No description available.

The purpose of this research is to find out: What led Japanese activists who support “comfort women” to hold their opinions, and what do they think contributes to the polarized public opinion about “comfort women” in Japan? What are their activities and strategies to address the issue? How do those activists evaluate their activism and the resolution process? In-depth qualitative interviews were utilized to collect data. The research findings showed that different interpretations of the Second World War and different understandings about male and female rights and roles influenced people’s opinions about “comfort women.” Japanese activists used international pressure to address the issue. Also, it was found that the rightward political trend in Japan fueled by economic recession was impeding the progress of addressing the problem. Based on the findings, suggestions were made to improve the activism, including consideration of reconciliation as a way of dealing with the problem.

The purpose of this research is to find out: What led Japanese activists who support “comfort women” to hold their opinions, and what do they think contributes to the polarized public opinion about “comfort women” in Japan? What are their activities and strategies to address the issue? How do those activists evaluate their activism and the resolution process? In-depth qualitative interviews were utilized to collect data. The research findings showed that different interpretations of the Second World War and different understandings about male and female rights and roles influenced people’s opinions about “comfort women.” Japanese activists used international pressure to address the issue. Also, it was found that the rightward political trend in Japan fueled by economic recession was impeding the progress of addressing the problem. Based on the findings, suggestions were made to improve the activism, including consideration of reconciliation as a way of dealing with the problem.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 1998. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-87).

Football is the most popular sport and played by more players worldwide than any other sport. The football boot industry is therefore big, competitive and still growing. Today, football boot designs are subcategorised into four categories, of which three are linked to specific skill performance enhancing claims: The power boot for enhanced shooting performance, the touch/control boot for enhanced ball control and the speed boot for enhanced speed generation. In comparison to the strong marketing claims, little research has been published on the impact of football boot design on performance, injury and comfort. Therefore, little is known about the importance and impact of changing boot design. The outcome of this thesis offers researcher and the football boot industry validated human test protocols for power boot, touch/control and speed boot designs. The outcome of the thesis also advances the knowledge of how the football boot impacts performance, comfort and highlights the potential links between plantar comfort and injury risk. Rule based system assessment was performed to validate a boot performance conceptual framework linking the player and their desired movements during a football match with the football boot and its different components. The three protocols for assessment of key performance aspects for power boots, touch/control boots and speed boots were validated using test-retest reliability assessment through relative and absolute reliability measures. The power boot protocols involved shooting assessment measuring ball velocity, offset from target, success and player perception of ball velocity and accuracy. The touch/control boot protocol involved dribbling and passing assessment measuring time, number of touches and radial distance from cones during completion of a complex dribbling drill, ball velocity and offset from target during flat and airborne passes. The speed boot protocols involved combined agility and acceleration sprinting time and jump height before and after a 90 min match simulation protocol. Throughout the match simulation heart rate, player perceived exertion, perceived muscle fatigue, overall foot comfort and specific regional foot comfort. The validated protocols were then applied to assess how boot parameters impact performance. For the power boot, boots with and without upper padding were compared II demonstrating a small favour for the non-padded boot. Similarly, boots with and without upper padding were compared for the touch/control boot scenario with no differences seen between the two designs. Finally, two commercially available speed boots were assessed for the speed boot scenario demonstrating significant differences in both comfort and performance measures. Indicating a potential link between decreased foot comfort and decreased ability to maintain performance throughout a 90 min game. The boot performance conceptual framework was developed with component at each level but no interactive links between levels were added due to the lack of evidence in the literature. The boot performance conceptual framework offers researchers and the football boot industry a visualisation tool to aid the general overview when assessing or designing football boots. The three validations of protocols demonstrated strong test- retest reliability for most measures assessed and can therefore be applied to assess the impact of altering boot designs like demonstrated in this study.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:05:51Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 camargo_jr_dr_guara.pdf: 1019492 bytes, checksum: 2297d5279bcff4ccbedcb325ccb31939 (MD5) / O resfriamento evaporativo consiste na utilização da evaporação da água através da passagem de um fluxo de ar, provocando a redução na temperatura do ar e, apesar de utilizarem tecnologia relativamente simples, ainda são pouco utilizados para o condicionamento de ar em regiões de clima úmido. Este trabalho realiza um estudo dos potenciais e limitações de sistemas de condicionamento de ar por resfriamento evaporativo e evaporativo-adsortivo quando utilizados com o objetivo de propiciar conforto térmico ao homem e reduzir o consumo de energia. Apresenta-se, inicialmente, o princípio de funcionamento de sistemas de resfriamento evaporativo e de desumidificadores por adsorção. A seguir, apresentam-se os resultados dos ensaios de desempenho realizados em um resfriador evaporativo direto e propõe-se um novo sistema a ser utilizado em regiões em que as condições de conforto não podem ser supridas pelo resfriamento evaporativo somente. Estuda-se a aplicação desses sistemas a diversas cidades, caracterizadas por diferentes condições climáticas e conclui-se que os sistemas de resfriamento evaporativo acoplados a um desumidificador adsortivo apresentam perspectivas promissoras, principalmente para aplicação em condicionamento de ar onde existem fontes de calor de baixo custo ou calor residual disponível. A análise das condições do ar de insuflamento demonstra a viabilidade da utilização do sistema proposto para conforto térmico humano em regiões de clima úmido como uma alternativa aos sistemas convencionais de condicionamento de ar, poupando energia e protegendo o meio ambiente. / Evaporative cooling consists in using water evaporation through the passage of an air flow, thus decreasing the air temperature. In spite of using simple technology, it is seldon used for air conditioning in humid climate regions. This thesis develops a methodology that can be used to establish potentials and limitations of air conditioning systems by evaporative and desiccant cooling when used for human thermal comfort and lower power consumption. Firstly, the operational principles of evaporative cooling and dehumidification by adsorption systems are presented. Next, the results of performance tests developed on a direct evaporative cooler are described. Finally, a new system to be used in regions where the thermal comfort conditions cannot be supplied only by evaporative cooling is proposed. The applications of this system in several cities, characterized by different climate conditions are studied. It concluded that evaporative cooling systems coupled to a dehumidification adsorption system present promising perspectives, mainly to low cost air conditioning applications where residual heat sources are available. The analysis of the supply air conditions shows the feasibility of the proposed system for human thermal comfort in humid climates as an alternative to conventional air conditioning systems, saving energy and protecting the environment.

This thesis investigates the design of domestic glazed spaces in the United Kingdom, by studying the effect of a range of variables on the thermal properties of glazed spaces, in order to achieve a thermally comfortable environment while minimising the use of energy for heating and cooling. Earlier research work on domestic glazed spaces has concentrated on optimising the design of the space as a mechanism for reducing the space heating load of the parent house. Computer based dynamic thermal simulation is used in this study as the method of assessment and the variables tested are; glazing type, orientation and the degree of integration of the glazed space with the parent building. Unshaded, unventilated, and unheated, glazed spaces were found to be thermally comfortable for only a quarter to a third of the hours of possible use whatever the form, orientation or glazing type. Generally the higher the insulating value of the glazing the fewer the number of comfortable hours for all orientations and arrangements, due to discomfort being caused by high temperatures, even though the weather data used for the simulations only rose above 27'C for 25 hours during the course of the year. Further studies showed that significant reductions in the number of hours experiencing high temperatures could be achieved by the use of buoyancy driven ventilation. The studies indicated that glazed spaces integrated into the house plan tended to experience high temperatures for long periods but that the peak temperatures were much lower than those experienced for shorter periods in the exposed spaces. The effect of ventilation on overheating was therefore more marked in the integral than in the exposed glazed spaces. A study of the effects of roof shading blinds indicated that internal blinds had minimal effect in reducing high temperatures. External blinds had a greater effect than ventilation and a combination of external roof blinds and ventilation appears to provide the best strategy for the control of high temperatures. Studies on space heating loads for the houses and glazed spaces indicated wide variations in the heating loads of the glazed spaces depending predominantly on the insulating properties of the glazing. In terms of the reduction in the space heating load for the parent house, the thermal simulation results predict very little change due to the presence of the glazed space. A study on the effect of increasing the thermal storage properties of the floor construction of the glazed spaces, by substituting a clay tile finish for the original thin carpet layer, in order to reduce high temperatures proved inconclusive with minimal changes in the number of comfortable hours experienced. An investigation of thermal comfort during the Winter indicated that low surface temperatures did not reduce resultant temperatures below the lower limit of the comfortable range in the glazed spaces, during the heated period.

This thesis is about problematics of creating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model suited for analysis of airflow around sitting passive person. Thesis includes analysis of velocity field distribution, thermal distribution and thermal losses in the surroundings of sitting thermal dummy (computational model) and comparison of these values with experimental measurements. Thesis is a part of large experimental research (this research is not included here) focused on creating of functional method used for person-surrounding airflow analysis in future commercial use.

Boas alternativas nas escolhas de materiais construtivos em um projeto arquitetônico possibilitam de forma mais assertiva os aspectos de conforto térmico em habitações de interesse social. A existência de normas que determinem alguns parâmetros de conforto térmico não significa que a unidade habitacional esteja dentro dos parâmetros ideais, já que dependem de bons projetos, correta execução da obra e estarem adequadas às restrições econômicas dos usuários. Esta pesquisa teve como motivação revelar as reclamações dos usuários referentes ao conforto térmico no interior das unidades habitacionais do BNH de Santos, construído em 1969, identificando quais eram os principais problemas térmicos ocorridos nestas unidades habitacionais. O objetivo desta pesquisa é verificar se os usuários encontram-se dentro dos padrões de conforto térmico estabelecidos por normas existentes e recomendar possíveis soluções que colaborem para que os apartamentos estejam dentro dos parâmetros de conforto térmico adequados. Através de relatos dos usuários, foi proposta uma medição no local cuja finalidade era identificar se havia compatibilidade entre os resultados obtidos na APO aplicada com os resultados medidos e identificar se estas compatibilidades aplicavam-se as normas de conforto térmico existentes. Simulações no software energyplus foram realizadas com a finalidade de propor melhorias projetuais nos apartamentos que estivessem em desconforto térmico. Os resultados mostram que a maioria dos usuários entende que, ao longo do ano, os apartamentos possuem temperaturas elevadas, gerando desconforto térmico. Estes desconfortos ocorrem possivelmente à ocupação de cada apartamento, além da influência da radiação solar direta que cada apartamento recebe ao longo do dia. / The current wide range of alternatives in building materials makes it possible for architects to have greater control over aspects affecting thermal comfort in their designs for social dwelling. The existence of rules governing thermal comfort parameters does not mean that dwelling units are always constructed within the optimal parameters, as this depends on the quality of projects, the correct execution of construction work, and the economic constraints of users. This study was motivated by user complaints relating to thermal comfort inside the BNH Santos dwelling units, which were built in 1969. These complaints identify the main thermal problems occurring in the dwellings units. The objective of this research is to verify whether users live within the existing standards for thermal comfort, and to recommend possible solutions so that the apartments can all be within proper thermal comfort parameters. Based on reports from users, measurements were taken on site to determine whether there was compatibility between the results obtained in the POE and the measured results, and to identify whether any compatibilities applied to existing standards of thermal comfort. Energyplus software simulations were carried out, in order to determine proposed improvements to apartments whose inhabitants were experiencing thermal discomfort. The results show that most users understand that, during the year, the apartments have high temperatures that generate thermal discomfort. This discomfort may occur as a result of the occupation of each apartment, and may go beyond the influence of the direct sunlight that each apartment receives throughout the day.