Moisture and fungal spore transport in outdoor air-ventilated crawl spaces in a cold climate

A crawl space foundation is widely used in buildings and detached houses in northern countries. The relative humidity of the air in crawl spaces is the most critical factor concerning mould growth in the structures of a crawl space. Possible contamination in the crawl space might be transported indoors if the pressure inside the apartment is lower. The objective of the study was to find out the important properties of ground covers and the optimal air change rates for the controlling of moisture conditions in an outdoor air-ventilated crawl space in a cold climate and to estimate the acceptability of current moisture conditions in respect of material durability. In addition, factors affecting the transport indoors of possible pollutants from crawl spaces were studied. The moisture conditions were calculated with a dynamic simulation model, which was validated against measured data. The moisture and thermal capacity and resistance of the ground cover were varied, as was the air change rate in the crawl space. The acceptability of moisture conditions was evaluated using a mould growth index. The concentration of fungal spores was measured both through field measurements and full-scale laboratory measurements. The penetration of inert particles of different sizes through a building envelope was studied by means of full-scale laboratory measurements. The airtightness of the building envelope and the pressure difference across the envelope were varied. It was shown that in a relatively warm crawl space moisture problems were easy to avoid – ground soil should be covered so as to prevent moisture flow from the ground and an air change of at least 0.5 ach is enough to keep relative humidity at a low level. A relatively cold crawl space needs a ground cover with moisture and thermal resistance. A ground cover with a moderate thermal resistance, such as 15 cm lightweight aggregate, needs a higher ventilation rate, at least 2.0 ach, to warm up the crawl space in the summer. A ground cover with a high moisture capacity can stabilise the fluctuation of relative humidity in a crawl space, and thus avoid critical peaks of relative humidity in respect of mould growth. The safest ground cover solution is a thick cover with a high thermal resistance and a low air change rate of 0.5 ach; with this approach natural ventilation can be used. Heating a crawl space in summer is an excellent way to avoid mould growth. The advantage of heating is greatest if the ground cover has a high thermal conductivity. The energy consumption of heating is strongly dependent on the set point value for the relative humidity. However, if the set point value is kept reasonable and the ventilation rate remains low the specific annual energy consumption is within the range of 1.4-3.6 kWh / m2 of the crawl space area. Results from field measurements showed a correlation between microbes in the crawl space and indoors. In the full-scale laboratory measurements it was established that inert particles and fungal spores in a size range 0.6-2.5 µm penetrate a wooden structure at moderate pressure differences. Laboratory measurements showed that the penetration was highly dependent on pressure difference and not dependent on holes in the surface boards of the structure. The results are likely to show that the surface contacts of mineral wool in the floor structure may have an important role in penetration. It is clearly difficult to control the penetration of fungal spores by sealing the building envelope. The only effective way to avoid penetration seems to be balancing the building; however, in cold climates the moisture condensation risk should be taken into account. The results indicate that mechanical exhaust ventilation causing an under-pressure in the building may cause health risks if some contamination exists in the building envelope.reviewe

Selvitys Immonsalmen-Pentinsalmen vesistökuormituksesta ja ekologisen tilan arviointi

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli päivittää entisen selvityksen tietoja, tarkastaa vesialueen nykyinen tila sekä luokitella kohde ekologisen tilan arvioinnin mukaisella tavalla vuonna 2008 asetetun vesipuitedi-rektiivin sekä uuden luokittelujärjestelmän mukaisesti. Luokituksessa otettiin huomioon kalat, pohjaeläi-met, kasviplankton, vesikasvit, pH, kokonaisfosfori sekä hydromorfologiset muutokset. Alueelta haastateltiin yhteensä neljää taloutta jotka asuvat salmien läheisyydessä (alle 500 m) sekä työn-tekijöitä Enonkosken puolella lähellä Savonlinnan rajaa sijaitsevalta Saimaan kalantutkimus ja vesiviljely –laitokselta. Näytteet salmista, Enonkoskesta ja harjunojasta otettiin käsin ottimella joista ne siirrettiin happopestyihin, kestävöitäviin, steriileihin sekä varapulloihin. Salmien virtaamiin vaadittavat arvot saa-tiin mittaamalla salmien erottavasta rummusta mittaamalla. Näytteet tutkittiin kemiallis-biologisesti Mikkelin Ammattikorkeakoulun laboratoriossa, jotka perustuivat standardeihin ISO 10260:1992 (SFS 5772), K-1510, DS 275, NS 4759 ja SS 02 81 18. E. Colien ja koliformisten bakteerien määrä pysyi alhaisena koko kevät- ja kesäkierron aikana. Kokonais-fosforin lasku loppukesästä alkukesään verraten on mahdollisesti kuivan ja lämpimän kesän aiheuttama. Kesän aikana veden pinta laski noin 40 cm. Kaliumpermanganaatin sekä sähkönjohtavuuden lievän ko-hoamisen syytä epäillään samasta syystä. Kymmenen vuoden aikana Immonsalmi-Pentinsalmi –vesialueen vedenlaatu on selkeästi parantunut. Saatujen tulosten ja vedenlaadun ohjearvojen mukaan Immonsalmi-Pentinsalmi ja sen ekologinen tila voidaan luokitella hyväksi. Vesialueella ja sinne tulevassa vedessä ei ilmennyt mitään suuria poikkeamia ravinne- tai happipitoisuuksissa, jotka voisivat aiheuttaa seuraavien vuosien aikana rehevöitymisen tai ravinnekadon. Vaikka molempien salmien tila on hyvä, voisi alueen ravinnepitoisuuksia silti seurata lie-vän rehevyyden takia.The aim of this thesis was to update the former survey data, examine the current status of water area and to classify the target by an ecological status assessment set by 2008 Water Framework Directive and the new classification system. The fish, benthic fauna, phytoplankton, aquatic plants, pH, total phosphorus and hydromorphological changes were noted in the classification. Total of four households were interviewed, who live in the vicinity of the straits (less than 500 m) and employees from Saimaa Fisheries Research and Aquaculture Department, which lies at Enonkoski, near Savonlinna borders. Samples from straits, Enonkoski and Harjunoja ditch were taken by hand with a sample collector from where they were transferred to flasks, which consisted of acid-washed, sterile, conserving and backup flasks. The required values for straits flow were acquired by measuring from the drum, which separated the straits. The samples were examined chemical-biologically in the laboratory of Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, which were based on the standards ISO 10260:1992 (SFS 5772), K-1510, DS 275, NS 4759 and SS 02 81 18. E. Coli and coliform bacterial count remained low throughout the spring and summer cycle. The decline of total phosphorus in the late summer compared to early summer may have been caused by dry and hot summer. During the summer, the water level fell by about 40 cm. The reason for mild increase of potassium permanganate, and the electrical conductivity are suspected for the same reason. The water quality of Immonsalmi Pentinsalmi has clearly improved. By the obtained results, and the water quality guideline values for the Immonsalmi-Pentinsalmi and its ecological status, it can be classified as Good. The water area and the incoming water did not reveal any major deviations in the nutrient or oxygen levels, which could cause eutrophication, or depletion of nutrients in the next few years. Although the quality of both straits is good, the nutrient contents could still be tracked due to the mild eutrophication

Magnetic field induced precipitation of calcium carbonate in clear water pipes

Magneettiavusteinen saostus on yli sadan vuoden ajan tunnettu prosessi, jonka avulla on yritetty estää saostumien muodostumista putkistoihin erilaisissa ympäristöissä. Vielä tähänkään päivään mennessä sen täydellisiä toimintaperiaatteita ei ole saatu selvitettyä. Magneettipuhdistus laitteet vaikuttavat liuoksessa ioni- tai partikkelimuodossa olevaan aineeseen magneettikentän avulla. Ristiriitaiset tutkimustulokset vaikeuttavat aiheen tutkimista. Näitä osin voidaan selittää eri tutkijoiden käyttämillä erilaisilla koejärjestelyillä, joihin lukeutuu mm. vakioimattomat koeolosuhteet ja magneettipuhdistimien erilaiset konfiguraatiot, joita harvoin aineistoissa on esitelty perinpohjaisesti. Tässä työssä pyritään kirjallisuuden avulla selvittää tärkeitä parametrejä, jotka voivat vaikuttaa kyseiseen prosessiin. Lisäksi saostusprosessia ja sen magneettiavustusta käsitellään myös yleisellä tasolla. Työn kokeellisessa osuudessa yritetään todentaa magneettikentän mahdollinen vaikutus kalsiumkarbonaatin saostukseen mittaamalla mm. liuoksen pH:ta, johtokykyä, zeta-potentiaalia ja CaCO3:n eri kidemuotoja. Saadusta mittausdatasta käykin selkeästi ilmi magneettikentällä olevan vaikutusta saostusprosessiin. Vaikka odotettuja kidemuodonmuutoksia työssä ei havaittu, ovat suspensiossa olevien partikkelien pintaominaisuudet selvästi muuttuneet. Tämä huomataan esimerkiksi muutoksina zeta-potentiaalissa ja adheesion vähenemisenä

Vulgar Talk and Learned Reasoning in Berkeley’s Moral and Religious Thought

This is part of my series of studies of Berkeley's Passive Obedience, his main ethical and political treatise.Berkeley "argues with the learned and speaks with the vulgar." I use his double maxim to interpret his ethics. My approach is new. The Sermons and Guardian Essays mainly speak to the vulgar and Passive Obedience and Alciphron reason with the learned. The reward of ethics is eternal bliss in a future state: religion and ethics are connected. I study a set of problems: resurrection, eternal life, happiness, benevolence, the goodness of God, and self-love. Divine bliss is unlike any earthly happiness. The idea of law does not support benevolence, even if it is a Christian duty and virtue. God is good, but how to prove it? The learned must study the complex theodicy problem; the vulgar need assurance based on their sensuous experience and fervent hope of eternal bliss. Self-love may be a vital issue to the learned, although the vulgar may not realize their need to overcome it. The main questions concern Berkeley's two approaches to ethical problems: first, how do their topics differ, and second, are they mutually consistent?Peer reviewe

Metaphysics, Universal Irony, and Richard Rorty’s “We Ironists”

Richard Rorty speaks of “we ironists” who use irony as the primary tool in their scholarly work and life. We cannot approach irony in terms of truth, simply because, due to its ironies, the context no longer is metaphysical. This is Rorty’s challenge. Rorty’s promise focuses on top English Departments: they are hegemonic, they rule over the humanities, philosophy, and some social sciences using their superior method of ironizing dialectic. I refer to Hegel, Gerald Doherty’s “pornographic” writings, and Gore Vidal’s non-academic critique of academic literary criticism. My conclusion is that extensive use of irony is costly; an ironist must regulate her relevant ideas and speech acts—Hegel makes this clear. Irony is essentially confusing and contestable. Why would we want to use irony in a way that trumps metaphysics? Metaphysics, as defined by Rorty, is a problematic field, but irony can hardly replace it. At the same time, I admit that universal irony is possible, that is, everything can be seen in ironic light, or ironized. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and criticize Rorty’s idea of irony by using his own methodology, that is, ironic redescription. We can see the shallowness of his approach to irony by contextualizing it. This also dictates the style of the essay

Kafka: Crime and Punishment

One of a series of Kafka-papers.When we read The Trial and In the Penal Colony together, we read about the logic of law, crime, punishment, and guilt. Of course, we cannot know the law, or, as Kafka writes, we cannot enter the law. I interpret the idea in this way: the law opens a gate to the truth. Alas, no one can enter the law, or come to know the truth, as Kafka says. The consequences are devastating: one cannot know the name of one’s own crime, which is to say guilt is eternal and permanent; nothing can absolve us. Only one solution exists. Josef K. in The Trial should have committed suicide like the Officer in “Penal Colony.” That is to say, perhaps, that you always are your own judge and executioner. Guilt cannot be doubted and thus, you are doomed. Both narratives are cruel and ruthless in their own way in their moral pessimism.Peer reviewe

Good Life without Happiness

A good life combines lively living and a good purpose, which depend on action results and consequences. They supervene upon the action results that create life’s meaning. A good life is never evil because evil deeds, as such, are not part of the agent’s action repertoire. Agents cannot claim them as their own; if they do, dishonest hypocrisy and social stigmatization follow. But, when action results are good, the purpose is good, too. One cannot realize an evil purpose by acting morally. I argue against the idea that a passive, dreaming life could be a good life. I discuss specific kinds of religious life that follow a monastic rule. A good life may not be happy, although it tends to be so. I discuss various theories of happiness, including the traditional Socratic view that virtue and virtue only make an agent happy. I conclude that a good life is not the same as a virtuous life; hence, a good life can be unhappy. To conclude, I discuss personal autonomy in social life. A good life requires that one’s actions and goals are one’s own, but such ownership is hard to realize because of a social life’s complicated and demanding mutual dependencies. I conclude that full ownership is fiction, so a good life is a social life

Perceived positive social impacts of tourism : case Comuna 13, Medellín

Tourism creates a lot of different kinds of impacts on people and societies but often the negative impacts are emphasized in the discussion. It is crucial to be aware of the negative impacts to be able to find solutions to them but at the same time, we must not forget the positive impacts of tourism. It is important to remember that tourism also causes many good things to be able to learn about the positive impacts to increase them and find a balance between positive and negative impacts. The research phenomenon in my master’s thesis is the social impacts of tourism. It is essential to research the social impacts of tourism to be able to understand locals’ perspectives on tourism. My theoretical framework includes inclusive tourism, participation, empowerment, and power relations. By using these concepts, I aim to answer the research questions and understand the phenomenon better. My main research question is: How can tourism create positive social impacts? The sub-questions are: How are the positive impacts perceived by locals involved in tourism? How do locals participate in tourism? How can positive impacts be planned and managed? This research was conducted with qualitative methods. The research data was collected through semi-structured interviews with local tour guides from Comuna 13, Medellín. The data consisted of six interviews. The analysis was conducted by using theory-guided content analysis. The findings of the research showed that positive social impacts of tourism can be created through inclusive tourism which consists of empowerment, participation, and power relations. Many of the positive social impacts of tourism are strongly connected with empowerment, as they increase the empowerment of local community members. Locals’ participation in tourism means they have a chance to benefit from tourism. When tourism is based on the locals’ businesses and stories, it is also more likely that tourism is beneficial to them and creates positive impacts from the locals' perspective. However, to be able to create the positive social impacts of tourism, tourism needs control and management. The aim would be to find a balance between tourism impacts, by minimizing the disadvantages of tourism and maximizing the benefits of tourism