Kuok Ho Daniel Tang
The University of Arizona, Environmental Science, Faculty Member
- An academic who is passionate about teaching, research and consultancy. Chartered Environmentalist with the Energy In... moreAn academic who is passionate about teaching, research and consultancy. Chartered Environmentalist with the Energy Institute, UK and a registered EIA consultant. Research areas include sustainability, environmental education, climate change, occupational safety and health, phytoremediation and emerging pollutants. Extensive experience in managing environmental projects, research grants and supervising postgraduate students.edit
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Countries entered lockdown or partial lockdown due to mounting fear for the spread of COVID-19 and emerged from the restrictions with presumably new norms, often known as the ‘new normal’. This commentary aims to examine whether the... more
Countries entered lockdown or partial lockdown due to mounting fear for the spread of COVID-19 and emerged from the restrictions with presumably new norms, often known as the ‘new normal’. This commentary aims to examine whether the so-called ‘new normal’ qualifies as the new norms based on the definitions of social and cultural norms. The aim was achieved through reviewing pertinent literature comprising news articles, scholarly articles, government reports and websites centering on norms, COVID-19 new norms and their implications. It posits that social isolation does not align with the social nature of human and can be detrimental to the mind and body while social or physical distancing is situational. Unregulated, it does not quite constitute a norm for people to readily maintain social isolation, and social or physical distancing to a lesser degree. While mask-wearing is comparatively easier to adopt, its significance varies in different social and cultural settings. It is more normal to observe people wearing masks post-lockdown, particularly in Asia though experts’ advice does encourage mask-wearing in certain western countries. Mask-wearing aptly qualifies as the new norm though this norm could last longer in certain societies, often strengthened by cultural norms. Similarly, high level of personal hygiene is still practiced often without coercion and is perceived to be normal at least for as long as the risk of COVID-19 is still present. It is thought that norms can be strengthened through interventions to promote behaviours that fit the norms.
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Green buildings have received much attention since the early 90s due to increasing concerns over the sustainability of buildings. The rise of green buildings spurred the need to systematically evaluate hence certify those buildings using... more
Green buildings have received much attention since the early 90s due to increasing concerns over the sustainability of buildings. The rise of green buildings spurred the need to systematically evaluate hence certify those buildings using a set of established criteria. This led to the emergence of numerous green building rating systems. This review compares 10 popular green building rating systems to identify their similarities, differences and the potential future studies in this area. It identifies 17 evaluation criteria as the basis of comparison and ranks the importance of the most common criteria based on their average weights across the rating systems of interest. This review shows that energy efficiency, indoor environment, health and wellbeing, sustainable siting, material efficiency, water efficiency and innovation as the most prevalent evaluation criteria in descending average weights. This study identifies the future need to probe into the implementation of the rating systems and the building performance ensuing such implementation. It is also crucial to understand the barriers in popularizing green building awards or certification. This review contributes to both the knowledge and practices of green building rating.
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Petroleum industries have been creating negative environmental and ecological impacts due to the formation of oilfield produced water (OPW) during refining processes. Graphene oxide (GO) as a chemical demulsifier was found non-recyclable;... more
Petroleum industries have been creating negative environmental and ecological impacts due to the formation of oilfield produced water (OPW) during refining processes. Graphene oxide (GO) as a chemical demulsifier was found non-recyclable; hence, it could cause environmental pollution. Thus, magnetic graphene oxide (M-GO) was proposed to prevent any possible contamination. In this work, GO, and M-GO were successfully synthesized and the produced M-GO composites were found coated with silica-coated magnetite (Fe3O4@SiO2) nanoparticles. As such, they possess excellent superparamagnetic properties. The demulsification tests demonstrated that 0.25 wt% of M-GO aqueous suspension achieved 98.53% of demulsification efficiency on the as-prepared crude oil-in-water emulsion, which was more superior than GO as the suspending oil floccules attached to M-GO can be separated effectively using magnetic separation. The optimizations of the demulsification process were conducted, and significant findings were included as the major novelty of this work. The recycling tests have proven that M-GO can be reused to perform demulsification effectively for ten times. Despite being able to reduce the demulsification costs in the industry, this research suggests that the excellent properties of M-GO can minimize the risk of polluting the environment due to leakage of demulsifier through the application of magnetic separation.
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With the immense potential of bioenergy to drive carbon neutrality and achieve the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, this paper aims to present the recent advances in bioenergy production as well as their limitations. The novelty of... more
With the immense potential of bioenergy to drive carbon neutrality and achieve the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, this paper aims to present the recent advances in bioenergy production as well as their limitations. The novelty of this review is that it covers a comprehensive range of strategies in bioenergy production and it provides the future prospects for improvement, which are not provided in other papers. This paper reviewed more than 200 peer-reviewed scholarly papers mainly published between 2010 and 2021. Bioenergy is derived from biomass, which, through thermochemical and biochemical processes, is converted into various forms of biofuels. This paper reveals that bioenergy production is temperature-dependent and thermochemical processes currently have the advantages of higher efficiency over biochemical processes in terms of lower response time and higher conversion. However, biochemical processes produce more volatile organic compounds and have lower energy and temperature requirements. The combination of the two processes could fill the shortcomings of a single process. The choices of feedstock are diverse as well. In the future, it can be anticipated that continuous technological development to enhance the commercial viability of different processes, as well as approaches of ensuring their sustainability, will be among the main aspects to be studied in greater detail.
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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a sustainable development course on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of a cohort of engineering students in a university in Miri, Malaysia, towards sustainability.... more
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a sustainable development course on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of a cohort of engineering students in a university in Miri, Malaysia, towards sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire survey was conducted among the cohort of students encompassing the three facets mentioned. Findings The respondents expressed low to medium agreement towards all the survey items related to beliefs, attitudes and intentions. A sense of moral obligation towards sustainability is linked to higher sustainability awareness, willingness to safeguard sustainability and a sense of responsibility towards sustainable development. The respondents were generally perceived to have fundamental knowledge of sustainable development. Research limitations/implications This study shows that a sustainable development course called Engineering Sustainable Development offered in a university in Miri, produced positive impacts on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of the engineering students towards sustainable development. Sustainable development courses are generally instrumental to impart the value and practices of sustainability among university students. Originality/value As limited correlational studies on whether sustainable development courses effectively shape the beliefs and attitudes of students have been previously conducted, this study provides insight into the effectiveness of one of such courses and how the course can be further improved to enhance its effectiveness.
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Participating in campus security preparedness exercise (CSPE) is vitally important in addressing potential security threats and preventing critical incidents. The present study investigates the various determinants to predict intention,... more
Participating in campus security preparedness exercise (CSPE) is vitally important in addressing potential security threats and preventing critical incidents. The present study investigates the various determinants to predict intention, and actual participation in CSPE using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). We also examined the effect of perceived risk on attitude as an extension of the TPB. Based on 441 valid responses collected from students studying in different institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, the partial least squares equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze actual participation in CSPE behavior. The findings suggest that TPB is, indeed, a predictive model for explaining participation in CSPE. Based on the findings, the correlation between perceived risk and attitude is insignificant which leads to our subsequent argument on attitude as autonomous and not affected by one’s perceived risk. Nevertheless, the proposed direct relationship between perceived behavioral control (PBC) and intention behavior is not supported. These findings provide an important theoretical platform for new interventions to further promoting active participation in CSPE. Policy implications for improving CSPE behaviors are provided accordingly.
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PurposeCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has given rise to different dimensions of uncommon human behavior, and panic buying is one of them. Interestingly, panic buying research has not been given much attention. The purpose of this... more
PurposeCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has given rise to different dimensions of uncommon human behavior, and panic buying is one of them. Interestingly, panic buying research has not been given much attention. The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly, it examines the influences of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) elements (subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavior control (PBC)) on panic buying. Secondly, it investigates online news and the perceived likelihood of being affected (PLA) as antecedents to the TPB constructs. Finally, to examine online news verification as a moderator on the relationship between the TPB constructs and panic buying.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 371 respondents and analyzed using the partial least squares method structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS predict was applied to determine the predictive power of the model further.FindingsThis study found that subjective norms and attitude influence panic buying. The results further revealed that online news has a direct influence on the PLA and attitude. However, PBC has no such effect on panic buying. Surprisingly, online news verification also has no moderating effects on the relationships between the TPB elements and panic buying.Originality/valueThis research helps to understand consumer panic buying behavior, especially during shock events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is the first that extends the TPB incorporating both online news and PLA as antecedents to panic buying in the same model. Furthermore, the study serves as an initial attempt to investigate online news verification as a moderator between the link of three constructs of TPB and panic buying, contributing to existing literature. Lastly, it advances the body of knowledge on consumer behavior and contributes methodologically by introducing the PLS approach.
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The impacts of COVID-19 on global environmental pollution since its onset in December 2019 require special attention. The rapid spread of COVID-19 globally has led countries to lock down cities, restrict traffic travel and impose strict... more
The impacts of COVID-19 on global environmental pollution since its onset in December 2019 require special attention. The rapid spread of COVID-19 globally has led countries to lock down cities, restrict traffic travel and impose strict safety measures, all of which have implications on the environment. This article aims to systematically and comprehensively present and analyze the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on global environmental pollution and carbon emissions. It also aims to propose strategies to prolong the beneficial, while minimize the adverse environmental impacts of COVID-19. It systematically and comprehensively reviewed more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and publications related to the impacts of COVID-19 on air, water and soil pollution, carbon emissions as well as the sustainable strategies forward. It revealed that PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO levels reduced in most regions globally but SO2 and O3 levels increased or did not show significant changes. Surface water, coastal water and groundwater quality improved globally during COVID-19 lockdown except few reservoirs and coastal areas. Soil contamination worsened mainly due to waste from the use of personal protective equipment particularly masks and the packaging, besides household waste. Carbon emissions reduced due mainly to travel restrictions and less usage of utilities though emissions from certain ships did not change significantly to maintain supply of the essentials. Sustainable strategies post-COVID-19 include the development and adoption of nanomaterial adsorption and microbial remediation technologies, integrated waste management measures, “sterilization wave” technology and energy-efficient technologies. This review provides important insight and novel coverage of the environmental implications of COVID-19 in more than 25 countries across 5 global regions to permit formulation of specific pollution control and sustainability strategies in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 eras for better environmental and human health.
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Purpose In view of a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of climate change education (CCE) in China, this study aims to evaluate if a CCE course newly designed based on research recommendations and implemented with established pedagogy... more
Purpose In view of a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of climate change education (CCE) in China, this study aims to evaluate if a CCE course newly designed based on research recommendations and implemented with established pedagogy was effective in changing the beliefs and attitudes of first-year science students. Design/methodology/approach This study took a simple longitudinal approach with surveys administered at the beginning and the end of the course and the differences in the responses analyzed with nonparametric statistical analyses. Findings The results showed that the course produced significant changes in the beliefs concerning the anthropogenic causes of climate change and vulnerability to its impacts, which results in inequality of the impacts received. However, the course did not produce significant attitudinal changes among the students. Spearman’s correlation, which affirmed the belief–attitude association, revealed that the students already had desirable attitudes toward climate change and these attitudes had not been reinforced. The students’ perception of the importance of local government in climate action increased by the end of the course. Multimedia-aid learning, debates and discussions were useful in conveying the concepts of responsibility, ethics and vulnerability, but the addition of student-led community projects will increase personal significance of the course. Research limitations/implications This study is instrumental for the development of a regional model of CCE in the mainstreaming of education for sustainable development in China, knowing that the regional approach is crucial to address the nuances in climate change knowledge, hence conceptions and beliefs across regions and, even, between different sectors of a region. This regional experience could also serve as a reference for other similar settings, particularly those of the developing countries. Originality/value This study presents one of the very few studies dedicated to gauging the effects of CCE in China, particularly of a newly developed climate change course, on the beliefs and attitudes of students. This permits pedagogical development and continuous improvement of CCE in China.