To what extent is the most commonly used type of transport in Xian Lin sustainable?

Transcription

1 To what extent is the most commonly used type of transport in Xian Lin sustainable? Comment [RB1]: Appropriate and focused RQ Table of Contents Introduction Page 2 Methodology Page 3 Analysis of Data & Results Page 4 Moped Sustainability (Advantages) Page 4 5 Moped Sustainability (Disadvantages) Page 5 6 Conclusion Page 6 Evaluation Page 6 Reference List Page 7 Appendix Page 7 9 Comment [RB2]: Contents page is a good addition formal reports usually have them. 1

2 Introduction Urban sustainability is formed by cities that aim to develop with consideration for their environmental impact. Sustainable cities wish to protect the quality of life for the future generations of the world which means the cities will have a minimal impact on the environment. During this investigation, data will be collected from our study area. The study area is a place called Xian Lin which is the university district of Nanjing. Since it s the university district, it is highly modernized and therefore has a large population and a wide variety of transportation. The places visited by the study groups consisted of the Korean Market, Golden Eagle, Evian Valley, University of Language, Mini- Suguo and the shopping street across from NIS. All of these areas were plotted on the map below: Comment [RB3]: Understanding of sustainability evident here. Comment [RB4]: Good introduction of the location, but you also need to explain why the RQ is worthy of investigation. Comment [RB5]: Map requires a title and should be referenced to the text. Also, a key would help what do the stripy yellow parts show? Scale and direction should also be included. The formulated research question was: To what extent is the most commonly used type of transports in Xian Lin sustainable The investigation s aim is to survey people from different areas about the transportation they commonly use and whether it is sustainable or not. The sample data will uncover frequently used modes of transport and how sustainable it is. The rationale for this investigation was to discover whether the people of Xian Lin use sustainable transport often. Comment [RB6]: Rationale included. Could be further developed ie linked to the benefits of sustainability. 2

3 Methodology In order to answer the research question, the type of transportation of which the public commonly used needed to be discovered, in addition to whether the transportation was sustainable or not. To find the most popular transport, for each field trip lesson, one person from the group went to a different place to ask the public, the data was collected and tallied in the chart below: Comment [RB7]: Very limited data collection and no details about how the data was collected. How long did you take, how did you select the respondents? Comment [RB8]: This should be referenced to the main report. Ideally you would put this in an appendix. This allowed for the type of transport with the highest demand to be displayed throughout the results. After collecting the sample data, the sustainability of the commonly used mode of transportation was analyzed along with it s efficiency by researching what classifies as sustainable transportation. To a certain extent the data collected is valid due to the fact that a wide range of people were surveyed, in addition to the fact that the sample data is purely based on fact and what transport the public use in their day to day lives. However, the results found may not be applicable in some circumstances due to the fact that not every person in Xian Lin was asked. The results are reliable and easily corroborated since if this investigation were repeated the same results would be found. Comment [RB9]: Analysed based on what? You needed to compare to secondary data on what the more sustainable forms of transport were. Comment [RB10]: But you have not explained how you selected them so how can we be sure that a wide range were surveyed? Comment [RB11]: How do you know this? Some justification for this statement is required. 3

4 Analysis of Data & Results The sample data was collected and the results from all of the different tally charts were tallied together in one. The results found are shown in the appendix at the back of the report. After calculating the total amount of people of which frequently used each type of transportation, it was apparent that the type of transportation with the highest demand was mopeds since the total came to 59 which was 10 more than the seconds highest mode of transportation which was the car and bicycle. The least popular mode of transportation was calculated to be the public buses since only 32 people in total said they took the public bus. To get a better picture of the differentiation between the total amount of tallies for each type of transportation, the results collected were arranged into a pie chart to show the percentages of each transportation. Comment [RB12]: Good description of findings and appropriate presentation via a pie chart. The Pie Chart gives a better representation of delimitation of each different transportation category. It displays that the pie chart is 26% Moped, 22% Car, 22% Bicycle, 17% Walking and 14% Bus. Moped Sustainability (Advantages) Once the results were tallied, research was conducted concerning the sustainability of a moped. The research gathered displayed that mopeds are reasonably sustainable and that some types of mopeds are more sustainable than others. A moped of which is fueled by gasoline brags about how it only consumes 1 liter per 85 kilometers, which is not a major issue compared to vehicles such as cars, however due to the fact that these bikes still use fossil fuels instead of renewable energy the substances of which these bikes emit from their engines can be a serious issue (Green Living Tips, 2008). Gas moped s CO 2 emissions vary depending on the amount of gas they burn, meaning that even though Gas mopeds emit a considerable amount of greenhouse gases, they contribute far less CO 2 into the atmosphere than a car does which proves that they are more sustainable than their four wheeled cousins (Scooter Underground, 2014). A way to remain sustainable and have a smaller environmental impact is to have an electrically powered scooter. 4

5 Electric mopeds are powered by electricity and can be charged after every usage instead of having to buy fuel. When using an Electric moped instead of a car, for every 500 miles you travel on a moped an average of 25 gallons of fuel is saved, in addition to a large amount of pollution being prevented. For example, in that 500 miles an electric bike was used instead of a car the following chemicals were prevented from being emitted into the environment s atmosphere: ~3.42 pounds of hydrocarbons ~25.28 pounds of Carbon Monoxide ~1.77 pounds of Nitrogen Oxides (Electric- Bikes.com, 2013) In addition to this, the electric bike also reduces the mass of tire and brake lining fragments that are littered during travel due to friction. Moped Sustainability (Disadvantages) Compared to a car or a bus, a moped is extremely sustainable however when the moped is compared to a Bicycle or Walking it is not that sustainable. For example, walking is the most efficient and sustainable mode of transportation due to the fact that a device does not have to be made to take you to where you want to go. However, a moped is made out of a variety of different materials and mechanical parts that have to be engineered and created in a factory that may use fossil fuels or un- renewable energy to create these required parts. The use of fossil fuels means that CO 2 and other greenhouse gases are being emitted into the atmosphere which is increasing the risk of global warming. Another disadvantage of using an electric moped is the environmental impact of electricity generation. In the process of electricity generation, a wide range of energy producers are used such as: - Nuclear Power - Coal - Natural Gas - Hydroelectricity - Solar Thermal - Geothermal - Biomass - Solar Photovoltaic - Wind Power - Oil - Biofuels - Gas Some of these energy producers do not emit GHGs (Greenhouse gases) however things like Nuclear power, Coal, Gas and Oil emit chemical substances into the air that enhance global warming. In addition to this, a large amount of water is used in the generation of electricity and due to this there is a growing concern about large droughts in the future (Wikipedia, 2015). A better form of sustainable transportation, in addition to walking, would be biking because, although a bike would need to be produced, no electricity is needed to power the bicycle. Comment [RB13]: Effective use of relevant secondary data sources. Good. Comment [RB14]: Would have been a good idea to find out how most electricity in Xianlin is generated. Comment [RB15]: A good evaluative comment. 5

6 Conclusion Overall, during this investigation, sample data was collected from various places around Xian Lin and this data provided the study groups with information concerning what type of transportation had the highest demand. Based on the analysis of the data results, the conclusion was reached that the mode of transport of which was the most popular in Xian Lin was a moped. The sustainability of the moped was analyzed using secondary sources and the research clearly showed that Electric mopeds are more sustainable than Gas mopeds. However, the research additionally exhibited that when the sustainability of a moped is compared to that of a car, it succeeds at being the more sustainable mode of transportation. The research and results collected answered the research question by displaying that a moped is reasonably sustainable when set side by side with a car however in order to become more sustainable, modes of transportation such as walking and cycling are more efficient. Evaluation This investigation had both strengths and weaknesses. One weakness of the investigation was the sample size for each location. For each location we had to ask a minimum of 15 people and a maximum of 30 however sometimes there were fewer than 15 people at the location and therefore the sample size was not adequate and did not meet the requirements. This caused for their to be a slight unfair test since we were asking different amounts of people at each location. Another weakness is that although the results are valid and reliable, they are not detailed and 100% accurate. This is also due to the sample size of the data. For example, if we were to ask more people at each different location, the data would have allowed for a more precise answer as to which type of transportation has the highest demand. One strength of the investigation was the fact that the data collected and the research conducted allowed for an accurate answer to our research question. In addition to this, the fact that the research and sample data came from different areas of Xian Lin allowed for a larger variation in the total tallies for each transportation. Comment [RB16]: Well- constructed conclusion that summarises the main findings and addresses the RQ. Comment [RB17]: This wasn t mentioned in the methodology. Comment [RB18]: Also, it is likely that people use different forms of transport for journeys of different length. Comment [RB19]:? Not really sure what you are saying here. B 6 Although the primary data collection lacks depth, and the methods used to collect it are not described in detail, you have appropriate supporting secondary data and your action plan shows that the investigation followed a plan. The evaluation, both of findings and methodology, is quite detailed. C 6 You have followed a report format and presented findings clearly using appropriate means eg a pie- chart. The headings also demonstrate a structured approach. 6

7 Reference List Electric Bikes.com (2013) Retrieved from bikes.com/environment.html Wikipedia (2015) Retrieved from Scooter Underground (2014) Retrieved from Green Living tips (2008) Retrieved from Comment [RB20]: Good evidence of appropriate secondary source material. Appendix Chart 1 - Total Results from the collected sample data in a tally chart: 7

8 Action Plan (Morgan Julia Trainer) Action Plan Comment [RB21]: Strong evidence of having conducted the investigation following a plan. # Day Date Planned activities Person(s) responsible Amendments any) (if 1 19 th of Today we started to think about our Research Question. We came up with To what extent is the most commonly used type of transports in Xin lin sustainable. We are thinking of using a tally chart to write down our data. Morgan Justin Cesar 8

9 st of 25 th of 26 th of 28 th of 31 st of Today Justin will look at the map and decide where we are going to collect our data, I will start to create the tally chart where we are going to collect data and Cesar will begin to work on filling in the Action Plan. During today s lesson, I will go to Golden Eagle with Lili-Anna to collect the sample data of analysis. We will be there for at least 30 minutes and need to ask at least 15 people. Cesar and Justin will go to their assigned places. During today s lesson I will go Across the street from school with Lili-anna to Suguo to collect more sample data for analysis. We will be there for at least 30 minutes and need to ask at least 15 people within that time. Cesar and Justin will go to their assigned places. Today will be the last class of collecting data. Me and Lili-anna will go to minisuguo behind Evian to collect our sample data for analysis. Cesar and Justin will go to their assigned places. Today we will begin our report, my aim is to finish my introduction of 200 words and to begin the methodology at home. Justin- Locations on Map Morgan-Tally Chart Cesar-Action Plan Morgan - Data Cesar - Data Justin - Data Morgan - Data Cesar - Data Justin - Data Morgan - Data Cesar - Data Justin - Data Morgan - Report Cesar - Report Justin - Report 7 2 nd of Septembe r I will read through my intro and correct mistakes and finish my methodology. Begin the Analysis at home for homework. Morgan - Report Cesar - Report Justin - Report 8 7 th of Septembe r Finish the Analysis of the data and also write the conclusion. At home I will need to write my evaluation, my appendix and do my references. Morgan - Report Cesar - Report Justin - Report Word Count: