Nearly 50 years ago, Henry Bent published his groundbreaking article in this "Journal" introducing the "global" formulation of thermodynamics. In the following years, the global formulation was elaborated by Bent and by one of the present authors. The global formulation of the first law focuses on conservation of energy and the recognition that…

Kirchhoff's laws are usually considered as electrical current and voltage properties. Nevertheless, they are sometimes applied to nonelectrical systems. One way to increase their efficacy and range of applicability would be to show Kirchhoff's laws, and the properties deriving from them, as being independent of any physical system as far as…

The present study aimed to explain elementary teacher candidates' energy conservation behaviors by using Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory. Participants in this study were 512 students at Faculty of Education from two public universities in Turkey. Of the 512 students, 35.5% were enrolled in the early childhood education program, 30.9% were in the…

When the term "green" is used to describe a product or way of life, it means "environmentally friendly." Followers of the green movement believe that by reducing their own usage of resources, they can reduce their negative impact on the environment and influence culture to the same ends. The green movement has spread from individuals to companies…

When construction slows and campus operating expenses are under the microscope, it is more important than ever to save energy dollars with the equipment and staff on hand. For the facilities manager who thinks out of the box, significant savings can be found on most school and college campuses. This article provides energy-conservation tips that…

Displacement ventilation (DV) units use the natural buoyancy of warm air to improve ventilation and comfort. Although relatively new to the United States, DV has been used in Scandinavian countries since the 1970s. Two types of DV can be used in a classroom: (1) Conventional displacement ventilation (CDV) units which are situated on an interior…

The influx of technology has brought significant improvements to school facilities. Many of those advancements can be found in classrooms, but when students head down the hall to use the washrooms, they are likely to find a host of technological innovations that have improved conditions in that part of the building. This article describes modern…

The Business and Society Research Cluster (BSRC) at the German University in Cairo, the El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center at the American University in Cairo and Misr El-Kheir (MEK) Foundation, Egypt, hosted the region's first sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) case studies conference, entitled "Toward a…

Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) are becoming an essential part of many electronic systems as the industry drives toward miniaturization and energy efficiency. However, practical SMPS design courses are seldom offered. In this paper, a generalized MATLAB/SIMULINK modeling technique is first presented. A proposed practical SMPS design course at…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the lean production paradigm as promoter of workers' creativity and thinking potential, and recognize this human potential as a fundamental asset for companies' growth and success, being a major factor to face the disturbing and unpredictable needs of current markets, providing companies with the necessary…

Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC, has 125,000 students, 200 schools, and an annual budget of about $1.6 billion. Last year that budget was cut by about $16 million. The year before it was cut by $80 million. Every year now, it seems, school districts are forced to leave no stone unturned when it…

Information technology (IT) is an essential part of modern education. The roles and contributions of technology to education have been thoroughly documented in academic and professional literature. Despite the benefits, the use of educational technology systems (ETS) also creates a significant impact on the environment, primarily due to energy…

The call for inquiry science to be a part of the school science curriculum is popular in many parts of the world. While some research in this area revealed success stories of students' learning when they are engaged in student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry activities, others are more sceptical about how these activities impact students'…

The concept of connected learning proposes that youth leverage individual interest and social media to drive learning with an academic focus. To illustrate, we present in-depth case studies of Ryan and Sam, two middle-school-age youth, to document an out-of-school intervention intended to direct toward intentional learning in STEM that taps…

The green concept has tremendous value in schools, especially when it reflects the central purpose and mission of schools: educating young people to participate and civically engage in society. Service learning, a research-based teaching pedagogy, provides a flexible framework for integrating green concepts across interdisciplinary content areas.…