Search

We analyse the results from a longitudinal natural field experiment that provides an environmental nudge by reinforcing positive environmental norms. Posters asking individuals to use less paper are pasted on printers (Times) and in office cubicles (Umendall) of two information technology firms around New Delhi, India. A third firm (India Mart) does not get the nudge and serves as our control. During the nudge period, employees of the firms that get the conservation message on average expend a significantly lower number of sheets per day as compared to the pre-nudge period, measured both in terms of paper used and paper wasted. Furthermore, after the nudge is removed, the per capita paper wastage for one of the firms that received it (Times) does not increase significantly over the next month and a half, whereas for the other firm (Umendall) it does but remains significantly lower than the per capita wastage in the pre-nudge period. In terms of total paper used, the nudged firms show a reduction in the number of sheets used several weeks after the nudge is removed. For the control firm, the wastage and usage of printer paper does not change significantly over the duration of the experiment. A robustness check with no nudge intervention done by computing per capita wastage and usage for the same dates exactly one year later does not show a reduction over the same time period and offers support for our conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Characteristics of incised plaster from monuments in Delhi are explored. • Marked differences exist between the incised plaster mortar and typical bedding mortars of the region. • The use of organic fibres and recycled components from an older mortar is seen. This paper reports the characteristics of decorative incised plaster works of New Delhi, from historic monuments belonging to 13th to 16th century C.E. Visual examination of the historic plasterwork depicts that these are made of two layers; a base coat which is coarser in appearance and a finer finishing coat, which is the incised plaster layer. For making the intricate patterns in the incised layer, a thick coat of plaster is applied first and patterns are carved out before the initial set of the mortar, which later hardens to form a very dense microstructure. In order to consolidate and restore the deteriorated portions of the existing plasterwork, the characterisation of the original plasterwork was essential. This was performed by a comprehensive methodology including physico-chemical and microanalytical tests, which revealed information on basic physical properties, mineralogical composition, characteristics of different phases, and porosity and pore size distribution of the mortar. The results indicate that the incised plaster is made of air lime binder and siliceous aggregates. The mortar is characterised by a very narrow range of pore sizes of about 600 nm. The use of organic fibres and inclusions from an older mortar are also evident in the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Introducing analytics in a low-tech waste collection environment. • Demonstrating a range of analytics-based solutions for truck routing. • Demonstrating solution time (heuristic) vs. solution quality (optimality) • Tactical evaluation of routes with nearest neighbor and MILP-based VRP. • Strategic evaluation of existing partition of nodes with MST and K-medoids. This paper describes an approach to introducing analytics through various algorithms and applications to users in a low-tech environment as a first step toward understanding such a context. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) of New Delhi, India, have partitioned their collection points into "wards" or clusters, each served by a dedicated truck depot and manually routing trucks for solid waste collection within each ward, with the waste from all wards going to a single landfill. To demonstrate analytics in tactical planning, we implemented the nearest neighbor algorithm mimicking the manual process to provide the baseline cost. Thus, we presented two very different vehicle routing algorithms: (1) a simple but fast revised nearest neighbor algorithm that decreased the baseline total routing cost by 1.57 % and (2) an optimal but time-intensive algorithm using a mixed-integer-linear programming model, which decreased the total cost by 4.05 %. To demonstrate strategic planning, we tested the efficacy of the cluster structure of collection points by comparing its total routing cost (using the revised nearest neighbor algorithm) to that of other partitions obtained with Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) and K-medoids clustering. The existing wards provided a lower waste pickup cost than the alternative clusters we created, showing SDMC that their existing ward structure was sound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents rigorous experimental outdoor performance of a 2.32kWP stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) system in New Delhi (India) for four weather types in each month such as clear, hazy, partially cloudy/foggy and fully cloudy/foggy weather conditions respectively. The daily power generated from the existing SAPV system was experimentally found in the range of 4–6kWh/day depending on the prevailing sky conditions. The number of days and daily power generated corresponding to four weather types in each month were used to determine monthly and subsequently annual power generation from the existing SAPV system. There are three daily load profiles with and without earth to air heat exchanger suitable for three seasons like summer (3.75–6.15kWh/day), winter (2.79–5.19kWh/day) and rainy (3.75kWh/day). The hourly efficiency of the SAPV system components are determined and presented in this paper. The life cycle cost (LCC) analysis for the existing typical SAPV system is carried out to determine unit cost of electricity. The effect of annual degradation rate of PV system efficiency is also presented in this paper. The energy production factor (EPF) and the energy payback time (EPBT) of the SAPV system was also determined and presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The daylight factor model given by Charted Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) was modified in this paper to incorporate time variations with respect to zenith angle (θz ) and vertical height (h) of working surface above ground surface which was normalized with central height (H) of skylight dome. The modified model contains constant exponents which are determined using linear regression analysis based on hourly experimental data of inside and outside illuminance for each month of the year 2007–2008. The prediction of modified model is found in good agreement with experimental observed inside illuminance data on the basis of values of root mean square percentage error (e) and correlation coefficient (r). The annual average daylight factor values for big and small dome skylight rooms are determined as 2.3% and 4.4% respectively. The energy saving potential of skylight rooms for selected climatic locations in India is also presented in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with an experimental outdoor annual performance evaluation of 2.32kWP photovoltaic (PV) power system located at solar energy park in New Delhi composite climatic conditions. This PV system operates the daily electrical load nearly 10kWh/day which comprises of various applications such as electric air blower of an earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) used for heating/cooling of adobe house, ceiling fan, fluorescent tube-light, computer, submersible water pump, etc. The outdoor efficiencies, power generated and lost in PV system components were determined using hourly experimental measured data for 1year on typical clear day in each month. These realistic data are useful for design engineers for outdoor assessment of PV system components. The energy conservation, mitigation of CO2 emission and carbon credit potential of the existing PV integrated EAHE system is presented in this paper. Also, the energy payback time (EPBT) and unit cost of electricity were determined for both stand-alone PV (SAPV) and building roof integrated PV (BIPV) systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper looks at the human health impacts from urban air pollution in India. Such pollution is especially harmful to poor people, so the co-benefits from global climate change policies in terms of reduced local air pollution can have positive equity impacts. Health impacts (mortality and morbidity) of PM10 pollution are quantified for different socio-economic groups in Delhi. The spatial PM10 concentration levels are overlaid with spatial socio-economic data. Improvement in air quality would result in bigger health benefits for the poor. Most measures that reduce PM10 pollutants also reduce CO2 emissions while simultaneously imposing more costs on the better-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A model that calculates the distribution of solar radiation inside a basin-type solar still with plane reflectors has been proposed. In this model, both surface finish and optical view factors are taken into consideration in the computation of solar radiation that effectively reaches the surface of saline water in the distillation system. The model was applied to a conventional solar still and an advanced solar still with separate condenser. The conventional solar still was tested at New Delhi (28°35′N, 77°12′E) in previous work while the advanced distillation system was developed in this investigation and it comprised three basins with saline water. Basin 1 was fitted horizontally in the evaporator chamber, with the condenser chamber housing basins 2 and 3. The top part of the evaporator unit was covered with glass to allow solar radiation to reach water in basin 1. In addition, the internal surfaces of the walls of the evaporator and external surface of the front wall of the condenser unit reflected part of the incoming solar radiation onto the surface of saline water in basin 1. The distillation system was tested outdoors at the Malawi Polytechnic (15°48′S, 35°02′E). Under the prevailing meteorological conditions, it is found that the computed solar load on the surface of saline water in the evaporator basin is lower than that observed on a horizontal plane outside each energy system. The new model exhibited a higher degree of accuracy than the previous one. Other results are presented and discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, energy metrics (energy pay back time, electricity production factor and life cycle conversion efficiency) of hybrid photovoltaic (PV) modules have been analyzed and presented for the composite climate of New Delhi, India. For this purpose, it is necessary to calculate (1) the energy consumption in making different components of the PV modules and (2) the annual energy (electrical and thermal) available from the hybrid-PV modules. A set of mathematical relations have been reformulated for computation of the energy metrics. The manufacturing energy, material production energy, energy use and distribution energy of the system have been taken into account, to determine the embodied energy for the hybrid-PV modules. The embodied energy and annual energy outputs have been used for evaluation of the energy metrics. For hybrid PV module, it has been observed that the EPBT gets significantly reduced by taking into account the increase in annual energy availability of the thermal energy in addition to the electrical energy. The values of EPF and LCCE of hybrid PV module become higher as expected. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates thermal performance of an existing eco-friendly and low embodied energy vault roof passive house (or mud-house) located at Solar Energy Park of IIT Delhi, New Delhi (India). Based on embodied energy analysis, the energy payback time for the mud-house was determined as 18 years. The embodied energy per unit floor area of R.C.C. building (3702.3MJ/m2) is quiet high as compared to the mud-house (2298.8MJ/m2). The mud-house has three rooms with inverted U-shape roof and remaining three rooms with dome shape roof. A thermal model of the house consisting of six interconnected rooms was developed based on energy balance equations which were solved by using fourth order Runge Kutta numerical method. The predicted six room air temperatures were found in good agreement with the experimental observed data on hourly basis in each month for one year. The annual heating and cooling energy saving potential of the mud-house was determined as 1481 kWh/year and 1813kWh/year respectively for New Delhi composite climate. The total mitigation of CO2 emissions due to both heating and cooling energy saving potential was determined as 5.2 metric tons/year. The annual carbon credit potential of mud-house was determined as € 52/year. Similar results were obtained for the different climatic locations in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the internal heat transfer coefficient of single and double slope passive solar stills in summer as well as winter climatic conditions for three different water depths (0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 m) by various thermal models. The experimental validation of distillate yield using different thermal models was carried out for composite climate of New Delhi, India (latitude 28°35′N, longitude 77°12′E). By comparing theoretical values of hourly yield with experimental data it has been observed that Dunkle''s model gives better agreement between theoretical and experimental results. Further, Dunkle''s model has been used to evaluate the internal heat transfer coefficient for both single and double slope passive solar stills. With the increase in water depth from 0.01 m to 0.03 m there was a marginal variation in the values of convective heat transfer coefficients. It was also observed that on annual basis output of a single slope single slope solar still is better (499.41 l/m2) as compared with a double slope solar still (464.68 l/m2). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, an attempt is made to estimate the internal heat transfer coefficients of a deep basin hybrid (PV/T) active solar still. The estimation is based on outdoor experimental observation of hybrid (PV/T) solar still for composite climate of New Delhi (latitude 28°35′N and longitude 77°12′E). The internal heat transfer coefficients are evaluated by using thermal models proposed by various researchers. The comparison of hourly yield predicted using various thermal models to the experimental has also been carried out by evaluating the correlation coefficient and percentage deviation. It is observed that, Kumar and Tiwari model (KTM) better validate the results than the others model. The average annual values of convective heat transfer coefficient for the passive and hybrid (PV/T) active solar still are observed as 0.78 and 2.41Wm−2 K−1, respectively at 0.05m water depth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper experimental study has been carried out in a cascade greenhouse with inner thermal curtain to see the effect of thermal curtain. A thermal model has also been developed to predict the air temperature in a cascade greenhouse. The fan-pad system has been used for evaporative cooling and an inner thermal curtain has been used to divide the greenhouse in two zones. Experiments have been conducted in hot summer conditions at Solar Energy Park, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India for empty greenhouse. Statistical analysis has been carried out to validate the agreement of experimental observations with predicted values. The values of the root mean square percent deviation and coefficient of correlation has been found out 9.0%, 0.90; 5.0%, 0.95 and 7.0%, 0.97 for April, May and June in case of evaporative cooling without curtain in greenhouse-2. The degree of freedom for the experimental work is 10.0. It is found that the use of evaporative cooling with a thermal curtain reduces the temperature of greenhouse by 5°C and 8°C in the second zone of greenhouse-1 and 2 in comparison to greenhouse without curtain in May. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, the variability of F2-layer critical frequency foF2 is examined, using modern digital ionosonde observations at a low-middle latitude station, New Delhi (28.6°N, 77.2°E, Dip 42.4°N). Data used for the present study are the hourly values of foF2 for the periods of high (2001–2002) and low (2004–2006) solar activity. To investigate the foF2 variability, the values of median, lower quartile and upper quartile are estimated at each hour for different seasons, during both the solar activity periods. The variability index (henceforth referred to as VI) of foF2 is then obtained by using inter-quartile difference and its percentage ratio to the median. Results show that VI is in general, lower during daytime hours than by night during high solar activity for all the seasons, while during low solar activity, VI behavior is irregular during all the seasons. A solar activity dependence of VI is found with maximum values during periods of low solar activity in all the seasons except for winter during pre-dawn and post-sunset hours. Comparisons of observations with IRI-2001 model [Bilitza, D. International Reference Ionosphere 2000. Radio Sci. 36 (2), 261–275, 2001] show in general good agreement during both the solar activity periods, with model values lying within inter-quartile range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tropical cyclone prediction is essential to limit death toll and damage caused by them. In this paper, a model has been formulated to classify the cyclone as no cyclone, minimal, moderate, extensive, extreme and catastrophic in view of attributes such as Wind Speed(10 m), Rainfall, Wind Direction(10 m), Sea Surface Temperature(2 m), Sea Level Pressure(2 m) and Relative humidity(2 m). The models have been trained using the meteorological data from MERRA-2 Web service which provides time-series data with spatial resolution of approximately 50 km. The cyclone data is taken from RSMC — New Delhi for Tropical cyclone disturbances over Indian Oceans. Initially, the models are trained using deep learning networks like MLP, LSTM, GRU, RNN, BI-LSTM and CNN. Since CNN gives better results, the CNN model is chosen for further analysis. The hyper parameters of the CNN model are optimized using genetic algorithm. The values drawn from genetic algorithm appear to be promising than the values which were chosen manually in random. The model is then modified by removing the fully connected layer which operates as a classifier in CNN network. The conventional machine learning classifiers like — Decision Tree, K-Nearest neighbor, logistic regression, Naive Bayes, Random Forest, SVM and XGBoost are used as a classifier in the place of a fully connected layer in CNN. Further to increase the prediction accuracy, C4.5 Decision tree algorithm is modified to be used as a classifier in CNN. Classification is performed by considering the Spatio-temporal data of various important cities in India. The model was tested to classify the category for 5 different cyclones and was also compared with Saffir–Simpson's scale to validate the correctness of the model. The proposed model gives a better performance compared to the conventional machine learning and deep learning classifiers in terms of time complexity, accuracy, precision and recall and this can supplement the cyclone prediction process of current NWP models. • Cyclone Prediction is proposed using CNN, modified C4.5 and genetic algorithms. • CNN is used for feature extraction and genetic algorithm for hyper parameter tuning. • Modified C4.5 is proposed to solve the limitations of C4.5 decision tree algorithm. • Accuracy of the proposed model is significantly improved compared to the existing works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to privacy—and the related professional duty of confidentiality—allows participants to limit others' access to information about themselves while still benefiting from healthcare or benefiting others in research. Like the right to give informed consent, the right to privacy and the confidentiality of health information promote well-being and protect autonomy or self-determination. This paper reports the first empirical study in India of the beliefs and expectations of patients/participants, their relatives, and IEC members regarding privacy/confidentiality. The first goal of this qualitative study was to evaluate how IEC/IRB members understand privacy-related obligations, how their institutions protect patient/participant privacy, as well as what IEC/IRB members believe patients/participants think. The second goal was to use thematic analysis to learn about the privacy-related views and values patients/participants hold. After informed consent, members of IEC/IRB (n=19) in New Delhi, patients or research participants (n=29) in a psychiatric clinical setting, and relatives accompanying those patients/participants (n=30) were interviewed based on interview guides. Interviews were transcribed, translated and thematic analyses were carried out. Data collection and analysis were integrated, with the interview guides being continually revised to explore newly emerging concepts and themes. Four themes were extracted: IEC/IRB members' understanding of privacy-related obligations, regulations, and guidelines; measures to protect patient and research participant privacy and barriers to their implementation; differences between IEC/IRB members' estimation of the value people placed on privacy protection and people's actual views. Analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that IEC/IRB members sometimes underestimate the value patients/participants and relatives place on privacy protection. The recurrent themes identified in the study data indicate that it is mistaken to think that Indian patients and the public do not value privacy. Themes demonstrate that they make strategic choices about what sort of health information to share and with whom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PRIDE programme aims to establish a suite of transdiagnostic psychological interventions organised around a stepped care system in Indian secondary schools. This paper describes the development of a low-intensity, first-line component of the PRIDE model. Contextual and global evidence informed an intervention 'blueprint' with problem solving as the primary practice element. Successive iterations were tested and modified across two pilot cohort studies (N = 45; N = 39). Participants were aged 13–20 years and presenting with elevated mental health symptoms in New Delhi schools. The first iteration of the intervention, based on a guided self-help modality, showed promising outcomes and user satisfaction when delivered by psychologists. However, delivery was not feasible within the intended 6-week schedule, and participants struggled to use materials outside 'guidance' sessions. In Pilot 2, a modified counsellor-led problem-solving intervention was implemented by less experienced counsellors over a 3–4 week schedule. Outcomes were maintained, with indications of enhanced feasibility and acceptability. High demand was observed across both pilots, leading to more stringent eligibility criteria and a modified sensitisation plan. Findings have shaped a first-line intervention for common adolescent mental health problems in low-resource settings. A forthcoming randomised controlled trial will test its effectiveness. • PRIDE is developing a transdiagnostic, stepped care programme in Indian schools. • Formative evidence supported problem solving as a first-line 'Step 1' intervention. • The format was modified from guided self-help to an active therapy after piloting. • The optimised intervention showed promising impact, acceptability and feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]