes from nitrogen runoff from farms, which in turn comes from fertilizer that does not get consumed by the plants and instead gets washed off by rainwater.

Energy
Natural gas is the primary source of energy for all three alternatives, contributing approximately 46%, 42% and 61% of the total energy used for polyurethane, soy-based and latex foam respectively. In the case of polyurethane foam, a large natural gas contribution may be attributed to the fact that ethylene, a primary component of many plastics including polyurethane is derived from natural gas. Various fertilizers (which are often made from natural gas) are also needed to stimulate and facilitate the growth of the soy plants, thus contributing to the amount of natural gas used during the life of the product. Lastly, the large energy contribution of natural gas during latex foam production is due to the various heating and steaming procedures required during manufacturing. Many of the water boilers and ovens use natural gas as a fuel to generate heat. Energy generated through coal is also a significant contributor for all three alternatives. The power generation sector is responsible for the majority of the coal used during the life of the foams. Energy sources such as kerosene, jet fuel, etc, are not significant contributors during FPF production. It should be noted, however, that the dominant consumer of electricity in the FPF manufacturing process is the foam production sector itself. Latex foam is similar to polyurethane foam since only natural gas and coal are significant contributors to environmental pollution. Unlike its two competitors, soy-based foam requires noticeable amounts of energy from sources such as distillates (alcohol, ethanol, butanol, etc) and liquefied petroleum gases (propane, butane, etc). The main consumer of such fuels is the grain farming sector. The aforementioned fuels are required since some farming equipment use internal combustion propulsion systems (ie. tractors).

Soy vs FPF
Since the soy FPF being studied is 85% petrol based (and therefore still incurs 85% of the costs associated with regular FPF), the primary difference in cost between regular and soy FPF are the expenses associated with soy recovery and processing. Farming equipment, water, fertilizers, distillation etc, all contribute to the cost of the final product, while regular FPF does not incur these expenses.

Latex vs FPF
The rubber tree only continues to produce latex until approximately age 30. The distance raw latex must be transported (since rubber trees are strictly grown in tropical environments) also contributes to the higher cost associated with latex foam. The latex foam manufacturing process also requires various ovens, heaters and boilers for the washing and steaming procedures, which are capital costs not incurred by regular and soy-based FPF manufacturers (see SLCA - Manufacturing). The high energy use associated with these processes also contribute to the overall higher price of latex foam.

Future Prospects
Since petroleum prices are predicted to rise due to diminishing supplies (thus increasing the cost of polyurethane foam ingredients), companies can be expected to invest into improving the soy refinement and latex collection methods, in an effort to replace the expensive petroleum polyols. This is already demonstrated by the efforts being put forth by companies such as Woodbridge Group and Lear Corporation to develop FPF foams containing very high percentages of biologically-derived polyols. These investments in production technology can be expected to eventually make soy processing more efficient, thus decreasing the cost of polyol manufacturing.

Density Verses Compression Plots
Polyurethane Foam Latex Foam

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
User talk:A Marangoni

Hallo, welcome around here. I hope you succeed in your learning goals. Below more info about Wikiversity, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:04, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Welcome
Hello A Marangoni, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:04, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:A Marangoni


text:
User talk:Smemme

Hallo, welcome around here. I hope you succeed in your learning goals. Below more info about Wikiversity, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:04, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Welcome
Hello Smemme, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:04, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

images
Hello. For the images that you uploaded you have selected a copyright license which states "I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain." But the captions for these images at DFE2008 Office Chair Foam gives credit for the creation of these images to others. Wikiversity requires that all images be released by the orginal author under a free license. Images which are a violation of the copyright holder will need to be deleted. If you are looking for free images that can be used to illustrate the page, I would suggest trying Commons:Category:Office chairs. The images there are known to be free and you can include them in the page by simply inserting this:. Please leave me a message at User talk:Mu301 if you need help with this. --mikeu talk 13:05, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Smemme


text:
World religions

Course Overview
In this course we will study the history of religion and how it impacts our world today. This course is designed to give you a clear understanding of some of the major world religions and how to discern for yourself what these religions actually mean in today’s society.

Course Outline
Book Assignment: “The Sacred and the Profane” by Mircea Eliade Book Assignment: “The Weaver’s Song” by Kabir Book Assignment: “Freedom in Exile” The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama” Book Assignment: “The Te of Piglet” by Benjamin Hoff
 * I.) What is Religion? Why Do We Study It?
 * II.) Early Religions (Division 1)
 * III.) Hinduism (Division 2)
 * IV.) Buddhism (Division 3)
 * V.) Chinese Religions and Philosophies (Division 4)
 * VI.) Other Asian Religions (Division 5)

Introduction to World Religions
Everyone welcome to World Religions. In this course we will study a few of the World’s main religions. This course is not meant to confront or change your own beliefs, but it is meant to give you an unbiased impression of these religions. More than 50 years ago we would probably have never met another person on the street who believes something different from our own beliefs. Today it is very commonplace to cross paths with several people a day who have different beliefs than our own. I only hope that this course will help you to communicate better with those people in order to build strong relationships and a greater understanding of our world as a whole.

I.)What is Religion? Why Do We Study It?

What is Religion? Consider these different definitions of religion. Do you agree or disagree with them? Do you have a definition all your own?

1.)	“A Religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.” –Clifford Geertz

2.)	Religion’s “…single function is to give man access to the powers which seem to control his destiny, and its single purpose is to induce those powers to be friendly to him.” –H.L. Menken

3.)	“Religion is an attempt to get control over the sensory world, in which we are placed, by means of the wish-world, which we have developed inside of us as a result of biological and psychological necessities, but it cannot achieve its end. Its doctrines carry with them the stamp of the times in which they originated, the ignorant childhood days of the human race.” –Sigmund Freud

4.)	“…One who has attained to the ultimate truth sees that there is no such thing as ‘religion.’ There is only a certain nature which can be called whatever we like. It can be called God or Tao…[and many other things,] but we shouldn’t particularize that truth as Buddhism, Christianity, [Judaism]…and Islam, for we can neither capture nor confine it with labels and concepts. Still such divisions occur because people haven’t yet realized this nameless truth for themselves.” –Buddhadasa Bhikku, a Thai Monk (From a speech given in 1964 in Bangkok)

title: World religions


text:
User talk:Jennienoeline

Hello Jennienoeline, thank you for your contribution. I hope you succeed in your learning goals. Below more info about

Wikiversity, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:26, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Jennienoeline


text:
Instructional design/Learning objectives/You are the Instructional Designer/Possible Scenario Answers

Do any of your objectives look similar?

 * 1. Given a blood glucose meter and test strips, the learner will be able to demonstrate how to correctly check blood glucose within a 2 minute time frame.

 * 2. Given a blood glucose meter and test strips, the learner will be able to demonstrate how to correctly insert the test strip and properly dispose of it at least 3 out of 4 times.

 * 3. Using the Blood Sample Body on the How to Check Blood Glucose training website, the learner will be able to locate the correct parts of the body to check glucose with no more than one error.

 * 4. With reference to the Checking Results web page on the How to Check Blood Glucose training website, the learner will be able to state where their blood glucose reading range is within 45 seconds.


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User:Morehouseo

Search Engine Marketing | Natural Search | Search Strategist
A student of Search. Great passion for finding and getting found.

A sage once told a warrior the secret to passion. The warrior asked, "How do I find what I most want to do in this world?" The sage replied, "Walk out into the ocean until the water covers your head." The young warrior proceeded. After the water cascaded around his head, he said, "Old man, I cannot breathe!" The sage said, "What did you want to do more than anything in the world at that time?"

Hence, lies the definition of passion...

title: User:Morehouseo


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User talk:Morehouseo

Welcome
Hello Morehouseo, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Jtneill - Talk 00:42, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Morehouseo


text:
User talk:Johnnyronny~enwikiversity

Welcome
Hello Johnnyronny, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
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 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! --mikeu talk 02:47, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Johnnyronny. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Johnnyronny~enwikiversity that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:35, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 06:12, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Johnnyronny~enwikiversity


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User:Jtelatnik

Jakub Telatnik is a third year mechanical engineering student at the University of Toronto

title: User:Jtelatnik


text:
Design for the Environment/Residential Roofing Materials

This page is part of the Design for the Environment course  Project Information

Group 10A - Lec 01

Daniel Loureiro(loureiro1)

Samuel Melamed(melamed1)

Simon Murray(simon.murray)

Jakub Telatnik(Jtelatnik)

This article outlines the results of an environmental life cycle assessment performed on three possible options of roofing material for residential applications. Recently, an increasing focus has been placed on the green design of buildings. This article will attempt to present information on the complete life cycle of products available to home builders who wish to offer a greener house to their customer.

Fiberglass felt asphalt shingles
The baseline for this assessment, asphalt roofing products make up as much as 90% of the residential roofing market in Canada. This assessment will focus on the fiberglass based shingles due to the lower material input required for production, compared to organic (cellulose) based shingles. This option is assumed to have a lifespan of 20 years based on warranties provided by various manufacturers. The material is produced by coating a roll of fiber mat with binder (a mixture of asphalt and aggregate) and one side is surfaced with mineral granules of desired colour. The rolls are then cut to size. The primary environmental concerns that exist with this alternative are the large amount of waste that is produced in the production of the shingles (cut away) and in re-roofing. Several possibilities exist for post-use asphalt shingle waste. This assessment will assume that 100% of the material is recycled as an additive to hot mix asphalt. In Toronto, asphalt waste is deemed private waste and must be disposed of by a private construction and demolition company; therefore, the possibility exists for the waste to be diverted from landfills.

Stainless steel roofing panels
Metal roofs are becoming more popular for residential homes. The common style and grade of steel used for urban homes is known as standing – seem, 18/10 stainless steel. This fraction represents stainless steel composed of 18% chromium and 10% nickel, 2 – 2.5% molybdenum, and 69.75% iron. The lifespan being considered for this analysis is 50 years. The processes required to extract theses metals is energy intensive and can have significant impacts on the environment. These impacts will be analyzed in this report. The roofing panels are made by taking the refined stainless steel from the mill and casting it into slabs and then rolling it into hot rolled coils. The hot rolled coils are then cold reduced and coated with a polymer coating known as Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) for protection]. One of the benefits of stainless steel roofing is that it is 60% recyclable at the end of its life. Stainless steel recycling is one of the world’s most widely recycled materials which can reduce the energy needed to produce stainless steel roofing. This will ultimately reduce the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing stainless steel roofing.

Extruded concrete roofing tiles
The alternative product analyzed is a flat extruded concrete roofing tile. The tile is made via a concrete extrusion process and is called an extruded concrete roofing tile (ECRT). The inputs from the economy represent the estimated total demand for the five life cycle stages analyzed. The life expectancy of the ECRT is 60-100 years. This analysis will account for the worst-case scenario of 60 years. The ECRT has been approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineering Building Codes to withstand the elements of the physical environment of the scope for this report. For a single home of average 2500 sqf roof surface are it is calculated that 2016.8 tiles are needed. The weight of the roof is 23193 lbs (10.52 MT). It is assumed that by weight the tiles are comprised of 100% concrete because the weight of the paint and adhesives is negligible in comparison to the tiles themselves.

For the recycling stage of the life cycle several assumptions are made in order to make the analysis possible. It is assumed that 100% by mass of the concrete is recycled into aggregate. It is also assumed that the recycling occurs in the manufacturing plant therefore the distance of trucking the recycled concrete is the same as the distance traveled by the ECRT to the construction site. Since no mass is disposed the trucking demand is the same as the trucking demand for the installation stage. Finally it is assumed that the electricity needed to make aggregate from raw material is the same as the electricity used to make aggregate from recycled concrete. This assumption can be justifies as the process of generating aggregate from recycled concrete is the same as making aggregate from raw material.

Details about the Functional Analysis
The scope of this project applies to residential roofing in the Toronto area. All options considered conform to Ontario Building Codes and associated CSA standards. A roof is only one component of a building envelope. Other such building envelope components are doors, windows, walls and the basement. The functional purpose of each envelope component is to separate the indoor environment from the outdoor environment. Some of the outdoor environmental effects that must be considered when designing a roof are wind, rain, snow, temperature gradients, and solar radiation. Toronto experiences four seasons; therefore, each roof must be able to withstand the intense summer heat, the cold harsh winters, and the rain and wind of spring and fall.

Details about the Cost Analysis
The area of roof being considered is 2500 ft2. Transportation costs are considered over a trip of 100km. This assumes transportation from the manufacturer to the building site. These costs are determined based on weight of the materials. All costs are calculated in 1997 dollars.

The following table summarizes the direct costs anticipated by this assessment:

In addition to these costs, this assessment takes into account the of energy savings due to differences in thermal performance of the materials. The following is an assessment of annual energy used in cooling of unwanted heat gained through the roof.

As can be seen from the analysis above the extruded concrete roofing tiles are the least expensive alternative considered and have the potential to save the most energy in use.

Details about the Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment
Asphalt shingles received a low score in the material selection category because of the mining process involved in the pre-manufacturing stage and the energy required it convert the petroleum into the finished product in the manufacturing stage. With regards to transportation and packaging the effects are similar. Asphalt shingles received a score of 1 for the installation and use stage because of their short life span compared to the other two alternatives. Asphalt scored poorly in the end of life stage because it is an energy intensive process to sort through the nails and the shingles.

The reason that asphalt shingles scored better than the other alternatives in the pre-manufacturing stage is because less material is required for an equivalent area to be roofed. The process for converting petroleum into asphalt shingles must be done at a high temperature. Cement is tough and needs to be crushed in order to make concrete, which is energy intense. The manufacturing stage for steel panels requires stamping, which does not require large amounts of energy compared to the other alternatives. As stated above, the short lifespan and poor solar reflectance of asphalt shingles are the major reasons for it receiving a low score in the installation and use stage. Steel panels and ECRT have long life spans and high solar reflectance values.

Burning fuel to make the concrete in the manufacturing stage is to account for the mediocre score. Asphalt shingles received a poor score because the petroleum processing releases gaseous residue. There are no gaseous residues required to stamp the steel panels. Installation and use of the three alternatives require manual labour and no process that results in gaseous residue.

Mining of iron and extraction of petroleum can result in acid mine drainage (AMD) and the release of harmful drilling fluids. Aggregate extraction for ECRT does not release harmful liquid residues. The liquid residues associated with the pre-manufacturing of ECRT is from the process of making the cement. Asphalt shingles are coated with granules and water runoff from the roof may contain these granules and be contaminated.

The solid release associated with steel panels is the flashing from the steel shape forming. Asphalt shingles and ECRT do not have excess solid waste in the manufacturing stage. Asphalt shingles deteriorate over time. The granules that cover the asphalt shingles break off as the shingles deteriorates over time.

Details about the Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment
The primary resource in this evaluation, the Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment, was performed using the EIOLCA software to analyze the economic activity generated by the direct costs in various sectors and thus the associated environmental impacts. Each alternative was analyzed by controlling the sectors in which economic activity exists to accurately model the life cycle of each material. The following charts show the economic activity generated by each alternative:

Fiberglass felt asphalt shingles
It can be seen that most of the economic activity is a result of the first three life cycle stages. This first image shows the environmental impacts incurred by the economic activity in the first three life stages of asphalt shingles. The installation life cycle stage of this alternative incorporates the production of additional materials needed for installation (underlay, flashings, fasteners) where as the assessment of other materials include this in the manufacturing life stage.

As can be seen considerable amounts of energy input and environmental outputs come from the relatively small amount of resources extracted for this alternative, this is mostly due to the petroleum and mining sectors. For this alternative it can be seen that most of the energy is used in the manufacture of both the shingles themselves and the materials required in the installations. Analysis of processing of waste asphalt shingles to be used as an additive in hot mix asphalt showed that the additional energy required for processing results in an overall reduction in environmental outputs due offset virgin material that would otherwise need to be extracted. The overall reduction in pollutants is insignificant compared to the rest of the life cycle but analysis shows that recycling is a viable alternative to disposal in a landfill.

Extruded concrete roofing tiles
Production of extruded concrete roofing tiles results in less total economic activity than the baseline alternative. It can be seen that most of the economic activity occurs in the pre-manufacturing life cycle stage. The premanufacturing life stage involves the production of cement and the mining and processing of rock aggregate. High temperature furnaces are required to produce cement. The production of cement thus has a high economic demand from the petroleum refining industry. As can be seen in the following figure, the largest energy demands and highest production of greenhouse gases occur in this sector. The manufacturing process involves the mixing of the cement and aggregate and the extrusion process. This requires a high demand from the petroleum refining industry and the power generation industry. Both of these industries have high greenhouse gas emissions. The installation stage is minimal in economic activity and environmental impact in comparison to the premanufacturing stage and the manufacturing stage. This is because only the transportation of the extruded concrete roofing tiles is factored, and therefore most of the environmental impacts come from the fuel burned during the operation of transportations trucks. Even with the least economic activity, the energy intensive process of concrete roofing tile production results in energy inputs and environmental impacts comparable to those of the asphalt shingles. Overall, the energy inputs and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions are less than those of the asphalt shingles.

The disposal sector has a small impact on the economic activity compared to the pre - manufacturing and manufacturing sectors. A certain amount of aggregate is recycled back into the market which creates a credit in the Stone Mining and Quarrying sector and reduces the economic impact that this sector has on the environment. Studies have revealed that roughly 5% of the aggregate market comes from recycled concrete. This 5% of recycled concrete reduces the economic and environmental impact by reducing the demand needed from the aggregate mining industry.

Stainless steel roofing panels
Production of the stainless steel roofing panels creates the most economic activity of the three alternatives. As a result the energy inputs and environmental impacts are the largest for this sector. The pre – manufacturing and manufacturing sectors account for the largest portion of the economic activity, energy requirements, and environmental outputs. The combined economic activity level for both sectors is $204,132 or 97.9% of the total economic activity as seen in the corresponding chart. Both sectors contribute 1,978,000 MJ of energy and 175 MTCO2E. The total land releases are 6,274 kg. These values are significantly larger for than those for asphalt and concrete roofing materials. This is because metal extraction is an energy intensive process that is almost always a non–local activity. The industries associated with pre–manufacturing are iron ore, chromium, nickel, and molybdenum mining, and iron and steel milling. Surface mining and underground mining are typical mining methods for minerals such as iron ore and the precious metals mentioned. Both can have detrimental effects to the environment. Erosion, sinkholes, and contamination of ground and surface water by chemical waste are some of the few environmental issues facing the mining industry. Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) can unbalance the natural pH levels of an ecosystem which can destroy organisms. AMD results from the acidic waste left by abandoned mines. The next part of the pre–manufacturing section is the production of stainless steel. Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) are a popular type of furnace used for stainless steel smelting. Large amounts of electrical energy are needed to produce stainless steel. Approximately 360 - 400 kwh are required to melt one ton of steel. Other environmental impacts associated with using an EAF are high sound levels, dust and off–gas production, slag, and cooling water. Metals such as steel are in high demand. Therefore, they require large amounts of transportation for moving scrap and product. The trucking and rail industry contributes greatly to Global warming potential (GWP). All of these environmental impacts are the reasons the production of stainless steel roofing is more harmful than the production of asphalt and concrete roofing. The disposal sector represents a small portion of the total economic activity, but it is still important to acknowledge this sector. Recycling steel is very beneficial. There were 20 million tones of stainless steel produced in 2002 and 12 million tones out of the 20 were recycled material. The energy saved by recycling reduces the annual energy consumption of the industry by 75%, which is enough to power eighteen million homes for one year. Recycling one ton of steel saves 1,100 kilograms of iron ore, 630 kilograms of coal, and 55 kilograms of limestone. The process for producing stainless steel is the same as the recycling process. Both utilize an EAF to melt down the steel. A benefit of steel recycling is that steel can be recycled many times. Its material properties are not affected by the recycling process since the process is the same as the production process. The advantage to using an EAF is that steel can be made from 100% recycled scrap material. This is known as Cold Ferrous Feed. When stainless steel is recycled it reduces the amount of virgin material that is needed for production. This will reduce the amount of economic activity, energy, and (GWP) that is produced by manufacturing stainless steel roofing. These savings are known as recovery. The inputs for recovery can be subtracted from the final demand of production to get the actual production outputs. By recycling steel, 37.3% less virgin iron ore will be needed per household. The EIO – LCA model can be used to calculate a savings of 2.57 billion dollars of economic activity. This will ultimately lower the amount of energy consumption and GWP for stainless steel roofing manufacturing.

Final recommendations
Based on the above analysis, extruded concrete roofing tiles have the lowest environmental impact over their entire life cycle and are the lowest cost to the installer. The high durability of the roofing tiles results in a longer lifespan of this product. This helps in avoiding the large environmental impacts associated with production of the material and results in concrete tiles having the lowest energy inputs. Green house gas emissions and environmental releases produced are slightly smaller than asphalt shingles and much smaller than stainless steel panels. It was also determined that the concrete roofing tiles resulting in the greatest energy savings. These factors combined resulted in the conclusion that Ontario home builders who wish to offer a environmentally friendly design should employ extruded concrete roofing tiles in the construction of their homes.


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User talk:Jtelatnik

Hello Jakub, welcome around here. I hope you succeed in your learning goals. Below more info about Wikiversity, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 05:39, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Welcome
Hello Jtelatnik, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 05:39, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Jtelatnik


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User:EugenSpierer

Name: Eugen Spierer. Location: Haifa, Israel. Education: Bachelor's degree in Biology, master's degree in Bioethics. Email address: udi6309@gmail.com

title: User:EugenSpierer


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Individual differences psychology

Individual differences refers to the field of study which examines psychological differences between people. Two major topics of investigation within individual differences are intelligence and personality. Other key topics include motivation and emotion. Study of individual differences is a core aspect of undergraduate psychology.

title: Individual differences psychology


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Personality

Lectures

 * Dispositional perspectives

Wikipedia

 * Personality psychology
 * Category:Personality theories

Wikiversity

 * Individual differences
 * Personality traits
 * Personality psychology:Trait theories
 * Big Five personality traits
 * Category:Personality traits
 * Personality types

title: Personality


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User talk:Thuvack/Messages

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin:0em 0em 1em 0em; width:100%" MESSAGES FROM EVERYONE ELSE
 * style="width:100%; vertical-align:top; border:1px solid Sienna; background-color: AliceBlue;" |
 * put your comments or messages here

title: User talk:Thuvack/Messages


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User:Jonathan Webley/sandbox

Completion bar
Learning Klingon - This course is still under development, but the initial lessons are complete. Learning Klingon - This course is still under development, but the initial lessons are complete.

Affixes1
Identify the affix! Suffixes start with a hyphen (-be') and prefixes end with a hyphen (jI-). { Which verb suffix negates the verb? { -be' }
 * type="{}"}

{ Which verb prefix has subject "I" and is used with no object? { jI- }
 * type="{}"}

Affix2
Suffixes VS1 = verb suffix 1, RVS = roving verb suffix, NS1 = noun suffix 1, etc { Identify the suffix type. Some suffixes may be : -+- -be' --++--- -pu'
 * type="[]"}
 * VS1 | VS2 | VS3 | VS4 | VS5 | VS6 | VS7 | VS8 | VS9 | RVS | NS1 | NS2 | NS3 | NS4 | NS5

{ Identify the subject: +- jI- -+ bI-
 * type=""}
 * I | you (sing.) | he/she/it | we | you (plural) | they

{ Identify the object: +-- jI- +-- bI-
 * type=""}
 * none | me | you (sing.) | him/her/it | us | you (plural) | them

EK
Translate these phrases into English ''The answers must be in the correct case for Klingon (lowercase a, uppercase D, etc). They do not end in a period. The apostrophe used is the standard one under found under the "@" symbol on most keyboards.'' { He runs. { qet _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ I am not sitting. { jIba'be' _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ You (sing) walk. { bIyIt _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ Mara is standing. { Qam mara _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ Mogh is not sitting. { ba'be' mogh _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ She sits. { ba' _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The boy does not walk. { yItbe' loDHom _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ We speak. { majatlh _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ You (plural) stand. { SuQam _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The girl is speaking. { jatlh be'Hom _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The man stands. { Qam loD _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The woman is not walking. { yItbe' be' _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ She says. { jatlh _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The woman speaks. { jatlh be' _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ Torgh is standing. { Qam torgh _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The man walks. { yIt loD _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ We walk. { mayIt _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ You (plural) are running. { Suqet _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The boy runs. { qet loDHom _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ You (sing) sit. { bIba' _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ The girl is not running. { qetbe' be'Hom _30 }
 * type="{}"}

{ I am speaking. { jIjatlh _30 }
 * type="{}"}

Edited
Translate these words into English { ba' { sit }
 * type="{}"}

{ be'Hom { girl }
 * type="{}"}

{ Hol { language }
 * type="{}"}

{ loD { man }
 * type="{}"}

{ Qam { stand }
 * type="{}"}

{ tlhIngan { Klingon }
 * type="{}"}

Translate these words into Klingon { woman { be' }
 * type="{}"}

{ federation { DIvI' }
 * type="{}"}

{ say { jatlh }
 * type="{}"}

{ boy { loDHom }
 * type="{}"}

{ success { Qapla' }
 * type="{}"}

{ walk { yIt }
 * type="{}"}

Original
Please take this quiz

{ Type text here or a no-break space code Where was Aristotle born? { Stageira }
 * type="{}"}

{ Type text here or a no-break space code Name Aristotle's famous mentor. { Plato }
 * type="{}"}

{ Type text here or a no-break space code { Alexander } was Aristotle's most famous pupil.
 * type="{}"}

{ Type text here or a no-break space code Name Aristotle's famous mentor. { Plato _6 }
 * type="{}"}

{ Type text here or a no-break space code Name a famous Greek philospher. { Aristotle|Plato|plato|aristotle }
 * type="{}"}

title: User:Jonathan Webley/sandbox


text:
Survey research and design in psychology/Tutorials/Psychometrics/Exploratory factor analysis/Additional exercises

If you would like more practice at Exploratory factor analysis (assuming you've already completed the main tutorial exercises), then several further exercises are provided below.

Factor analysis

 * student.sav | student.sps | student.spo
 * Conduct an EFA of Maths 1 to 10, English 1 to 8, and Sociability 1 to 4 pp. 167-168 (5th ed.)
 * Solution (not in Francis): 3 factor (Maths, English and Sociability) PC, varimax, with engl3, engl4, maths3 removed.

Resilience Scale

 * resilience.sav | resilience.sps |  resilience.spo

Factor Analysis

 * What is the factor structure of the Resilience Scale?
 * The designers of the 25-item Resilience Scale (Wagnild & Young. 1993) purported five factors.
 * A subset of 15 of the original items is provided from data collected from young Australian adults by Neill & Dias (2001).
 * Check whether a five factor solution holds up for the data.
 * For this factor analysis, we are interested in developing a theoretical understanding of the underlying psychological components of resilience, so use Principal Axis Factoring (PAF), which looks at the shared variance amongst the items, not all the items' variance.
 * You should find that there are really not enough primary loadings on 4 or 5 factors to justify their presence, therefore try 2 and 3 factors. Best approach is probably 2 factors ("taking control" and "taking it easy"), with 3 to 5 items removed (at least remove the three worst items 2, 8, and 17) and using an oblimin rotation.
 * It seems that according to this data, psychological resilience consists of two main underlying components. The first factor, "Solve" is about taking control, making plans, being determined, task oriented, active, and disciplined, and solving problems (7 items - 1, 14, 10, 15, 6, 24, 21).  The second factor, "Flow" is about a flexible approach to coping, including being able to take things in one's stride, taking it easy, laughing things off, and finding alternative ways through problems (5 items - 19, 7, 23, 16, 9).  People who exhibit both these qualities are people who are most likely to "psychologically resilient" to negative consequences of experiencing risk factors.

Internal consistency

 * What is the internal consistency for each factor?
 * Both factors have very good internal consistency (a >.8)

Composite Scores

 * Calculate unit-weighted composite scores for SOLVE and FLOW and create univariate descriptives and histograms.
 * Both factors have reasonably normal distributions with some negative skew.
 * Get descriptive statistics and histograms to examine each of the distributional properties of the composite scores you've created.
 * Compare with descriptives statistics and histograms for the individual items - what are the differences? (The composite score should be more normally distributed)

Self Description Questionnaire - II

 * sdq.sav | sdq.sps | sdq.spo
 * (from Neill, 1994)
 * The designer of the Self Description Questionnaire - II, a self-concept questionnaire, for adolescents (SDQ-II), Prof. Herb Marsh, proposes 11 factors. This is a sample of data pertaining to 7 of those factors, collected from Australian adolescents.  Check to see whether there are 7 factors.  Use Principle Components (assume we are doing this in order to calculate factor scores for each self-concept factor).
 * Check the scree plot - it will suggest looking at 3, 5 and 8 factors. Yet, further exploration of the factor loadings suggests that 6 or 7 factors make more sense.  However, there are some cross-loadings between the Opposite-Sex Relations and Physical Appearance items.  These can be minimised by using an oblimin rotation.  A 7 factor solution makes most sense.  Note that if 6 factors are used, that it seems that Opposite-Sex Relations join in one factor with Physical Appearance.  Whilst understandably related, it would make more sense to keep Physical Appearance and Opposite Sex Relations as a separate factors.
 * It is also important to test for structural invariance across cohorts within the sample. Further checking of the SDQ data 6 and 7 factor solutions should take place across Gender. If the factor analyses are done separately by Gender, it becomes apparent that the 6 factor solution can apply to both genders, whereas the 7 factor solution seems to only apply to one gender.  Thus, this is an issue which require further thinking and investigation before ultimately deciding on the most appropriate factor structure.

Life Effectiveness Questionnaire - H

 * leq.sav | leq.sps | leq.spo
 * The data is from Neill, Marsh & Richards, 2003
 * This file contains data for all 24 items in the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire version H.
 * How many factors are evident in this data set?
 * Check the screeplot - it will suggest some possibilities. Use Principal Components, since we probably want to create composite scores for use in further analysis.
 * An 8 factor solution works well. Oblimin and Varimax solutions are both good, although Oblimin is a bit cleaner. This is a pretty clear solution reflecting the fact that this instrument has been carefully revised through several iterations, each with hundreds or thousands of participants.
 * It is important to test for structural invariance across cohorts within the sample. Using the LEQ data, conduct your factor analysis separately for males and females. Is life effectiveness structured similarly for males and females?
 * The number and meaning of the factors for males and females looks similar although the order of the factors suggests a gender-specific emphasis about which factors are most dominant.
 * Does the LEQ factor structure also hold up across participant age?
 * Recode age into a dichotomous variable for 25 years and below as "young", and 26 years and over as "old". Split the data file by the new age category variable and conduct the factor analysis with each cohort.  The conclusion would be similar - still the same eight meaningful factors, but there is an age-specific emphasis on which factors are the most dominant.


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Internal consistency

Internal consistency (or internal reliability) is a way of measuring the inter-correlation amongst a set of measurement items which are used to measure a single construct.

Internal consistency can be measured using:
 * 1) Split-half reliability: Correlation between the total score for the first half of the items with the total score for the second half of the items
 * 2) Odd-even reliability: Correlation between the total score for items 1, 3, 5 etc. and the total score for the items 2, 4, 6 etc.
 * 3) Cronbach's alpha (α): Average of all the possible split-half correlations.

Cronbach's α can range between 0 and 1
 * 1) The more items, generally the higher the internal reliability will be
 * 2) General rule of thumb:
 * .6 = OK
 * .7 = Good
 * .8 = Very Good
 * .9 = Excellent
 * >.95 = too high; items are too inter-related and therefore some are redundant

Scenario

 * Question: Cronbach's for a set of measurement items is .76. If one of the items is removed, the alpha will be .77. Should the item be removed?
 * Answer: Maybe. Investigate the item more closely. How does it relate to the underlying factor? What are its correlations with other items in the factor? Then make a decision. Do you think the measure of the underlying factor is better with or without the item? Why or why not?

title: Internal consistency


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Test-retest reliability

Pre-requisites
Before reading this section, make sure you understand:
 * Correlation

Test-retest reliability
Test-retest reliability is the correlation between test scores taken at one time and another time.

An alternative, to help deal with potential practice effects, is alternate form reliability which is the correlation between two different forms of a test which are each completed at different times.

Tutorial exercise: Test-retest Reliability

 * leq01.sav (contains self-ratings of three constructed scales):
 * Time Management,
 * Emotional Control and
 * Self-Confidence collected approximately 1 month apart (Time 0 and Time 1).
 * Calculate the test-retest reliabilities for each scale.

title: Test-retest reliability


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Survey research and design in psychology/Tutorials/Psychometrics/Instructor notes

Overview
This tutorial is designed as a 110 minute, facilitated, computer lab session. In such a session, the following can be achieved:

Factor analysis (70 mins)

 * 1) Steps: Overview key points about the steps involved in factor analysis.
 * 2) Exercise 1: Demonstrate and guide students step-by-step through Exercise 1, including:
 * 3) The SPSS EFA dialog box options and main choices to be made.
 * 4) Explain each of the key output tables and how they can be interpreted.
 * 5) Learning to interpret SPSS EFA output is a bit like learning how to drive; when you start driving with a L plate you feel overwhelmed by all the information coming in, but then as you become more expert, you learn what to pay attention to and what can be ignored.
 * 6) This is a very simple EFA, with a small number of variables and factors and a simple structure, so its excellent for b beginners
 * 7) Exercise 2: Guide students step-by-step through Exercise 2 - as per Exercise 1. This is a more advanced exercise because it involves comparing a two and a three factor solution, then removing two items, and re-running.
 * 8) Exercise 3: Introduce and explain the data set (11 items about Managerial Style/Skills - what is the underlying factor structure?), then ask participants to then conduct an EFA (PAF, Oblimin) on their own, to help reinforce what has been taught in the first two exercises. Allow 5-10 min to complete on their own, then demonstrate and go through the analysis on the board.

Internal reliability (10 mins)

 * 1) Exercise 1: Guide students step-by-step through Exercise 1.
 * 2) Exercises 2 and 3 can be completed on their own, outside of class time if further practice is desired.

Composite scores (10 mins)

 * 1) Exercise 1: Guide participants through creating a composite score for Openness (which also involves recoding responses to the negatively worded items) and obtaining descriptive statistics and a histogram
 * 2) Exercises 2 and 3 (creating composite scores for Student Satisfaction and Maths and English Teaching) can be completed on their own, outside of class time if further practice is desired.

Lab report 3 (5-10 mins)

 * Discuss the requirements for Lab report 3 and allow Q&A
 * If the tutor if unsure about the answers, encourage the students to ask on the Moodle discussion forums


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Internal consistency/Data analysis tutorial

Tutorials

 * /SPSS


text:
Survey research and design in psychology/Tutorials/Psychometrics/Internal consistency

This tutorial involves learning how to examine internal consistency using SPSS's reliability function.

To examine the internal consistency of a set of related items:
 * 1) Recode if necessary so that all items are scored in the same direction
 * 2) Compute the Cronbach's alpha (α) and examine the reliability analysis results (especially Cronbach's alpha if item removed) to determine the internal consistency and whether any items should be dropped
 * 3) Recompute the reliability analysis after dropping any unwanted items
 * 4) Note that the example involves only 10 items to measure one factor. If you have a multi-factorial measure, then examine the internal consistency for each set of items which represent a factor.

Exercise 1: Openness
Data file: data_15_1.sav Allen and Bennett 15.2, pp. 205-213

Rating scale

Items

 * Openness reliability analysis.

compute Open2r=6-Open2. compute Open4r=6-Open4. compute Open6r=6-Open6. compute Open8r=6-Open8. compute Open10r=6-Open10. EXECUTE.
 * Recoding.

variable labels Open2r 'O2. Tend to vote for conservative political candidates.' Open4r 'O4. Avoid philosophical discussions.' Open6r 'O6. Do not like art.' Open8r 'O8. Am not interested in abstract ideas.' Open10r 'O10. Do not enjoy going to art museums.'.

 * Reliability.

RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Open1 Open2r Open3 Open4r Open5 Open6r Open7 Open8r Open9 Open10r /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /STATISTICS=CORR /SUMMARY=TOTAL.

RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Open1 Open2r Open3 Open4r Open6r Open7 Open8r Open9 Open10r /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /STATISTICS=CORR /SUMMARY=TOTAL.

 * 10 items; reverse-code 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
 * α = .77, N = 60
 * drop #5, which gives α = .84

See extra exercises