No place like home? Producing and consuming eldercare design

As the American eldercare industry prepares to attract and receive consumers from the “baby boomer” generation, facility designers and administrators are increasingly concerned with catering to the lifestyles and taste preferences of aging adults perceived to be more “active,” affluent, and accustomed to “choice” than previous generations. This article considers these trends in terms of their material, aesthetic, and discursive impacts on the socio-material construction of space in residential eldercare facilities. The study draws on discourse and visual analysis of winning entries in published design competitions sponsored by the architecture, interior design, and eldercare industries. Through this analysis, eldercare spaces emerge as sites of consumption where designers privilege both “household/home-like” and “commercial/hospitality” aesthetics and atmospheres. In recent years, placemaking strategies to create home-like environments increasingly overlap with social spaces inspired by the hospitality industry. Our discussion demonstrates how these strategies materialize in structures and interiors increasingly open to the non-resident public and integrated into their surrounding communities. As such, we argue that the negotiation of degrees and kinds of “publicness” and “privateness” in spaces of care reflect shifting views of the roles and characteristics of acts of consumption and consumers in these facilities and in the broader healthcare industry.

Ice fog monitoring near Fairbanks, AK

Ice fog events, which occur during the Arctic winter, result in greatly decreased visibility and can lead to an increase of ice on roadways, aircraft, and airfields. The Fairbanks area is known for ice fog conditions, and previous studies have shown these events to be associated with moisture released from local power generation. Despite the identified originating mechanism of ice fog, there remains a need to quantify the environmental conditions controlling its origination, intensity, and spatial extent. This investigation focused on developing innovative methods of identifying and characterizing the environmental conditions that lead to ice fog formation near Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Preliminary data collected from December 2019 to March 2020 suggest that ice fog events occurred with temperatures below −34°C, up to 74% of the time ice fog emanated from the power generation facility, and at least 95% of ice particles during ice fog events were solid droxtals with diameters ranging from 7 to 50 μm. This report documents the need for frequent and detailed observations of the meteorological conditions in combination with photographic and ice particle observations. Datasets from these observations capture the environmental complexity and the impacts from energy generation in extremely cold weather conditions.

Inhalation dose from exposure to radon, thoron and their progeny in indoors around a nuclear power generation facility in Uttar Pradesh, India

Radon, thoron and their progeny concentration have been measured in dwellings located within a 90 km2 area around a nuclear power plant using solid-state nuclear track detectors. Time-integrated measurements were carried out on a four-month cycle, making three measurements in each dwelling throughout the year. In total, 145 dwellings were selected for the study. The measured values of gas and their progeny concentrations were used to determine the equilibrium factor for radon and thoron indoors and annual inhalation dose. The average value of the equilibrium factor indoors was found to be 0.44 ± 0.23 for radon and 0.015 ± 0.010 for thoron. The annual inhalation dose for the public living around this plant was found to be 0.97 ± 0.55 mSv. Results were analysed for different seasons and different categories of dwellings for their construction type.

Technocenological approach to development of power generation of industrial regions

The prerequisites for the implementation of distributed generation facilities in the power grid complex of the region are highlighted. A technocenological approach has been chosen for the economically and technically sound implementation of power sources. The procedures for the verification and visualization of the technocenosis were carried out, and the stability of the existing generation system was determined. The analysis of the generating complex with the power units expected to be commissioned has been carried out. It is concluded that it is necessary to install a distributed generation facility of low power to improve energy security.

Placial Justice: Restoring Rehabilitation and Correctional Legitimacy Through Architectural Design

Efforts to reduce the correction population have taken many forms across the United States, with the redesign of correctional edifices being met with mixed support from stakeholders. Building from the advances of the new-generation facility design, this piece outlines how the “next” generation of facility design can serve as one of many strategies to reduce the United States’s heavy reliance on the carceral system. Specifically, the redesign of facilities should include considerations of placial justice. That is, how the architectural construction of a correctional facility can promote the experience and perception of just and fair treatment for inmates and staff alike. This article proposes the tenants of an open, transparent, and inclusive (OTI) design to enhance placial justice in correctional buildings and with it increase correctional legitimacy and fortify the rehabilitative function of the institution. Discussions also include how the redesign of correctional facilities fit within the larger discourse on correctional humanism.