About 40% of the world's primary energy is used by buildings. This indicates that the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by buildings. In this investigation, the decrement factor (DF) and time lag (TL) of a new 3D-printed model are experimentally determined. It is really time to cut back on such energy consumption to lessen buildings' negative environmental effects. The introduction of new model 3D-printing blocks with high thermal inertia might be a way to lower the building's energy usage. Decrement factors and time lag are characteristics of thermal inertia. In this investigation, the decrement factor and time lag of a new 3D-printed model are experimentally determined. At the University of Salahadin's College of Engineering, a pilot house measuring 1 m x 0.45 m x 0.45 m is constructed specifically for this application. The equivalent temperatures of the inside (room one) and outside (room two) are used to determine the decrement factor and time lag. The findings indicate that using the new 3D-block model, the time lag is around 120 minutes, and the decrement factor is approximately 0.34. The 3D-printing block enables a 4.5°C reduction in the peak interior temperature. Since temperature changes outside are not noticeable, less energy is used to cool the structure during warm weather.

This article contributes to discussion on uses of English and other languages in international higher education. The authors draw on Atkinson's (2004) model of five overlapping cultures (national, professional-academic, student, youth and classroom) in an educational setting to examine students' uses of English and Arabic in one higher education institution in Syria. Although modest in scale, this is of particular value as there is little existing data on this topic. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in Arabic, translated into English and analysed within the computer programme NVivo. The students' responses about their language use were examined with a focus on student culture as this overlapped with the other cultures in Atkinson's (2004) model. Findings are presented in relation to: i.) national culture and youth culture; and ii.) professional academic culture and classroom culture. While recognising there are dynamic connections between all these cultures, we found that student culture overlapped closely in language use onto Arabic for national culture and some aspects of youth culture, while it overlapped onto English for professional academic and classroom culture. One key finding was the widespread aspiration to travel and study abroad. This was strongly associated with the use of English and was particularly striking, since few of the students had travelled outside Syria. A second finding was the varied and enterprising way by which students engaged with the Internet and other media to support their learning of English. This contrasted strongly with the more formal way by which they were taught English.