A conceptual approach to determine optimal indoor air quality: A mixture experiment method

Achieving good air quality in large residential and commercial buildings continues to be a top priority for owners, designers, building managers and occupants. The challenge is even greater today. There are many new materials, furnishing, products and processes used in these buildings that are potential source of contaminations and pollutants. A common problem to the indoor and outdoor environments is that of exposure to mixtures of air pollutants. Researchers and practitioners tend to focus on single pollutants (e.g. CO2, PM2.5) ignoring the mixtures combined effect. Fashion dictates to study the pollutant most thoroughly talked about. Distinguishing the effects of such co-pollutants is difficult. The conclusions about which component of a mixture is actually producing a given effect are sometimes less soundly based than could be wished. It is especially important in considering the indoor mixture of air pollutants as this mixture may be entirely different from those found outside. Exposures to raised levels of air pollutants can damage health, for example carbon monoxide can cause death and significant lasting disability. Controlling levels of indoor air pollutants is therefore important, as good indoor air quality is essential to health. There are three strategies for achieving acceptable indoor air quality: ventilation, source control and cleaning/filtration. Depending on the building and the specific characteristics of the location, these strategies can be used singly or in combination. However, mixture experiment would throw more light and understanding into indoor air composition and interaction properties and the combine effects it has on human health. Mixture experiments have been used extensively in other industries, for example the pharmaceutical industry and the agrochemical industry, for the production of tablets and the control of plant diseases and pests. Developing a mixture model for the internal microclimate for a particular building type and/or location may help us in developing better indicators, standards and policy document in the near future, when the levels of pollutants concentration can be successfully predicted

COVID-19 Policies and Recreation Behavior: An Economic Analysis

A number of studies have examined park visitation patterns and consumer preferences using available national and state park visitation data (Kupfer et al., 2021; Volenec et al., 2021; Wood et al., 2013; Yan et al., 2021a). However, municipal park visitation remains largely understudied due to the difficulty and costliness associated with data collection and analysis. This study utilizes high frequency mobile device location data to measure changes in municipal and state park visitation caused by COVID-19 response policies. We exploit spatial and temporal variation in COVID-19 mandates at the county level in the U.S. state of Idaho and at the state level in the United States to identify the causal effect of mandates on park visitation. The research finds that people were more likely to recreate in, and come from, areas with less restrictions. One may expect the same people that preferred regions without mandates to come from areas with mandates as a way to avoid strict at-home measures. However, it would seem the opposite is true. Visitation rates were about seven percent lower in areas with a mask mandate than would be expected if no policies were in place. Our research brings insight on the behavioral response to restrictions and on recreational choice behavior. Estimates of visitation patterns based on visitors’ origin states indicate that of the people who recreate in Idaho, a state with limited COVID-19 response, the from out-of-state visitation rate was 21 percent less for visitors from states with mask mandates than that of visitors from states without mask mandates

The role of feedback in building design 1980–2018 and onwards

This is a paper updating the paper I wrote on this topic for BSERT in issue 1 volume 1 in 1980. The original paper set out the causes of failure in building design as being due to various issues such as an inadequate brief, lack of data, poor communication, inadequate analysis or synthesis, quirks of human behaviour which could all contribute. Systematic appraisal – now referred to as post-occupancy evaluation – of buildings in use provides feedback which helps us to understand why theory and practice do not always agree and also gives evidence for improved building economics. It concluded that we have to involve users more in the design of buildings, and for the next generations, we need a much broader based education of building designers. This paper continues the theme by considering the latest methods of measurement and assessment which provide feedback data for sustainability but focusing more on health and wellbeing rating assessments

The present outlook for trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization

The Uruguay Round agreements established the World Trade Organization (WTO), overhauled and strengthened the GATT rules on trade in goods, and added rules on trade in services and intellectual property. Individual countries made wide-ranging commitments to liberalize trade policies. A new round of multilateral trade negotiations may be launched in the year 2000 or soon after. The author reviews the probable agenda for these negotiations and reactions thereto. Agriculture is a certainty for negotiations, with agricultural exporters insisting on liberalized markets. Net food importers fear such reforms will increase food costs and endanger food security. Trade in services is certain to be on the agenda, but some developing countries see little to gain in this area, unless their workers gain opportunities to provide services in other countries. Many developing countries are determined to avoid opening up the Uruguay Round agreement on textiles and clothing. They also fear that any WTO agreement on environmental issues will provide excuses to increase barriers on their exports. They all oppose WTO discussion of labor standards. They are divided about whether to reach an agreement on investment but tend to favor seeking an agreement on competition issues. Developing countries'attitudes toward further WTO negotiations are divided; they tend to be negative, but may be shifting toward support. Small and underdeveloped countries are unenthusiastic because they cannot participate effectively in negotiations in Geneva, and are distracted by upcoming negotiations with the European Union. Many developing countries feel their levels of commitment are already heavy, they need more time to absorb the consequences of their commitments, and it would be counterproductive to rush into another round of negotiations. They argue that industrial countries have yet to deliver on liberalization important to their trade. Countries that favor negotiations favor a broad agenda for negotiations because they have relatively wide trade interests, best served by a single negotiation that offers something for all participants and allows tradeoffs.Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Rules of Origin,Economic Theory&Research,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,World Trade Organization,Trade and Services,Environmental Economics&Policies

Work performance, productivity and indoor air

Temperature, relative humidity, and air quality all affect the sensory system via thermo receptors in the skin and the olfactory system. Air quality is mainly defined by the contaminants in the air. However, the most persistent memory of any space is often its odor. Strong, emotional, and past experiences are awakened by the olfactory sense. Odors can also influence cognitive processes that affect creative task performance, as well as personal memories and moods. Besides nitrogen and oxygen, the air contains particles and many chemicals that affect the efficiency of the oxygenation process in the blood, and ultimately the air breathed affects thinking and concentration. It is important to show clients the value of spending more capital on high-quality buildings that promote good ventilation. The process of achieving indoor-air quality is a continual one throughout the design, construction, commissioning, and facilities management processes. This paper reviews the evidence

Understanding the indoor environment through mining sensory data - a case study

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a group of sensors linked by wireless medium to perform distributed sensing tasks. WSNs have attracted a wide interest from academia and industry alike due to their diversity of applications, including home automation, smart environment, and emergency services, in various buildings. The primary goal of a WSN is to collect data sensed by sensors. These data are characteristic of being heavily noisy, exhibiting temporal and spatial correlation. In order to extract useful information from such data, as this paper will demonstrate, people need to utilise various techniques to analyse the data. Data mining is a process in which a wide spectrum of data analysis methods is used. It is applied in the paper to analyse data collected from WSNs monitoring an indoor environment in a building. A case study is given to demonstrate how data mining can be used to optimise the use of the office space in a building