Als patiënten konden kiezen

Als patiënten de aspecten van de ziekenhuis-omgeving konden bepalen, maken ze duidelijke keuzes. maar kiezen zij voor de meest optimale omgeving? Onderzoek van TNO geeft interessante inzichten

The effect of time pressure and task completion on the occurrence of cognitive lockup

Prior studies have suggested that time pressure and task completion play a role in the occurrence of cognitive lockup. However, supportive evidence is only partial. In this study, we conducted an experiment to investigate how both time pressure and task completion influence the occurrence of cognitive lockup, in order to better understand situations that could trigger the phenomenon. We found that if people have almost completed a task, the probability for cognitive lockup increases. We also found that the probability for cognitive lockup decreases, when people execute tasks for the second time. There was no effect of time pressure or an interaction effect found between task completion and time pressure. The results provide further support for the explanation that cognitive lockup up is the result of a decision making bias and that this bias could be triggered by the perception that a task is almost complete

HCLS : Assessment of light distributions in simulated indoor car park – Laboratory experiments with static lighting conditions

Purpose : In the framework of the Snellius project we investigate the possibility to improve the lighting of indoor car parks by designing and testing the dynamic lighting concept of the activity spot. A person in de car park is detected by sensors and the lighting nearby the person is set to a higher level than in the rest of the car park. The main goal of this lighting concept is reduction of lighting related energy use while improving or maintaining the level of perceived safety and comfort for the car park users. We conducted four perception experiments in the laboratory with static observers and measured the experience of comfort and safety for various photometric parameters for the activity spot. ---- Methods : The experiments were performed in a windowless corridor (L x W x H = 42 m x 3.8 m x 2.8 m) which was illuminated with 14 lamps pairs (halogen, spaced at 3 m) according various lighting distributions. Observers had to assess different activity spot conditions and a reference condition (fully lit corridor) (within-subjects design). The lighting conditions were presented randomly. The observers were alone in the corridor while statically assessing the lighting conditions and filled out a questionnaire with five statements and one open question on the experience of comfort and safety. The observers had to leave the corridor after every assessment. Three experiments (n= 13 per experiment) were conducted and 1 expert session (n=5). Results were controlled for age and gender. ---- Results : When the light spot in an activity spot is set at a lamp illuminance of 100 lx, a background with a lamp illuminance of 20 lx is the lowest light level with an acceptable experience of comfort and safety and the highest energy saving potential. The size and gradient of the light spot at the observer do not seem to determine the experience when this spot is the only activity spot in the room. When a second light spot is visible with another person in the activity spot, we found that the combination of a light spot size of 3 lamps (9 m) and a gradient of 30% resulted in an experience rating, that equalled the rating of the reference condition (100 lx for all lamps). Furthermore, we found a gender effect in experiment 3 indicating that elder women had lower experience ratings than men. It should be noted that these results only apply in the experimental setting. ---- Conclusion : Activity spots can be used to reduce lighting levels, and in potential reduce energy consumption, without compromising feelings of comfort and safety. Characteristics of valid activity spots applied in a windowless corridor were defined

Effects of newly designed hospital buildings on staff perceptions : a pre-post study to validate design decisions

Objective: This study investigates effects of the newly built nonpatient-related buildings of a large university medical center on staff perceptions and whether the design objectives were achieved. Background: The medical center is gradually renewing its hospital building area of 200,000 m.(2) This redevelopment is carefully planned and because lessons learned can guide design decisions of the next phase, the medical center is keen to evaluate the performance of the new buildings. Method: A pre- and post-study with a control group was conducted. Prior to the move to the new buildings an occupancy evaluation was carried out in the old setting (n = 729) (pre-study). Post occupation of the new buildings another occupancy evaluation (post-study) was carried out in the new setting (intervention group) and again in some old settings (control group) (n = 664). The occupancy evaluation consisted of an online survey that measured the perceived performance of different aspects of the building. Longitudinal multilevel analysis was used to compare the performance of the old buildings with the new buildings. REesults: Significant improvements were found in indoor climate, perceived safety, working environment, well-being, facilities, sustainability, and overall satisfaction. Commitment to the employer, working atmosphere, orientation, work performance, and knowledge sharing did not improve. The results were interpreted by relating them to specific design choices. Conclusion: We showed that it is possible to measure the performance improvements of a complex intervention being a new building design and validate design decisions. A focused design process aiming for a safe, pleasant and sustainable building resulted in actual improvements in some of the related performance measures