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Viral RNA in fine (< 5 µm) aerosols from 13 patients infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus were obtained using the Gesundheit-II (G-II) equipment which collects respiratory emissions. The collection was performed in isolation wards of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases of Singapore under an approved protocol. The patients breathed normally for 30 minutes, talk, and sing for 15 minutes each (with 30 minutes rest in between activity) into a specially designed aerosol collector in two size fractions. The coarse fraction (> 5 µm) and the fine aerosols (< 5 µm) are subsequently collected and subjected to PCR analysis for their viral load quantification. Viral RNA detected from 59% of the patients showed that patients earlier in illness were more likely to emit detectable RNA, and loads differed significantly between breathing, talking, and singing. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted public awareness of airborne disease transmission in indoor settings and emphasized the need for reliable air disinfection technologies. This increased awareness will carry in the post-pandemic era along with the ever-emerging SARS-CoV variants, necessitating effective and well-defined protocols, methods, and devices for air disinfection. Ultraviolet (UV)-based air disinfection demonstrated promising results in inactivating viral bioaerosols. However, the reported data diversity on the required UVC doses has hindered determining the best UVC practices and led to confusion among the public and regulators. This article reviews available information on critical parameters influencing the efficacy of a UVC air disinfection system and, consequently, the required dose including the system's components as well as operational and environmental factors. There is a consensus in the literature that the interrelation of humidity and air temperature has a significant impact on the UVC susceptibility, which translate to changing the UVC efficacy of commercialized devices in indoor settings under varying conditions. Sampling and aerosolization techniques reported to have major influence on the result interpretation and it is recommended to use several sampling methods simultaneously to generate comparable and conclusive data. We also considered the safety concerns and the potential safe alternative of UVC, far-UVC. Finally, the gaps in each critical parameter and the future research needs of the field are represented. This paper is the first step to consolidating literature towards developing a standard validation protocol for UVC air disinfection devices which is determined as the one of the research needs.
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The pandemic caused a global crisis with socioeconomic and public health consequences for the whole society. The collectors of recyclable materials are professionals at the forefront of the sanitation field and suffer economic impacts, in addition to being constantly at risk of contamination. The organization of the collectors of recyclable materials in networks is a strategy adopted by Associations and Cooperatives in search of strengthening and better working conditions and during the pandemic it has been fundamental for the socioeconomic maintenance for these workers. In this sense, this work seeks to present interdisciplinary reflections based on the analysis of the experiences of Redesul Southwest MG, the challenges and coping strategies adopted by that organization, as well as the articulations made with other actors in the recycling production chain in order to mitigate the losses caused by COVID - 19. A bibliographic survey and data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with the organization's representative, whose data were analyzed using the content analysis method. The results point to challenges in the area of health, financial maintenance, inefficiency of public policies and participation of the population. However, it was observed the power of the organization in the Network guided by the solidarity between the groups and the articulations with partners to face the challenges and fill the gaps left by the public power regarding the implementation of public policies.
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Electricity in Bali majorly is supplied by power plants in Java which use fossil-fuelled. With petroleum and coal reserves to run out by 2025, Bali Government has issued Governor Ordinance No. 45/2019 concerning clean energy in encouraging Balinese to use rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV). As backboned tourism industry, Bali has drastically been declining due to COVID-19 causing most hotels and their supporting industries closed, the government then has changed the orientation from urban tourism to rural tourism. This paper proposes rooftop solar PV power plant program in the tourism village representing all 8 regencies and 1 municipality (Sudaji in Buleleng, Catur and others in Bangli, Tenganan in Karangasem, Kerta in Gianyar, Blimbingsari in Jembrana, Paksebali in Klungkung, Bongan in Tabanan, Bongkasa in Badung, and Sanur Kauh in Denpasar). Recent studies show huge potential for solar energy in Bali and the program is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (Bali SDGs). The study elaborates problems in implementing the program since solar PV is still new and traditions could hinder the people in the tourism village to utilize it. Behaviour approach must be explored to make the program can be successfully done.
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In Mexico, archaeological heritage belongs to all members of society, according to section XXV of Article 73 of the Mexican Constitution and Article 27 of the federal law on monuments and archaeological sites. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) was founded in 1939 as a federal government agency for the research, protection, and dissemination of archaeological heritage. Although this heritage belongs to all, stringent rules and procedures create an unequal relationship between career professionals and the diverse communities interested in the past (i.e., collectors, local museums, descendant communities). It is long due to begin practicing an inclusive archaeology that considers all the various knowledge systems (i.e., academic, technical, local, and traditional) of the communities interested in the past. Here, we describe case studies from Sonora, Mexico, to propose the implementation of several far-reaching activities with artifact collectors, Indigenous communities, researchers, archaeologists, and INAH Sonora authorities. Our pilot proposal needs to be implemented in other areas of Mexico that continue to prioritize archaeological narratives over other narratives about our past.
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This paper describes a microclimate monitoring system consisting of a LoRaWAN network of wireless climate sensors, a data collector and analytical software. The system is a part of the ICS RAS SmartGrid Centre project for predicting building energy consumption. During the design phase, the authors considered the concept of comfort, which is involved in setting control objectives for HVAC plants. It was necessary to overcome some characteristics of the LoRaWAN protocol, such as floating data transmission period and limited intensity of sensor communication. These have been overcome by post-processing the data with Python software, using libraries numpy and scipy. The collected data was passed through an interpolation filter for synchronization, and the resulting data is freely available in dataset format on our website for all interested researchers. Additionally, weather data was collected using a local meteostation to be considered as external disturbances in analysis problems. This paper also considers an approach to passive identification of the thermal protection parameters of a building. The coronavirus lockdown period was chosen to assume the impact of visitors negligible. The parameters are supposed to be estimated by correlation analysis. The estimates obtained should be compared with the values calculated according to ISO and Russian construction standards for diagnostic reasons. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.
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Archive of Internet Pioneer CompuServe Salvaged by Computer History Museum The company archives of CompuServe rhttps://www,Dcmag.com/encvcloDedia/term/comDuserve1 . one of the earliest services that allowed users to connect online, have joined the Shustek Research Archives Thttps://computerhistorv.org/access-and-research/1 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. The museum's archivists raced to transfer the materials and grappled with pandemic-related disruptions to the shipping industry as a deadline to vacate the building Loomed. Life is Cheap... was restored in partnership with the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, which hosted a retrospective of Wang's work to commemorate his recent donation of his films and personal papers to the organization [ https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/bav-area-fi Immaker-wavne-wang- oonsiders-his-ongoing-legaov-in-bampfa-retrospect ível _. INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS Ukraine's Dovzhenko National Center Battles to Preserve Cultural Heritage in the Face of Russian Invasion In the wake of the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine's national film archive, the Qleksander Dovzhenko National Center IhttnsV/dovzhenkocentre.org/en/about/l , has marshaled its holdings to boost public morale, holding screenings in subway stations that serve as makeshift bomb shelters.
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This study investigates solid-waste handling practices by municipal waste collectors during COVID-19 pandemic period in Osogbo urban areas with the intention of assessing measures put in place for preventing possible spread of the disease. Data for the study were obtained from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were acquired through questionnaire administration on the 5% of waste collectors selected through snowball technique of chain referral. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Adopted under this technique are cross-tabulation, percentages, index that was used determine waste generation (WGI), and protective material index (PMI) used by waste collectors before and during the lockdown periods. The result showed that rate of waste generation before the pandemic was WGI = 0.69 and during the pandemic was WGI = 0.75. The use of protective materials before COVID-19 was PMI = 2.9 as against (PMI = 3.58) during the lockdown period, with face mask recorded lowest occurrence of use (PMI = - 2.91). Crude materials that cannot guarantee the safety of waste collectors are used for transfer of waste into disposal vehicle. The study concludes that solid-waste collectors in the study area are not adequately catered for during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Solar drying is one of the important application of out of several applications of solar thermal technologies. Solar drying is generally preferred for the drying of different agricultural products and several designs of such dryers are developed and investigated around the globe. However, the solar dehydration/disinfection of the cloths/utensils (clothes drying rack/device) and development of appropriate designs for the same is one of the neglected aspect. Such designs of "solar cloth dehydrators and/or devices"may play an important role in the humid and cloudy weather conditions. More importantly, in the present pandemic of COVID 19, solar dehydrators/disinfectors can be a crucial device for disinfection of cloths and other utensils. Thus, the present work is aimed to design, develop and investigate the novel design of Solar Disinfectant Closet (SDC)/Solar Disinfection Device (SDD) for inactivation of COVID-19 Virus (SARS-COV-2). A primary small prototype of SDC/SDD made of metallic structure is designed and fabricated which can be used during day as well as night. The present design of SDC/SDD is manufactured taking into account the heat inactivation protocol of 5- log viral load reduction (56°C-30min and 60°C-60min) and can be modified to follow the protocol 6-log viral load reduction (92°C -15min). The present experiments discusses the disinfection of stainless steel utensils (SSUs) using the proposed device. The primary results depicts that the novel design of SDC/SDD can reach a temperature of 70°C within 30 minutes and able to dehydrate/disinfect the rated load of cloths/utensils in short span of 70 to 90 minutes. It is proposed that the same device can be used for the inactivation for the different crucial viruses like Tuberculosis, Influenza etc. © 2022 Author(s).
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ObjectivesAssess and describe the health service use and delivery patterns for non-communicable disease (NCD) services in two contrasting fragility contexts and by other principal equity-related characteristics including gender, nationality and health coverage.SettingPrimary healthcare centres located in the urbanised area of Greater Beirut and the rural area of the Beqaa Valley.DesignThis is a cross-sectional study using a structured survey tool between January and September 2020.Participants1700 Lebanese and Syrian refugee patients seeking primary care for hypertension and diabetes.Primary and secondary outcomesThe main outcome is the comprehensiveness of service delivery comparing differences in use and service delivery patterns by fragility setting, gender, nationality and health coverage.ResultsCompliance with routine NCD care management (eg, counselling, immunisations, diagnostic testing and referral rates) was significantly better in Beirut compared with Beqaa. Women were significantly less likely to be offered lifestyle counselling advice and referral to cardiologists (58.4% vs 68.3% in Beqaa and 58.1% vs 62% in Beirut) and ophthalmologists, compared with men. Across both settings, there was a significant trend for Lebanese patients to receive more services and more advice related to nutrition and diabetes management (89.8% vs 85.2% and 62.4% vs 55.5%, respectively). Similarly, referral rates were higher among Lebanese refugees compared with Syrian refugees. Immunisation and diagnostic testing were significantly higher in Beirut among those who have health coverage compared with Beqaa.ConclusionsThe study discovered significant differences in outpatient service use by setting, nationality and gender to differentials. A rigorous and comprehensive appraisal of NCD programmes and services is imperative for providing policy makers with evidence-based recommendations to guide the design, implementation and evaluation of targeted programmes and services necessary to ensure equity in health services delivery to diabetic and hypertensive patients. Such programmes are an ethical imperative considering the protracted crises and compounded fragility.
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Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are more frequently unemployed or under-employed than individuals without disabilities. Job search skills are one of the most direct ways to counter unemployment. Remote audio coaching (RAC) has shown to be an effective, remote method for teaching skills to adults with IDD. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for flexible intervention delivery options, we explored the effectiveness of using RAC to teach job search skills to college students with IDD. A multiple probe design across students was used to examine the impact of RAC on increasing job search skills. Results demonstrated that RAC was effective at increasing this skill. All students maintained the skill upon removai of the intervention. Implications and future research are discussed.
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Background: Corona virus Disease, 2019 has been pandemic all over the world due to its strong human to human transmission. A number of measures have been put in place to prevent its spread among the population. However, for these preventive measures to be effective, the population should practice an appropriate COVID-19 prevention method. To our knowledge, there is no study yet done in the Amhara region. Thus, this study was aimed at assessing mask wearing practice and its associated factors for COVID-19 prevention among residents of metropolitan towns in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 20 to July 10, 2020. A total of 413 residents of metropolitan towns of the Amhara region, Ethiopia were enrolled in the study. A systematic sampling technique was used to collect data from selected households. Data were entered into EPI-DATA version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 24.0 for analysis. To identify the factors of mask wearing practice for COVID-19 prevention, multiple binary logistic regression analysis was used. Statistical significance was declared at p-value<0.05. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals was used to assess the direction and strength of associations. Results: Four hundred thirteen residents were participated in the study with a response rate of 97.6%. Of these, 234 (56.6%) were female, 229 (55.4%) were lay in the age group of 31–45 years old, and 321 (77.7%) were married. The proportion of residents who had good mask wearing practice in the current study was 57.1% [(95%CI: 52.35%, 61.94%)]. Having formal education [AOR = 5.046, 95% CI (2.713, 9.385], employed [AOR = 1.827, 95% CI (1.172, 2.848)], having good knowledge [AOR = 3.125, 95% CI (1.361, 7.178)], and having positive attitude [AOR = 2.279, 95% CI (1.09, 4.767)] were significantly associated with mask wearing practice. Conclusion: more than half of the study respondents had good mask wearing practice regarding COVID-19 prevention. Having formal education, being employed, having good knowledge, and having positive attitude were significantly associated with mask wearing practice. It is recommended that local health authorities should implement interventions such, residents training and awareness creation activities to enhance residents to develop mask wearing practice.
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ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence and associated factors of overweight and obesity among primary school children (6–11 years old) in Thanhhoa city in 2021.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingSeven primary schools in Thanhhoa city, Vietnam.Participants782 children (and their parents).Primary and secondary outcome measuresTwo-stage cluster random sampling was used for selecting children and data were collected from January to February 2021. A self-administrated questionnaire was designed for children and their parents. Children’s height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores were computed using the WHO Anthro software V.1.0.4. Data were analysed using R software V.4.1.2. The associations between potential factors and childhood overweight/obesity were analysed through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Variables were selected using the Bayesian Model Averaging method.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight/obesity among primary school children in Thanhhoa city was 35.93% (overweight 21.61% and obesity 14.32%). The proportion of overweight girls was nearly equal to that of boys (20.78% and 22.52%, respectively, p=0.6152) while the proportion of boys with obesity was four times as many as that of girls (23.86% and 5.62%, respectively, p<0.0001). Child’s sex was the factor significantly associated with childhood overweight/obesity. Boys had double the risk of being overweight/obese than girls (adjusted OR: aOR=2.48, p<0.0001). Other potential factors which may be associated with childhood overweight/obesity included mode of transport to school, the people living with the child, mother’s occupation, father’s education, eating confectionery, the total time of doing sports, and sedentary activities.ConclusionOne in every three primary school children in Thanhhoa city were either overweight or obese. Parents, teachers and policy-makers can implement interventions in the aforementioned factors to reduce the rate of childhood obesity. In forthcoming years, longitudinal studies should be conducted to determine the causal relationships between potential factors and childhood overweight/obesity.
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ObjectivesTo assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Bangladesh and identify population subgroups with higher odds of vaccine hesitancy.DesignA nationally representative cross-sectional survey was used for this study. Descriptive analyses helped to compute vaccine hesitancy proportions and compare them across groups. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to compute the adjusted OR.SettingBangladesh.ParticipantsA total of 1134 participants from the general population, aged 18 years and above participated in this study.Outcome measuresPrevalence and predictors of vaccine hesitancy.ResultsOf the total participants, 32.5% showed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Hesitancy was high among respondents who were men, over 60, unemployed, from low-income families, from central Bangladesh, including Dhaka, living in rented houses, tobacco users, politically affiliated, doubtful of the vaccine’s efficacy for Bangladeshis and those who did not have any physical illnesses in the past year. In the multiple logistic regression models, transgender respondents (adjusted OR, AOR=3.62), married individuals (AOR=1.49), tobacco users (AOR=1.33), those who had not experienced any physical illnesses in the past year (AOR=1.49), those with political affiliations with opposition parties (AOR=1.48), those who believed COVID-19 vaccines would not be effective for Bangladeshis (AOR=3.20), and those who were slightly concerned (AOR=2.87) or not concerned at all (AOR=7.45) about themselves or a family member getting infected with COVID-19 in the next year were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy (p<0.05).ConclusionsGiven the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, in order to guarantee that COVID-19 vaccinations are widely distributed, the government and public health experts must be prepared to handle vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine awareness among potential recipients. To address these issues and support COVID-19 immunisation programs, evidence-based educational and policy-level initiatives must be undertaken especially for the poor, older and chronically diseased individuals.
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Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is defined as a delayed in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. This multinational study examined user interaction with social media about COVID-19 vaccination. The study analyzed social media comments in 24 countries from five continents. In total, 5856 responses were analyzed;83.5% of comments were from Facebook, while 16.5% were from Twitter. In Facebook, the overall vaccine acceptance was 40.3%;the lowest acceptance rates were evident in Jordan (8.5%), Oman (15.0%), Senegal (20.0%) and Morocco (20.7%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America 22.6%. In Twitter, the overall acceptance rate was (41.5%);the lowest acceptance rate was found in Oman (14.3%), followed by USA (20.5%), and UK (23.3%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America (20.5%), and Europe (29.7%). The differences in vaccine acceptance across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter were statistically significant. Regarding the tone of the comments, in Facebook, countries that had the highest number of serious tone comments were Sweden (90.9%), USA (61.3%), and Thailand (58.8%). At continent level, serious comments were the highest in Asia (58.4%), followed by Africa (46.2%) and South America (46.2%). In Twitter, the highest serious tone was reported in Egypt (72.2%) while at continental level, the highest proportion of serious comments was observed in Asia (59.7%), followed by Europe (46.5%). The differences in tone across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter and were statistically significant. There was a significant association between the tone and the position of comments. We concluded that the overall vaccine acceptance in social media was relatively low and varied across the studied countries and continents. Consequently, more in-depth studies are required to address causes of such VH and combat infodemics.
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The blind spot can be defined as the area around the vehicle where the driver cannot see through the mirrors without turning their head or taking their eyes off the road. Similar blind spots occur in energy policy. Blind spots can occur in forecasting economic development and creating policy documents. This study uncovers potential blind spots and controversies in the sustainability assessment of energy supply technologies. A composite sustainability index was constructed to compare district heating with four individual heating technologies—wood pellet boilers, natural gas boilers, solar collectors, and heat pumps. A total of 19 indicators were selected and grouped into four dimensions of sustainability—technical, environmental, economic, and social. The results reveal that district heating can compete with individual heating technologies in all dimensions of sustainability;however, a possible blind spot lies in evaluating environmental performance indicators of the different heating technologies. This study provides a novel decision-making tool that policy-makers could use to identify and avoid potential blind spots and uncertainties in energy policy at an early stage.
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Energy consumption is steadily increasing with the ever-growing population, leading to a rise in global warming. Building energy consumption is one of the major sources of global warming, which can be controlled with renewable energy installations. This paper deals with an advanced evacuated hybrid solar photovoltaic–thermal collector (PVT) for simultaneous production of electricity and domestic hot water (DHW) with lower carbon emissions. Most PVT projects focus on increasing electricity production by cooling the photovoltaic (PV). However, in this research, increasing thermal efficiency is investigated through vacuum glass tube encapsulation. The required area for conventional unglazed PVT systems varies between 1.6–2 times of solar thermal collectors for similar thermal output. In the case of encapsulation, the required area can decrease by minimizing convective losses from the system. Surprisingly, the electrical efficiency was not decreased by encapsulating the PVT system. The performance of evacuated PVT is compared to glazed and unglazed PVTs, and the result shows a 40% increase in thermal performance with the proposed system. All three systems are simulated in ANSYS 18.1 (Canonsburg, PA, USA) at different mass flow rates and solar irradiance.
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As the Covid-19 pandemic locked everyone in their house, people felt it necessary for several services to survive this situation. This paper presents the development of web applications that contains some essential services during the pandemic situation for the people of Bangladesh. Via this web application, the admin and users can sign in and log in. Admin can add products related to pandemic on the shop service, and then the users can buy these products. Also, the admin can add nurses, burial and funeral volunteers, Covid-19 test sample collectors to different cities. The service providers will sign up and add services with proper certificates to provide services. Then admin will verify the vendors certificate. If the certificates are valid, vendors will be visible on the websites, and users will get service from them. Users can get these services by providing their addresses and date. Users also can cancel service requests before the service giving time. Vendors can view the pending services list and provide services. Vendors can also cancel the service before the service providing time if any problem occurs on vendors side. After providing the service, both vendors and users can confirm that the service is done. Users also can give feedback on vendors listing after getting the service. Also, there will be registered fitness and nutrition coaches on the website. Users can get advice for fitness and nutrition through private messages via this website. As it's risky to go out from home during this situation, the necessity for going out will be lessened if people get these services online. And their hassles will be lower if people can find all these services on one website. © 2021 IEEE.
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Clearly and accurately communicating the economic, environmental, and social benefits of solar PV prosumerism poses significant challenges. Previous research shows that government policies and public engagement campaigns can positively impact solar prosumerism;however, little is known about the quality and accuracy of information exchanged between rooftop solar installers and potential prosumers. This study addresses part of this gap with a mixed methods approach. First, a multimodal discourse analysis of installation proposals from seven home solar installers in Madrid shows accurate and reasonable financial benefits alongside incongruent social and environmental benefits. Second, the calculated efficiency of the seven proposed solar installations is compared with the efficiency of four different PVSC solar arrays using actual load and generation profiles. The results show that (i) the high variability of actual household demand on the minute-by- minute level significantly decreases self-consumption rate and profitability in comparison with the rates estimated using hourly or monthly, and (ii) the grouping of households into solar communities should significantly increase self-consumption and profitability. Therefore, using minute by minute time series in home solar estimations would reveal an added value and social benefit that is commonly overlooked. We conclude with recommendations for future research and multimodal communication campaigns that balance benefits of individual prosumerism and community solar.