A multidisciplinary research approach to energy-related behavior in buildings

Occupant behavior in buildings is one of the key drivers of building energy performance. Closing the “performance gap” in the building sector requires a deeper understanding and consideration of the “human factor” in energy usage. For Europe and US to meet their challenging 2020 and 2050 energy and GHG reduction goals, we need to harness the potential savings of human behavior in buildings, in addition to deployment of energy efficient technologies and energy policies for buildings. Through involvement in international projects such as IEA ECBC Annex 53 and EBC Annex 66, the research conducted in the context of this thesis provided significant contributions to understand occupants’ interactions with building systems and to reduce their energy use in residential and commercial buildings over the entire building life cycle. The primary goal of this Ph.D. study is to explore and highlight the human factor in energy use as a fundamental aspect influencing the energy performance of buildings and maximizing energy efficiency – to the same extent as technological innovation. Scientific literature was reviewed to understand state-of-the-art gaps and limitations of research in the field. Human energy-related behavior in buildings emerges a stochastic and highly complex problem, which cannot be solved by one discipline alone. Typically, a technological-social dichotomy pertains to the human factor in reducing energy use in buildings. Progressing past that, this research integrates occupant behavior in a multidisciplinary approach that combines insights from the technical, analytical and social dimension. This is achieved by combining building physics (occupant behavior simulation in building energy models to quantify impact on building performance) and data science (data mining, analytics, modeling and profiling of behavioral patterns in buildings) with behavioral theories (engaging occupants and motivating energy-saving occupant behaviors) to provide multidisciplinary, innovative insights on human-centered energy efficiency in buildings. The systematic interconnection of these three dimensions is adopted at different scales. The building system is observed at the residential and commercial level. Data is gathered, then analyzed, modeled, standardized and simulated from the zone to the building level, up to the district scale. Concerning occupant behavior, this research focuses on individual, group and collective actions. Various stakeholders can benefit from this Ph.D. dissertation results. Audience of the research includes energy modelers, architects, HVAC engineers, operators, owners, policymakers, building technology vendors, as well as simulation program designers, implementers and evaluators. The connection between these different levels, research foci and targeted audience is not linear among the three observed systems. Rather, the multidisciplinary research approach to energy-related behavior in buildings proposed by this Ph.D. study has been adopted to explore solutions that could overcome the limitations and shortcomings in the state-of-the-art research

DEONTOLOGIA E TELEOLOGIA NA MORAL DE ANSELMO DE CANTERBURY

This paper aims to present the fundamental lines of the ethical thought of Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) developed in the trilogy of treatises dedicated to the study of Holy Scripture, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbitrii and De Casu Diaboli, as well as try to indicate the nature of his ethics: whether deontological or teleological-eudaimonist. To this end, I will first give a brief outline of Anselmian ethics and show how difficult it is to categorize it. In a second moment, I will list both arguments that allow categorizing it as deontological and arguments that allow categorizing it as teleological-eudaimonistic. In the end, I show that, although it does contain what we could call a theory of happiness, Anselmian ethical thought seems to be essentially deontological insofar as it is based on the concept of righteousness of the will or justice.El presente trabajo pretende presentar las líneas fundamentales del pensamiento ético de Anselmo de Canterbury (1033-1109) desarrolladas en la trilogía de tratados dedicados al estudio de la Sagrada Escritura, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbitrii y De Casu Diaboli, así como tratar de indicar la naturaleza de su ética: si es deontológica o teleológica-eudaimonista. Para ello, inicialmente, haremos un breve esquema de la ética anselmiana y mostraremos lo difícil que es clasificarla. En un segundo momento, enumeraremos tanto los argumentos que permiten categorizarlo como deontológico como los que permiten categorizarlo como teleológico-eudaimonista. Al final, mostramos que, aunque no carece de lo que podríamos llamar una teoría de la felicidad, el pensamiento ético anselmiano parece ser esencialmente deontológico en la medida en que se basa en el concepto de rectitud de la voluntad o justicia.Le présent travail vise à présenter les lignes fondamentales de la pensée éthique d'Anselme de Canterbury (1033-1109) développée dans la trilogie de traités consacrés à l'étude de l'Écriture Sainte, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbitrii et De Casu Diaboli, ainsi qu'à essayer d'indiquer la nature de son éthique : déontologique ou téléologique-eudaimoniste. Pour ce faire, dans un premier temps, nous ferons une brève esquisse de l'éthique anselmienne et montrerons combien il est difficile de la catégoriser. Dans un second temps, nous énumérerons à la fois les arguments qui permettent de la catégoriser comme déontologique et ceux qui permettent de la catégoriser comme téléologique-eudaimoniste. Enfin, nous montrons que, bien qu'elle ne soit pas dépourvue de ce que l'on pourrait appeler une théorie du bonheur, la pensée éthique anselmienne semble être essentiellement déontologique dans la mesure où elle se fonde sur le concept de droiture de la volonté ou de justice.Il presente lavoro si propone di presentare le linee fondamentali del pensiero etico di Anselmo di Canterbury (1033-1109) sviluppate nella trilogia di trattati dedicati allo studio della Sacra Scrittura, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbitrii e De Casu Diaboli, così come cerca di indicare la natura della sua etica: se deontologica o teleologico-eudaimonista. Per farlo, inizialmente, faremo un breve profilo dell'etica anselmiana e mostreremo quanto sia difficile categorizzarla. In un secondo momento, elencheremo sia gli argomenti che permettono di classificarlo come deontologico sia gli argomenti che permettono di classificarlo come teleologico-eudaimonistico. Alla fine, mostriamo che, sebbene non manchi quella che potremmo chiamare una teoria della felicità, il pensiero etico anselmiano sembra essere essenzialmente deontologico nella misura in cui si basa sul concetto di rettitudine della volontà o giustizia.O presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar as linhas fundamentais do pensamento ético de Anselmo de Cantuária (1033-1109) desenvolvido na trilogia de tratados dedicados ao estudo da Sagrada Escritura, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbitrii e De Casu Diaboli, bem como tentar indicar qual a natureza de sua ética: se deontológica ou se teleológico-eudaimonista. Para tanto, inicialmente, faremos um breve esboço da ética anselmiana e mostrarmos o quão difícil é categorizá-la. Em um segundo momento, arrolaremos tanto argumentos que permitem categorizá-la como deontológica quanto argumentos que permitem categorizá-la como teleológico-eudaimonista. Ao final, mostramos que embora não deixe de conter o que poderíamos chamar de uma teoria sobre a felicidade, o pensamento ético anselmiano parece ser essencialmente deontológico na medida em se fundamenta no conceito de retidão da vontade ou justiça

Two capuchins friars in defense of African slaves’ liberty: Francisco José de Jaca and Epifanio de Moirans

El propósito de este artículo es presentar brevemente dos puntos del Proyecto antiesclavista desarrollado por Francisco José de Jaca, OFM Cap (1645-1689) y Epifanio de Moirans, OFM Cap (1644-1689). Esos puntos se refieren al discurso de Jaca y Moirans acerca de los títulos de esclavitud y la compra y venta de esclavos. Por medio de la presentación de esos dos puntos se puede percibir que esos misioneros capuchinos estaban muy comprometidos con la defensa de la libertad de los esclavos africanos. A diferencia de otros autores que habían escrito sobre la esclavitud negra, Jaca y Moirans asumieron el papel de abogados de los esclavos africanos y, con talante profético, no tuvieron temor de denunciar las injusticias de la trata y de predicar la manumisión de todos los esclavos africanos.The purpose of this article is to briefly present two points of the Anti-Slavery Project developed by Francisco José de Jaca, OFM Cap (1645-1689) and Epifanio de Moirans, OFM Cap (1644-1689). These points refer to the discourse of Jaca and Moirans about the titles of slavery and the trading of slaves. Through the presentation of these two points it can be perceived that these Capuchin missionaries were very committed to the defense of the freedom of the African slaves. Unlike other authors who had written about black slavery, Jaca and Moirans took on the role of advocates for African slaves and, in a prophetic way, were not afraid to denounce the injustices of the trade and to preach the manumission of all African slaves

Data Mining of Occupant Behavior in Office Buildings

Literature studies confirm occupant behavior is setting the direction for contemporary researches aiming to bridge the gap between predicted and actual energy performance of sustainable buildings. Using the Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD) methodology, two data mining learning processes are proposed to extrapolate office occupancy and windows’ operation behavioral patterns from a two-years data set of 16 offices in a natural ventilated office building. Clustering procedures, decision tree models and rule induction algorithms are employed to obtain association rules segmenting the building occupants into working user profiles, which can be further implemented as occupant behavior advanced-inputs into building energy simulations

Prudence and unscrupulousness in the Aristotelian ethics: a study about the intellectual capacities that accompany prudence

O objetivo principal do presente artigo é apresentar a diferença entre o prudente (phrónimos) e o astuto (panoúrgos) na Ethica Nicomachea (EN) de Aristóteles, ou ainda, é tentar entender se estes dois tipos morais diferem apenas moralmente ou também racionalmente. Procede-se, para tanto, com: a) uma apresentação da prudência (phrón?sis), da habilidade (deinót?s) e da astúcia (panourgía) na EN; b) uma apresentação das disposições intelectuais que acompanham a prudência, sýnesis (discernimento), gnóm? (juízo) e noûs (razão intuitiva), na EN; e c) uma análise sobre se tais disposições são de fato disposições (héxeis) ou se são capacidades (dynámeis) intelectuais.The main objective of the present paper is to present the difference between the prudent (phrónimos) and the unscrupulous (panoúrgos) in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE), or even try to understand if these two moral types differ only morally, or also rationally. It must be subjected, to this end, with: a) the presentation of prudence(phrón?sis), cleverness (deinót?s) and unscrupulousness (panourgía) in the NE; b) the presentation of the intellectual dispositions that accompany prudence, sýnesis (discernment), gnóm? (judgment) and noûs (intuitive reason), in the NE; c) an analysis about these dispositions: if they are actually dispositions (héxeis) or intellectual capacities (dynámeis)

THE EFFECT OF GADOLINIUM ON THE ESR RESPONSE OF ALANINE AND AMMONIUM TARTRATE EXPOSED TO THERMAL NEUTRONS

Many efforts have been made to develop neutron capture therapy (NCT) for cancer treatment. Among the challenges in using NCT is the characterization of the features of the mixed radiation field and of its components. In this study, we examined the enhancement of the ESR response of pellets of alanine and ammonium tartrate with gadolinium oxide exposed to a thermal neutron beam. In particular, the ESR response of these dosimeters as a function of the gadolinium content inside the dosimeter was analyzed. We found that the addition of gadolinium improves the sensitivity of both alanine and ammonium tartrate. However, the use of gadolinium involves a reduces in or abolishes tissue equivalence because of its high atomic number (ZGd 64). Therefore, it is necessary to find the optimum compromise between the sensitivity to thermal neutrons and the reduction of tissue equivalence. Our analysis showed that a low concentration of gadolinium oxide (of the order of 5% of the total mass of the dosimeter) can enhance the thermal neutron sensitivity more than 13 times with an insignificant reduction of tissue equivalence

The prudence and the virtues of scientific part of rational soul: a study on the Book VI of Nicomachean Ethics

O objetivo deste artigo é traçar, de acordo com o Livro VI da Ethica Nicomachea de Aristóteles, um quadro comparativo entre a virtude intelectual da prudência, virtude da parte calculativa da alma racional, e as três virtudes intelectuais da parte científica da alma racional, conhecimento científico, razão intuitiva e saber teórico. Para tanto, adota-se como linha de raciocínio a relação de tais virtudes com as coisas cujos primeiros princípios não podem ser de modo diverso, ou universais, e com as coisas cujos primeiros princípios podem ser de modo diverso, ou particulares e fatos últimos.The aim of this paper is to trace, according to Book VI of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, a comparative frame between the intellectual virtue of prudence, virtue of calculative part of rational soul, and the three intellectual virtues of scientific part of rational soul, scientific knowledge, intuitive reason and theoretical wisdom. To that end, adopts as reasoning line the relationship of this virtues with the things whose first principles cannot be otherwise, or universals, and with the things whose first principles can be otherwise, or particulars and last facts

Prudência e astúcia na ética aristotélica: um estudo sobre as capacidades intelectuais que acompanham a prudência

The main objective of the present paper is to present the difference between the prudent (phrónimos) and the unscrupulous (panoúrgos) in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE), or even try to understand if these two moral types differ only morally, or also rationally. It must be subjected, to this end, with: a) the presentation of prudence(phrón?sis), cleverness (deinót?s) and unscrupulousness (panourgía) in the NE; b) the presentation of the intellectual dispositions that accompany prudence, sýnesis (discernment), gnóm? (judgment) and noûs (intuitive reason), in the NE; c) an analysis about these dispositions: if they are actually dispositions (héxeis) or intellectual capacities (dynámeis).O objetivo principal do presente artigo é apresentar a diferença entre o prudente (phrónimos) e o astuto (panoúrgos) na Ethica Nicomachea (EN) de Aristóteles, ou ainda, é tentar entender se estes dois tipos morais diferem apenas moralmente ou também racionalmente. Procede-se, para tanto, com: a) uma apresentação da prudência (phrón?sis), da habilidade (deinót?s) e da astúcia (panourgía) na EN; b) uma apresentação das disposições intelectuais que acompanham a prudência, sýnesis (discernimento), gnóm? (juízo) e noûs (razão intuitiva), na EN; e c) uma análise sobre se tais disposições são de fato disposições (héxeis) ou se são capacidades (dynámeis) intelectuais

EPR dosimetry in a mixed neutron and gamma radiation field

Suitability of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy for criticality dosimetry was evaluated for tooth enamel, mannose and alanine pellets during the ‘international intercomparison of criticality dosimetry techniques’ at the SILENE reactor held in Valduc in June 2002, France. These three materials were irradiated in neutron and gamma-ray fields of various relative intensities and spectral distributions in order to evaluate their neutron sensitivity. The neutron response was found to be around 10% for tooth enamel, 45% for mannose and between 40 and 90% for alanine pellets according their type. According to the IAEA recommendations on the early estimate of criticality accident absorbed dose, analyzed results show the EPR potentiality and complementarity with regular criticality techniques