scholarly journals Moisture in New Zealand Bathrooms - Analysing Moisture Events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alister Stubbe
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Absolute Humidity ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Large Impact ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Typical Day ◽  
House Condition ◽  
The Impact

<p>A literature review was carried out on the impact of moisture in New Zealand homes as well as the role ventilation and occupant behaviour play in controlling this. Bathrooms in residential homes were identified as being especially vulnerable. NZS4303:1990, clause G4 Ventilation of the New Zealand Building Code, and clause E3 of the New Zealand Building Code were summarised to provide context for how New Zealand buildings are designed.  Measurements taken in houses throughout New Zealand by BRANZ as part of the House Condition Survey were made available for analysis. This included measurements of relative humidity and temperature.  Data from one Dunedin house was thoroughly explored. This involved three objectives. The first step focused on identifying periods of rapid change in the amount of moisture introduced to the indoor environment, measured in absolute humidity. These periods were named 'moisture events'. The second objective was to visually communicate the changes in temperature and absolute humidity taking place on individual days, highlighting moisture events. The third objective was to analyse the identified moisture events, finding the key areas to focus on for the full analysis as well as areas that could be explored in further research. This process was then applied to all remaining houses.  Moisture events were grouped into four categories: increases, decreases, episodes, and combinations. Episodes were the focus of the analysis, representing moisture being actively introduced to the indoor environment and then removed. These categories were further filtered, identifying the moisture events were most likely to have had a large impact on the indoor environment. Days were broken into four hour periods, with the filtered moisture events taking place in each period recorded. These were used to identify patterns in moisture events for each house. If a certain pattern of moisture events frequently took place, then days containing that pattern were described as a 'typical day' for that house.  The mean and median absolute humidity at the start, peak, and end of the unfiltered episodes from each house were then calculated. The mean and median episode length was also calculated. The results were compared to the Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP) and to the typical days for each house. The results were grouped according to factors such as the number of bathrooms in the house, the floor area, the house location, and the event length.  The number of bathrooms present in the house was found to have a large impact on the size and frequency of moisture events. As expected, larger bathrooms recorded lower increases in absolute humidity from the start to the peak of episodes. Rooms with a greater volume would require more moisture to reach the same number of grams of water per cubic metre. However, the smallest bathrooms also recorded low increases in absolute humidity.</p>

scholarly journals Moisture in New Zealand Bathrooms - Analysing Moisture Events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alister Stubbe
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Absolute Humidity ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Large Impact ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Typical Day ◽  
House Condition ◽  
The Impact

<p>A literature review was carried out on the impact of moisture in New Zealand homes as well as the role ventilation and occupant behaviour play in controlling this. Bathrooms in residential homes were identified as being especially vulnerable. NZS4303:1990, clause G4 Ventilation of the New Zealand Building Code, and clause E3 of the New Zealand Building Code were summarised to provide context for how New Zealand buildings are designed.  Measurements taken in houses throughout New Zealand by BRANZ as part of the House Condition Survey were made available for analysis. This included measurements of relative humidity and temperature.  Data from one Dunedin house was thoroughly explored. This involved three objectives. The first step focused on identifying periods of rapid change in the amount of moisture introduced to the indoor environment, measured in absolute humidity. These periods were named 'moisture events'. The second objective was to visually communicate the changes in temperature and absolute humidity taking place on individual days, highlighting moisture events. The third objective was to analyse the identified moisture events, finding the key areas to focus on for the full analysis as well as areas that could be explored in further research. This process was then applied to all remaining houses.  Moisture events were grouped into four categories: increases, decreases, episodes, and combinations. Episodes were the focus of the analysis, representing moisture being actively introduced to the indoor environment and then removed. These categories were further filtered, identifying the moisture events were most likely to have had a large impact on the indoor environment. Days were broken into four hour periods, with the filtered moisture events taking place in each period recorded. These were used to identify patterns in moisture events for each house. If a certain pattern of moisture events frequently took place, then days containing that pattern were described as a 'typical day' for that house.  The mean and median absolute humidity at the start, peak, and end of the unfiltered episodes from each house were then calculated. The mean and median episode length was also calculated. The results were compared to the Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP) and to the typical days for each house. The results were grouped according to factors such as the number of bathrooms in the house, the floor area, the house location, and the event length.  The number of bathrooms present in the house was found to have a large impact on the size and frequency of moisture events. As expected, larger bathrooms recorded lower increases in absolute humidity from the start to the peak of episodes. Rooms with a greater volume would require more moisture to reach the same number of grams of water per cubic metre. However, the smallest bathrooms also recorded low increases in absolute humidity.</p>

Why amending building codes? An investigation of the benefits of regular building code amendment in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarachukwu Nnadozie Nwadike ◽  
Suzanne Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Collapse ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe New Zealand building code has played a vital role in reducing the impact of disasters in the built environment. Following the nature of earthquake occurrences, the associated impacts such as building collapse and the increase in technological innovation in the building sector, the New Zealand building code has been frequently amended. The building code amendment ensures that buildings and other related infrastructures can withstand the impact of ground shaking without substantial damages to buildings. The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the benefits of building code amendments in New Zealand.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis and closed-ended questionnaire were adopted as data collection instruments for this study. The relevant stakeholders comprise structural engineer, geotechnical engineer, architect, building services consulting engineer, licensed building practitioner, project manager, building contractor, local authority, academic/researcher and quantity surveyor.FindingsA significant proportion of the survey participants that agreed to the importance of building code amendments in New Zealand justify the benefits of the amendments. The study serves as a useful guide to policy regulators and researchers who are exploring other aspects of regular building code amendments in New Zealand. The findings from this study suggest that amending the New Zealand building code needs a proactive approach to promote local technology, enhance low-cost construction materials, training of code users and reducing bureaucracy in design approval and construction inspection. The study concludes that improving on the 28 factors identified in this study would contribute intensively to disaster risk reduction in the built environment and an increase in compliance level in New Zealand.Originality/valueThis paper originality comes from its practical approach towards identifying the benefits of building code amendments

scholarly journals Ergovaline, an endophytic alkaloid. 2. Intake and impact on animal production, with reference to New Zealand

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 1775 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Nicol ◽  
J. L. Klotz
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

On the basis of published reports, the daily intake of the alkaloid ergovaline from the consumption of endophyte-containing ryegrass in New Zealand ranges from 0.008 to 0.287 mg ergovaline/kg LW0.75.day. Most of the reports are based on the use of standard endophyte-containing ryegrass and, thus, it is difficult to disassociate the impact of ergovaline consumption from that of lolitrem B. However, physiological effects of ergovaline consumption, such as reduced circulating prolactin concentration, vasoconstriction and elevated core temperature, have been detected at fairly low ergovaline intake, whereas decreased feed intake, liveweight gain and milk production have not generally been observed in animals at an intake below 0.07 mg ergovaline/kg LW0.75.day. Intakes above this value represent only 17% of published values. There are insufficient data to suggest a threshold ergovaline intake associated with heat stress with animal-welfare implications. The relationship between published ergovaline intake and the corresponding ergovaline concentration in pasture is poor (R2 = 0.48), but on average an intake of 0.07 ergovaline/kg LW0.75.day is associated with an ergovaline concentration in ryegrass of 0.70 mg/kg DM. About 16–18% of published ergovaline concentrations in ryegrass pasture exceed this value. The ergovaline concentration in ryegrass is greater in the basal parts of the plant than in the leaf and during the late summer–autumn than in spring. Animals grazing in the lower sward horizons (horizontal grazing plane) are more at risk of high ergovaline intake, although the reduction in grazing intake induced by grazing at low pasture height aids in limiting ergovaline intake. As pasture growth rates decline in late summer, supplementary feed may be used to maintain stocking rate and, if such feeds have zero ergovaline concentration, they serve to dilute the mean dietary ergovaline intake. Ergovaline-containing ryegrass pastures are widely used in New Zealand. It appears that farmers consider the risks of depressed animal production on these pastures to be less than the benefits ergovaline bestows through its deterrent effect of specific insect attack and thus greater survival and pasture persistence.

Is the tobacco ‘footfall’ argument justified for tobacco purchases in New Zealand convenience stores?

2020 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-056032
Author(s):  
Louise Marsh ◽  
Claire Cameron ◽  
Robin Quigg ◽  
Sarah Wood ◽  
Mei-Ling Blank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Retail Trade ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Trade Associations ◽  
Tobacco Sales ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionNew Zealand’s Smokefree 2025 goal aims to greatly decrease the availability of tobacco. One option is to cease the sale of tobacco from convenience stores. However, tobacco companies and retail trade associations oppose this move and have argued that customers who purchase tobacco drive footfall and spend more than non-tobacco customers. The aim of this study is to test the validity of industry claims about the importance of tobacco to convenience stores.MethodsDuring November and December 2019, immediate postpurchase surveys were undertaken with customers on exit from a random sample of 100 convenience stores in two New Zealand cities. We estimated the mean number of items purchased, including tobacco and non-tobacco items, and mean expenditure on non-tobacco items.ResultsOf the 3399 transactions recorded, 13.8% included tobacco, of which 8.3% comprised tobacco only and 5.5% included tobacco and non-tobacco items. The mean number of transactions containing both tobacco and non-tobacco items was 1.98, and 1.87 for those containing non-tobacco items only. Customers who purchased tobacco and non-tobacco items spent on average NZ$6.99 on non-tobacco items, whereas customers who purchased non-tobacco items only, spent on average NZ$5.07.ConclusionsOur results do not support claims that tobacco drives one-quarter of footfall into stores or that customers who purchase tobacco spend almost twice as much as non-tobacco customers. Combined purchases of tobacco and non-tobacco items constituted 5.5% of transactions; the impact on a store’s profitability of removing tobacco sales is unknown and could be the focus of future research.

Firearms Legislation and Reductions in Firearm-Related Suicide Deaths in New Zealand

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Beautrais ◽  
D. M. Fergusson ◽  
L. J. Horwood
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Annual Rate ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

Objective: To examine the impact of introducing more restrictive firearms legislation (Amendment to the Arms Act, 1992) in New Zealand on suicides involving firearms. Method: National suicide data were examined for 8 years before, and 10 years following the introduction of the legislation. Results: After legislation, the mean annual rate of firearm-related suicides decreased by 46% for the total population (p < 0.0001), 66% for youth (15–24 years; p < 0.0001) and 39% for adults (≥25 years; p < 0.01). The fraction of all suicides accounted for by firearm-related suicides also reduced for all three populations (p < 0.0001). However, the introduction of firearms legislation was not associated with reductions in overall rates of suicide for all three populations. Conclusions: Following the introduction of legislation restricting ownership and access to firearms, firearm-related suicides significantly decreased, particularly among youth. Overall rates of youth suicide also decreased over this time but it is not possible to determine the extent to which this was accounted for by changes in firearms legislation or other causes.

scholarly journals Paying for convenience: comparing the cost of takeaway meals with their healthier home-cooked counterparts in New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 2269-2276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Mackay ◽  
Stefanie Vandevijvere ◽  
Pei Xie ◽  
Amanda Lee ◽  
Boyd Swinburn
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Cost Impact ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Cost Of Time ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Mean Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cost Differences

AbstractObjectiveConvenience and cost impact on people’s meal decisions. Takeaway and pre-prepared foods save preparation time but may contribute to poorer-quality diets. Analysing the impact of time on relative cost differences between meals of varying convenience contributes to understanding the barrier of time to selecting healthy meals.DesignSix popular New Zealand takeaway meals were identified from two large national surveys and compared with similar, but healthier, home-made and home-assembled meals that met nutrition targets consistent with New Zealand Eating and Activity Guidelines. The cost of each complete meal, cost per kilogram, and confidence intervals of the cost of each meal type were calculated. The time-inclusive cost was calculated by adding waiting or preparation time cost at the minimum wage.SettingA large urban area in New Zealand.ResultsFor five of six popular meals, the mean cost of the home-made and home-assembled meals was cheaper than the takeaway meals. When the cost of time was added, all home-assembled meal options were the cheapest and half of the home-made meals were at least as expensive as the takeaway meals. The home-prepared meals were designed to provide less saturated fat and Na and more vegetables than their takeaway counterparts; however, the home-assembled meals provided more Na than the home-made meals.ConclusionsHealthier home-made and home-assembled meals were, except one, cheaper options than takeaways. When the cost of time was added, either the home-made or the takeaway meal was the most expensive. This research questions whether takeaways are better value than home-prepared meals.

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Mould Estimation Software in New Zealand Residential Houses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jarred Butler
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Research Association ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
House Condition ◽  
The Impact

<p>Regularly being exposed to the types of mould spores that can grow in houses has been shown to lead to adverse health effects such as respiratory diseases, and the exacerbation of asthma. While susceptible groups such as children, the elderly, and atopic persons are more susceptible to these effects, adverse health effects from mould spores have been shown to affect non-topic populations.  The 2015 Building Research Association of New Zealand House Condition Survey found that 46% of owner-occupied properties, and 54% of rented properties in a representative sample of the New Zealand housing stock have some form of mould in them. This means that a large portion of the population could be at risk of suffering from the adverse health effects associated with mould growth in houses. Increased air-tightness in new houses could also be at risk of being under-ventilated, potentially exacerbating this mould issue.  It is unknown whether the current New Zealand Building Code, at the time of writing, provides sufficient ventilation requirements to prevent new houses from being under-ventilated. It also does not consider existing houses, which is where most of the mould in the HCS was found.  This study explored whether data from the House Condition Survey and WuFi-Bio could be used to test mould mitigation strategies in New Zealand residential bathrooms. This was done by modelling a subset of houses from the House Condition Survey in WuFi-Pro, estimating the risk of mould in them with WuFi-Bio, and comparing this to the observations from the House Condition Survey. Parameters in the models were then changed to reflect the impact that strategies would have on the humidity and temperature in the bathrooms. The aim of this was to develop a hierarchy of recommendations that could help home occupiers and designers determine the most appropriate methods they could use to prevent mould from growing in their homes/designs.  However, the results did not align with the observations from the House Condition Survey, and testing the validity of the models by exploring the impact of assumptions showed they had no significant impact. The cause of this misalignment could not be determined, however a lack of internal condition time-series data and information about how observed mould from the House Condition Survey were identified of areas of uncertainty and prevented further exploration.  The exploration that was conducted revealed the importance of having enough data to understand the conditions that lead to any observed mould if an existing bathroom is being assessed using WuFi-Bio. It was concluded that attempting to assess a large number of houses with little data using WuFi-Bio was impractical. A controlled experimental study aimed at understanding a few houses in-depth would be a more appropriate method to test mould mitigation strategies, and help address the mould issue in New Zealand houses.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Mould Estimation Software in New Zealand Residential Houses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jarred Butler
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Research Association ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
House Condition ◽  
The Impact

<p>Regularly being exposed to the types of mould spores that can grow in houses has been shown to lead to adverse health effects such as respiratory diseases, and the exacerbation of asthma. While susceptible groups such as children, the elderly, and atopic persons are more susceptible to these effects, adverse health effects from mould spores have been shown to affect non-topic populations.  The 2015 Building Research Association of New Zealand House Condition Survey found that 46% of owner-occupied properties, and 54% of rented properties in a representative sample of the New Zealand housing stock have some form of mould in them. This means that a large portion of the population could be at risk of suffering from the adverse health effects associated with mould growth in houses. Increased air-tightness in new houses could also be at risk of being under-ventilated, potentially exacerbating this mould issue.  It is unknown whether the current New Zealand Building Code, at the time of writing, provides sufficient ventilation requirements to prevent new houses from being under-ventilated. It also does not consider existing houses, which is where most of the mould in the HCS was found.  This study explored whether data from the House Condition Survey and WuFi-Bio could be used to test mould mitigation strategies in New Zealand residential bathrooms. This was done by modelling a subset of houses from the House Condition Survey in WuFi-Pro, estimating the risk of mould in them with WuFi-Bio, and comparing this to the observations from the House Condition Survey. Parameters in the models were then changed to reflect the impact that strategies would have on the humidity and temperature in the bathrooms. The aim of this was to develop a hierarchy of recommendations that could help home occupiers and designers determine the most appropriate methods they could use to prevent mould from growing in their homes/designs.  However, the results did not align with the observations from the House Condition Survey, and testing the validity of the models by exploring the impact of assumptions showed they had no significant impact. The cause of this misalignment could not be determined, however a lack of internal condition time-series data and information about how observed mould from the House Condition Survey were identified of areas of uncertainty and prevented further exploration.  The exploration that was conducted revealed the importance of having enough data to understand the conditions that lead to any observed mould if an existing bathroom is being assessed using WuFi-Bio. It was concluded that attempting to assess a large number of houses with little data using WuFi-Bio was impractical. A controlled experimental study aimed at understanding a few houses in-depth would be a more appropriate method to test mould mitigation strategies, and help address the mould issue in New Zealand houses.</p>

scholarly journals Development of an AI Model to Measure Traffic Air Pollution from Multisensor and Weather Data

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (22) ◽  
pp. 4941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai-Bang Ly ◽  
Lu Minh Le ◽  
Luong Van Phi ◽  
Viet-Hung Phan ◽  
Van Quan Tran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Absolute Humidity ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Weather Variables ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Input Variables ◽  
Transport Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Quality Indexes

Gas multisensor devices offer an effective approach to monitor air pollution, which has become a pandemic in many cities, especially because of transport emissions. To be reliable, properly trained models need to be developed that combine output from sensors with weather data; however, many factors can affect the accuracy of the models. The main objective of this study was to explore the impact of several input variables in training different air quality indexes using fuzzy logic combined with two metaheuristic optimizations: simulated annealing (SA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). In this work, the concentrations of NO2 and CO were predicted using five resistivities from multisensor devices and three weather variables (temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity). In order to validate the results, several measures were calculated, including the correlation coefficient and the mean absolute error. Overall, PSO was found to perform the best. Finally, input resistivities of NO2 and nonmetanic hydrocarbons (NMHC) were found to be the most sensitive to predict concentrations of NO2 and CO.

Asteroid and Comet Impact Speeds upon Mars: Significance for Panspermia and the Supply of Organics

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Steel
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Regions Of Interest ◽  
Significant Fraction ◽  
Organic Chemicals ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.

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