Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B 8 (2019) 170-173
doi:10.17265/2162-5263/2019.05.002
Experimental Learning with Questionnaire Distribution for the Economic Evaluation of Industrial Pollutiondhcp什么意思
Odysas Kopsidas
Department of Industrial Management and Technology, Piraeus 18534, Greece
Abstract: During the 2016-2017 academic year, 3rd grade Gymnasium students from the Hellenic College of Thessaloniki received experiential training for the subject of Technology. For the needs of the cour, students conducted rearch regarding the economic asssment of industrial pollution. A questionnaire was designed and distributed in order for students to collect information from individuals and houholds in the vicinity which the project of interest could potentially affect. The questionnaire aimed at identifying the maximum willingness to make a financial contribution with the u of asssing Hypothetical Scenario Methodology, which precily asss the economic value of an environmental good, since value is directly linked to the respondents’ expresd preferences.
Key words: Experimental economics, environmental education, questionnaire, environmental good.
1. Introduction
Having mapped out the imperatives of society for further technological development, it becomes apparent that more and more young people are interested in studying in the field of Science and Technology. However, conventional teaching methods in the domain of science have been proved poor, a fact which justifies the gradual transition to a more student-centred educational system, as shown in the school curriculum and syllabus. The alternative teaching methods along with active experiential learning are expected to escalate students’ interest and passion for science. Simultaneously, students’ teamwork cultivates a number of social skills maximizing the benefits of technology through the u of it [1].
The subject of Technology in the Secondary School constitutes a prime example of how this trend can be realized in practice. Students in order to gain hands-on experience are practicing more and more on how to construct and discover knowledge. As a result, the school curriculum dictates for first graders to carry out individual assignments, for cond graders group
Corresponding author: Odysas Kopsidas, Ph.D., rearch fields: public and environmental econo
mics. work and as for third graders, their training is developed through the “Rearch and Experiment” method. The experimental method actively involves students in the educational process and since it is also an experiential method, it is expected to maximize learning outcomes. Finally, the numerous and diver thematic units which are suggested, make it possible to discover a number of different fields for rearch able to meet each student’s personal preference [2]. The educational process implemented combines the following domains of inquiry: “The cultural, social, economic and political impacts of technology” (Unit 4), “The effects of technology on the environment” (Unit 5), “The role of society in the development and u of technology” (Unit 6), as stated in the curriculum. The combination of the above mentioned fields contributes to the development of critical thinking while simultaneously it is a great stimulus to cultivate the idea of what the role of an active citizen really is [3].
屠呦呦颁奖词2. The Educational Process
At the beginning of the cour a ries of minars and lectures were held by the educators aiming at
informing the students on: (a) the rearch method in
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order to familiarize themlves with it as well as rai their interest by linking the rearch to real-life situations and (b) the technological areas from which students could draw information and choo a topic of interest. As a cond step, students were asked to decide and divide themlves into five groups of five. This study analys the rearch conducted by one of the five groups [4].辣椒炒肉做法
3. Methodology
The number of five students in each group makes sure that majority decisions are possible. As the project continued, the rearch was divided further into five sub-stages and at each of them the role of the team-leader/co-coordinator was taken by different students. After asssing relevant literature
on industrial pollution, which was a topic of interest to the group, it has also been lected as a topic for rearch. “Economic asssment of the industrial pollution in the area of Elefsina” [4, 5]. This area rais particular interest as it is both an industrial and historical site. Conquently, industrial pollution caus a number of implications for both local residents and Greek citizens. The rearch question was defined as follows: “How much does the public good of clean environment cost to the respondent? [6]”
The stages of the rearch are described as follows: (1) Bibliographic review of the Asssing Hypothetical Scenario Methodology;
(2) Questionnaire making process;
(3) Distribution of questionnaire-data collection;
(4) Data processing (in excel) ;
(5) Writing and prenting rearch findings.
The Hypothetical Scenario Method directly asss the economic value of an environmental good becau value is directly linked to the respondents’ expresd preferences. It is also referred to as C
VM (Contingent Valuation Method). The valuation for non-market goods compris of empirical approaches and does not constitute a real science. Much of the criticism that the method receives is about how different the prices of such a survey are compared to the prices in a real market. The major weakness of the method is the hypothetical nature of the scenario created by the rearcher [6].
The method is bad on an individual’s intentions to pay rather than on a real life situation. As a result, various types of bias may occur at different stages of the rearch. The “WTP (Willingness to Pay)” approach involves lack of precision and reliability, becau in an effort to determine the value of the risk of error, interviewees often feel personally involved and they think their responds are somehow interconnected with or influence the specific evaluation [7].
The main advantage of the approach lies in the almost absolute control on the part of the rearcher in the designing process. This approach can evaluate any good, whether there are market prices for it or not.
The asssment of the economic value of the environmental quality in the working environment or place of residence was bad on two main criteria: (a) the estimated impact of the environmental qu
ality on property value, which in turn reflects u values; (b) the will of the local residents to contribute financially to the relocation of the plant.
For the needs of the data collection a questionnaire was created with a view to gather information from individuals and houholds which lie within the area of interest. The survey ventured to discover residents’ maximum willingness to make a financial contribution in order to completely avoid or rever the effects and restore an environmental damage (WTP). Maximum WTA (Willingness to Accept) stands for the people’s willingness to compensate in ca of a new environmental damage. The preparation of the questionnaire was made after having taken into consideration the fundamental principles that guide scientific rearch along with the u of practical experience in the domain of environmental economics, taking into account the peculiarities of the particular ca as well [7].
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Experimental Learning with Questionnaire Distribution for the Economic
Evaluation of Industrial Pollution
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The questionnaire consists of sixteen questions, six of which refer to respondents’ personal data. The number of questions was determined bad on the collection of all necessary information within a reasonable time limit. The questions asked were pod
in the simplest way possible, were multiple-choice questions with simple lect or multi lect answer and can be classified into the following categories: (1) Clod-ended question measured on an ordinal and nominal scale;
(2) Open-ended question; and
(3) Semi-open question in combination with a nominal scale.
The three initial questions aimed at introducing the respondent to the rearch topic and the collection of qualitative data related to the degree of awareness of the problem as well as the potential benefits of creating job opportunities or any damage to the property value. The following questions addresd the core of the rearch, since they focud on the respondents’ WTP or WTA to be compensated in order for them to relocate or tolerate the existence of the factory. The sum of money was to be determined with an open-ended question. In the last ction, the main demographic data were collected.绣球怎么养
The target group of the rearch consisted of inhabitants in the wider area of Elefsina. The sample size (150 people) meets the requirements of the rearch and conforms to the rules of the Statistical Science.
The survey was conducted in the industrial zone of Elefsina in March 2017, sampling a diver sample of population. Additionally, questionnaires were distributed to factory workers of the area. The data collected were procesd in Excel (students had the required knowledge from Descriptive Statistics cours).
4. Results
According to the findings of the survey, owners of property and tenants who live near the factory responded that the value of their estate was higher (about 64%). Approximately 8% reported that the value is not influenced by the prence of the plant, while about 28% answered that they did not know if the value of their hou is affected. The majority (about 80%) who responded that their estate is undervalued due to the factory in their area, estimated the increa of their property value should be between 10%-50% (either as purcha or rental cost) while 20% of them claimed that the increa should be even greater. Interestingly, 7.5% of the respondents believe that their property value is eliminated (100%), becau
of the prence of the factory.
Bad on the findings of all respondents who live near a factory, the average estimated decline in the value of housing is 37.3% and the median is 30%. The standard deviation was calculated to be 26.2%. Subquently, the values of the hou along with other variables (factory, distance, gender, income) were all examined in order for the rearchers to identify whether there was a difference between the average obtained or not.
The prentation of the final project (with the units as defined by the syllabus) took place at the end of the school year. Each group prented their assignment first in the classroom, so as to take into account all comments made by the class asmbly and work all necessary prentation skills. Then, all five groups prented their projects to the whole school at an arranged school event.
5. Conclusions
It is safe to conclude that students, through the role
of the rearcher, gained an insight and reaped multiple benefits from the whole process. Firstly, they were given the opportunity to examine the concept of Environmental Education and attempt to v
aluate, using Experimental Economics tools, the benefits and drawbacks of any factory for the neighboring area. They also came into contact with economics terminology and the Hypothetical scenario
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methodology. The economic valuation of u and non-u values was bad on two main criteria.
The students were asked to do rearch on an environmental problem away from their place of residence. Conquently, they had to enrich their knowledge with information (geographical, historical, cultural, financial) of the new area. The students involved had also to obrve and admit the psychological pressure that the problem pos on them, since the Greek heritage is also undermined. Moreover, students were given the chance to relate their rearch to the living standards and development of a certain community and discover the benefits which technological re
arch brings as well as the subquent discovery of environmentally compatible production process. During the rearch time, students mobilized their empathy, which positively contributes to initiatives and action in the area of interest. Such a thinking process inevitably leads to consideration of what an active citizen is meant to do, a concept that is a real challenge for modern education today.
The rearch method employed did not only add to students’ knowledge but produced new knowledge per . Students gradually understood why rearch promotes knowledge and creates new data and realized the citizen’s responsibility towards examining the credibility of rearch findings.
What is more, students with the u of certain rearch tools made an effort to quantify qualitative data and even evaluate it in money. Inevitably, becau of the difficulties they faced the students came to realize how hard it is to measure the invaluable value of public goods.
It is also worth-mentioning that cognitive benefits were gained from the IT, Statistics and Economics ctor. The communication benefits were also invaluable since students came in contact with rearch participants and afterwards were asked to edit and disminate outcomes and findings. Thr
ough team-work, leadership that changed in every stage, redistribution of roles and responsibilities, the students acquired strong social skills.
This whole process led students to familiarize themlves with the rearch process which made possible such a demanding task. Students became more and more autonomous within time and the fact that they knew since the beginning that the findings and outcomes of their project would be prented to a large audience, emed to have had a positive effect on their engagement and commitment to the project.
Teamwork through students’ interaction and collaboration appeared to maximize not only the final group outcome but also rved individual objectives such as the personal achievement of a learning goal. The impact of experiential learning proved to be significant to the creation of a positive attitude for science learning too. Finally, even students’ temporary relocation to the city of Athens, an urban environment quite different from their hometown (different place and population, environmental pollution, commuting with Tube/Tram they probably had never ud before, etc.) adds to their learning and life experience.
References
[1]Brown, T. C. 2005. “Loss Aversion without the
Endowment Effect, and Other Explanations for the
WTA-WTP Disparity.” J. Econ. Behav. Org. 57 (3):
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[2]Batzias, F., and Kopsidas, O. 2010. “Introducing a
Conditional ‘Willingness to Pay’ Index as a Quantifier
for Environmental Impact Asssment.” In Proceedings
of the AIP Conference, 1071-4.
[3]Liao, T. F. 1994. Interpreting Probability Models: Logit,
Probit, and Other Generalized Linear Models. New York:
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[4]Menard, S. 2001. Applied Logistic Regression Analysis,
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[5]Rayleigh, L. 1900. “Applied Logistic Regression
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[6]Buckingham, E. 1915. “The Principle of Similitude.”
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[7]Buckingham, E. 1914. “The Mathematics of
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