scholarly journals Human Health and Well-Being in Relation to Circular and Flexible Infill Design: Assessment Criteria on the Operational Level

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Geldermans ◽  
Martin Tenpierik ◽  
Peter Luscuere
Keyword(s):  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
Grey Zone ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Design Assessment ◽  
Circular Model ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Health And Well Being

This paper addresses the connection between circular building design and residential health and well-being. The general research objective is to determine assessment criteria for the performance of indoor partitioning products in a circular model. The overarching aim is to establish a more integrated and inclusive approach to the transition from linear to circular built environments. This ties in with recent calls for a more comprehensive evidence-base to better inform the policy debate, in the light of interrelated Sustainable Development Goals. The paper emphasises the operational level, looking closer at the actual performance of circular economy implementation, providing more grip on performance indicators of infill components in circular applications, specifically partition walls. Next to partitioning one can think of other components in the infill domain, such as kitchens, bathrooms and mechanical, electrical, plumbing installations. After a brief background sketch, a literature review is reported regarding indoor environmental quality and indoor air quality in general and the linkage with circular and flexible building (products) in particular. Next, an analysis is made of three assessment schemes that address the operational level. Subsequently, several criteria are synthesized and tested. It was shown that the assessment schemes have overlapping and complementary features that, in unison, provide a solid basis for an integrated assessment of circularity potential and health impact of infill products. The test-case helped to pinpoint generic, as well as case-specific, learning points. The interface between product performance and building performance over time remains a grey zone, insufficiently covered by current criteria. More stringent coordination efforts are essential to safeguard circularity potential and healthy living environments pre-use, post-use and not least in-use.

scholarly journals High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e029220
Author(s):  
Sarah Foster ◽  
Clover Maitland ◽  
Paula Hooper ◽  
Julian Bolleter ◽  
Anthony Duckworth-Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Study Protocol ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Policy Compliance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Health And Well Being

IntroductionThe rapid increase in apartment construction in Australia has raised concerns about the impacts of poorly designed and located buildings on resident health and well-being. While apartment design policies exist, their content varies across jurisdictions and evidence on their impact on health and well-being is lacking. This cross-sectional observational study (2017–2021) aims to generate empirical evidence to guide policy decisions on apartment development and help to create healthy, equitable higher-density communities. Objectives include to benchmark the implementation of health-promoting apartment design requirements and to identify associations between requirements and resident health and well-being outcomes.Methods and analysisEligible buildings in three Australian cities with different apartment design guidelines will be stratified by area disadvantage and randomly selected (~n=99). Building architects, developers and local governments will be approached to provide endorsed development plans from which apartment and building design features will be extracted. Additional data collection includes a resident survey (~n=1000) to assess environmental stressors and health and well-being impacts and outcomes, and geographic information systems measures of the neighbourhood. The study has 85% power to detect a difference of 0.5 SD in the primary outcome of mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) at a 5% level of significance. Analyses will compare policy compliance and health-promoting design features between cities and area disadvantage groups. Regression models will test whether higher policy compliance (overall and by design theme) is associated with better health and well-being, and the relative contribution of the neighbourhood context.Ethics and disseminationHuman Research Ethics Committees of RMIT University (CHEAN B 21146-10/17) and the University of Western Australia (RA/4/1/8735) approved the study protocol. In addition to academic publications, the collaboration will develop specific health-promoting indicators to embed into the monitoring of apartment design policy implementation and impact, and co-design research dissemination materials to facilitate uptake by decision makers.

scholarly journals ‘I’m just curious and still exploring myself’: Young people and pornography

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 3738-3759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feona Attwood ◽  
Clarissa Smith ◽  
Martin Barker
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Sexual Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
A Site ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
The Way

Young people’s encounters with sexual media are the subject of intense concern, but the research underpinning policy debate and public discussion rarely pays attention to the complexity of these. In this article, we show how encounters with pornography are increasingly presented as matters of health and well-being, but often from a standpoint of ‘exposure and effects’ that offers little in the way of understanding the significance of pornography in people’s lives. We consider what our recent research on porn consumption suggests about young people’s encounters and engagements with pornography – focusing on porn as an ‘outlet’, the development of porn tastes and the relation of porn to young people’s developing sex lives and imaginations. We argue that it is productive to understand pornography as a site for developing sexual identities and relationships, as a form of sexual leisure and play, and in relation to the broader emergence of mediated intimacies.

scholarly journals Pruning chemicals from the green building landscape

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-246
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Goodwin Robbins ◽  
Kathryn M. Rodgers ◽  
Bill Walsh ◽  
Rachelle Ain ◽  
Robin E. Dodson
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Engineering Construction ◽  
Green Building Design ◽  
Environmental Health Research ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Aec Industry

Abstract Green building design has substantially minimized environmental impacts by reducing energy consumption compared with traditional buildings. Yet, it is not uncommon for a green building to meet the highest criteria for energy efficiency and be built with materials that contain chemicals hazardous to occupant health. Because of this discrepancy in achieving holistic sustainability, the architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) industry has never been more interested in occupant health and well-being than it is today. At the same time, numerous scientific studies have documented exposures to and associated health effects of chemicals used in building materials. Opportunities to translate environmental health research so that it is useful to the AEC community exist across the landscape of healthier buildings. For example, research can be conducted to prioritize building material and chemical combinations to demonstrate how green building certification systems, government building codes, and the building products marketplace can increase energy performance while also addressing the greatest chemical exposures and health impacts. In order for scientific research to be used to create and support healthier environments, researchers should design and translate their research with this landscape in mind and should consider experts in the AEC industry as ambassadors for change. We provide key examples of how scientists have promoted healthy building practices and highlight additional research opportunities.

scholarly journals Comparison of Health and Well-Being Aspects in Building Certification Schemes

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tajda Potrč Obrecht ◽  
Roman Kunič ◽  
Sabina Jordan ◽  
Mateja Dovjak
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Know How ◽  
Operations And Maintenance ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Improve Health

The quality of the indoor environment is becoming increasingly important because people are spending the majority of their time indoors. This has led to an increased interest in the field of health and well-being of users of buildings and to the development of various assessment schemes dealing with this issue. In this study, LEED O+M Building Operations and Maintenance (hereinafter LEED O+M), BREEAM In-Use and DGNB Buildings In-Use were compared with a specialized BCS WELL that is focused on the health and well-being of building occupants. The aim of the comparison was to evaluate to what extent the selected building certification schemes (BCSs) cover the aspects of health and well-being in buildings. Based on the analysis, it was found that the observed BCSs mostly pay attention to indoor air quality, light and thermal comfort. In other areas, only certain topics are covered or the topics have a different focus. Another important finding of the study was that certain aspects that are important for the health and well-being of the occupants are not dependent only on the building design but also on the management of the building and the services provided within the building. This kind of information is especially valuable for building developers, managers and owners so they know how to improve health and well-being in a building. The present study provides them with a comprehensive overview of the certification schemes that are widely used in current practice.

Diet Quality, a Term Subject to Change over Time

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Elmadfa ◽  
Alexa L. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Diet Quality ◽  
Functional Foods ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Quality Factors ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Quality Diet ◽  
Important Quality ◽  
Health And Well Being

A high-quality diet is one of the foundations of health and well-being. For a long time in human history, diet was chiefly a source of energy and macronutrients meant to still hunger and give the strength for work and activities that were in general much harder than nowadays. Only few persons could afford to emphasize enjoyment. In the assessment of quality, organoleptic properties were major criteria to detect spoilage and oxidative deterioration of food. Today, food hygiene is a quality aspect that is often taken for granted by consumers, despite its lack being at the origin of most food-borne diseases. The discovery of micronutrients entailed fundamental changes of the concept of diet quality. However, non-essential food components with additional health functions were still barely known or not considered important until recently. With the high burden of obesity and its associated diseases on the rise, affluent, industrialized countries have developed an increased interest in these substances, which has led to the development of functional foods to optimize special body functions, reduce disease risk, or even contribute to therapeutic approaches. Indeed, nowadays, high contents of energy, fat, and sugar are factors associated with a lower quality of food, and products with reduced amounts of these components are valued by many consumers. At the same time, enjoyment and convenience are important quality factors, presenting food manufacturers with the dilemma of reconciling low fat content and applicability with good taste and appealing appearance. Functional foods offer an approach to address this challenge. Deeper insights into nutrient-gene interactions may enable personalized nutrition adapted to the special needs of individuals. However, so far, a varied healthy diet remains the best basis for health and well-being.

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