When buildings are constructed and renovated today, environmental aspects aremost often taken into consideration. There might, however, not always be aclearly expressed health perspective. This study explores the obstacles andopportunities to initiating a clearer health perspective in the construction and realestate branches. A qualitative method was used, consisting of semi-structuredinterviews with ten agents from the construction and real estate branches in theprivate and municipal sectors. The analysis was performed by the use oforganisational theory. The results show that different financial incentives such as“ROT-deductions” are the ones most discussed when it comes to attaining aclearer health perspective into the sustainability work of the branches.Suggestions for improvement in the legislative area were for example aboutspecifying threshold values for certain substances in the indoor environment, andabout improving policy for how chemical products are to be declared. Differentclassification systems for healthy buildings could also be of use, if coordinated tobe better understood. Also the need to discuss ethics, morality and “attitude” inthe branches was brought up. The need to use health economic measures to beable to make comparisons to other societal costs was also emphasized.

Begreppet "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS) beskriver ett vanligt problem i byggnader där personer som vistas där under en längre tid kan uppleva hälsosymptom såsom huvudvärk, yrsel, illamående, koncentrationssvårigheter och trötthet. För att hantera dessa hälsoproblem har Örebromodellen utvecklats. Modellen använder enkäter för att samla in data om inomhusklimatet och hälsoproblem från brukarna för att identifiera problemområden och utveckla förbättringsstrategier för hälsa och välbefinnande. SWESIAQ-modellen, baserad på Örebromodellen, används för att bedöma och förbättra inomhusmiljöer i byggnader genom att ta hänsyn till både tekniska och icke-tekniska faktorer som minskar hälsoriskerna. Modellen fokuserar främst på inomhusluftens kvalitet och tar även hänsyn till andra miljömässiga och psykosociala faktorer i byggnadsmiljön. För att utveckla och komplettera SWESIAQ-modellen när det gäller den psykosociala innemiljön användes studerad litteratur som en metod för att analysera och identifiera faktorer som påverkar den psykosociala kvaliteten. Den tillämpade metodiken "ergonomi" användes för att anpassa människan till sin omgivande miljö. Salutogenes teorin främjar hälsa och välbefinnande, och bostadens omätbara värden bidrar till den arkitektoniska kvaliteten i bostadens upplevelse. Dessa studier fokuserar på att förbättra innemiljön och uppnå välbefinnande för individer. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att vidareutveckla SWESIAQ-modellen på ett mer omfattande och detaljerat sätt när det gäller byggnaders psykosociala innemiljö. Genom att skapa en systematisk och användarvänlig bedömningsmatris baserad på viktiga faktorer som främst påverkar byggnaders innemiljö. Den kan även hjälpa innemiljöutredare att identifiera och åtgärda psykosociala problem i byggnader. Målet med arbetet är att identifiera och studera de egenskaper som definierar den psykosociala innemiljön och omvandla dem från kvalitativa till kvantitativa faktorer med hjälp av tidigare teorier och forskning. Detta examenarbete utfördes i två delar. I den första delen identifierades åtta kategorier som spelar en stor roll för den psykosociala innemiljöns kvalitet, utifrån ergonomi, salutogena och bostadens omätbara värden. Dessa kategorier inkluderar ljus, ljud, möbler, färg, utrymmen, konst, natur och bostadsplanering. Utifrån dessa faktorer skapades en bedömningsmatris som innehåller 36 frågor för att bedöma innemiljön i bostäder. I den andra delen av arbetet tillämpades bedömningsmatrisen på en bostad.  Resultaten visade att SWESIAQ-modellen har blivit mer omfattande genom att inkludera en detaljerad bedömning av den psykosociala inomhusmiljön. Dessa nya tillägg har gjort modellen till ett kraftfullt verktyg för att bedöma både materialanvändning och den psykologiska komforten för de boende. I praktisk tillämpning visade det sig att bedömningsmatrisen är en lättanvänd matris som utgör ett utmärkt verktyg för att bedöma den psykosociala innemiljön i bostäder. Dessutom behöver den inte involvera experter för att användas. / The term "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS) describes a common problem in buildings where individuals who spend a long time there can experience health symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue. To address these health problems, the Örebro model has been developed. The model uses questionnaires to collect data about the indoor climate and health problems from users in order to identify problem areas and develop improvement strategies for health and well-being. The SWESIAQ model, based on the Örebro model, is used to assess, and improve indoor environments in buildings by considering both technical and non-technical factors that reduce health risks. The model primarily focuses on indoor air quality and also takes into account other environmental and psychosocial factors in the building environment.  To further develop and supplement the SWESIAQ model regarding the psychosocial indoor environment, relevant literature was studied as a method to analyze and identify factors that affect psychosocial quality. The applied methodology of "ergonomics" was used to adapt individuals to their surrounding environment. Salutogenesis theory promotes health and well-being, and the intangible values of a home contribute to the architectural quality of the home's experience. These studies focus on improving the indoor environment and achieving well-being for individuals. The purpose of this thesis is to further develop the SWESIAQ model in a more comprehensive and detailed way concerning the psychosocial indoor environment of buildings. This involves creating a systematic and user-friendly assessment matrix based on important factors that mainly affect the indoor environment of buildings. It can also help indoor environmental investigators to identify and remedy psychosocial problems in buildings. The goal of the work is to identify and study the characteristics that define the psychosocial indoor environment and transform them from qualitative to quantitative factors using previous theories and research. This thesis was carried out in two parts. In the first part, eight categories were identified that play a major role in the quality of the psychosocial indoor environment, based on ergonomics, salutogenic principles, and the intangible values of a home. These categories include light, sound, furniture, color, spaces, art, nature, and home planning. Based on these factors, an assessment matrix was created that contains 36 questions to assess the indoor environment in homes. In the second part of the work, the assessment matrix was applied to a residence. The results showed that the SWESIAQ model has become more comprehensive by including a detailed assessment of the psychosocial indoor environment. These new additions have made the model a powerful tool for assessing both material usage and the psychological comfort of the occupants. In practical application, it turned out that the assessment matrix is an easy-to-use matrix that constitutes an excellent tool for assessing the psychosocial indoor environment in homes. Moreover, it does not require the involvement of experts to be used.

Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra hur utformningen av lekmiljön i förskolan och dess innehåll/artefakter är med och påverkar hur, vad och om barn leker. För att samla information har vi valt att observera barns lek och med hjälp av anteckningar studera och dokumentera hur de tar in miljön i leken. Resultatet och slutsatsen vi nått är att pedagogernas förhållningssätt till barn och utformningen av lekmiljön i förhållande till ett barnperspektiv är en bidragande faktor till hur, vad och om barn leker.

No description available.

A significant number of consumer goods and building materials act as emission sources of flame retardants (FRs) in the indoor environment. As a result, FRs have become ubiquitous indoors raising concerns about human exposure and possible health implications. Once released indoors, FRs can escape to the outdoors where they can persist, be transported over long distances and present a threat to the environment. Despite the increasing number of studies reporting the occurrence of FRs in the indoor environment, the understanding of i) how and to what extent these chemicals are released from indoor sources, and ii) their subsequent fate indoors remains limited. The overarching objective of this thesis was to improve this understanding by assessing the indoor emissions and fate of FRs using a combination of multimedia modelling strategies and experimental/empirical approaches. Paper I identifies a number of knowledge gaps and limitations regarding indoor emissions and fate of FRs and the available modelling approaches. These include a limited understanding of the key emission mechanisms for low volatility FRs, uncertainties regarding indoor air/surface partitioning, poor characterization of dust and film dynamics and a significant lack of knowledge regarding indoor reaction/degradation processes. In Paper II we highlighted the serious scarcity in physicochemical property data for the alternative FRs and demonstrated the applicability of a simple QSPR technique for selecting reliable property estimates for chemical assessments. A modelling fate assessment indicated a strong partitioning to indoor surfaces and dust for most of the alternative FRs. Indications for POP (persistent organic pollutant)-like persistence and LRT (long-range transport) and bioaccumulative potential in the outdoor environment were also identified for many alternative FRs. Using an inverse modelling approach in Paper III we estimated 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher emissions of organophosphate FRs (0.52 and 0.32 ng.h-1) than brominated FRs (0.083 μg.h-1 and 0.41 μg.h-1) in Norwegian households. An emission-to-dust signal was also identified for organophosphate FRs suggesting that direct migration to dust may be a key fate process indoors. No evidence of a direct source-to-dust transfer mechanism was seen in Paper IV where the chemical transfer between a product treated with an organophosphate FR and dust in direct contact was experimentally investigated. It was concluded though that direct contact between an FR source and dust can result in contamination hotspots indoors. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

The thesis deals with the evaluation of indoor environment cab passenger car, with a focus on thermal comfort of passengers. The theoretical part contains the fundamentals of heat transfer, analysis of the aspects affecting human thermal comfort and its assessment methods. A brief description of the ventilation and air conditioning systems used in passenger cars is mentioned. The practical part includes numerical simulations of indoor environment, in selected driving modes and at different climatic conditions. Results of simulations lead to evaluation the status of the internal environment in terms of thermal comfort.

The impact that the indoor environment has on productivity is a topic that has been investigated in numerous studies. There are a variety of different methods that have been used to evaluate productivity with. There are quantitative methods and there are qualitative ones, and both have been used in the literature as indicators or real productivity. The quantitative ones are for instance short arithmetical or linguistic performance tests or measurements of the actual quantitative output of a job. Qualitative assessments of productivity consist of different ways of allowing the subjects to rate their own productivity. Both these two approaches of evaluating productivity are claimed to be subject to different issues, and the question of which way is preferable is a matter of contention among the researchers. The quantitative approach is claimed to be unable to reflect the complex and qualitative output of many modern jobs, while the qualitative one is believed to be highly influenced by bias. This master’s degree project has investigated the associations between the two approaches and conducted a qualitative assessment of the impact of the indoor environment on the productivity in a university building in Stockholm. Numerous studies have been reviewed that include both quantitative evaluations of productivity and qualitative evaluations of the indoor environment. Qualitative evaluations are for instance evaluations of environmental satisfaction, as well as evaluations of healthiness and productivity. The relationship between the quantitative measurements and the subjective evaluation is indeed complex. However, there appears to be a consistency to some extent between the two, and the trend seems to indicate that occupants who are more productive are also more satisfied with the indoor environment or perceive themselves to be healthier or more productive. A working hypothesis has been formulated; that subjective evaluations of the indoor environment may act as indicators of productivity. This approach has been used in a university building in Stockholm, where the productivity of the students has been evaluated through a survey, together with physical measurements of the indoor environment. The survey is designed based on the current literature within the field. It has a large emphasis on productivity, with several questions concerning it directly and indirectly. The physical parameters that were measured were radiant temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, CO2- concentration and sound pressure level. Considerable correlations were observed between perceived productivity and environmental satisfaction, perceived environmental control and between different ways of evaluating productivity subjectively. The correlations between the physical measurements and the subjective evaluations were in general considerably weaker than the ones between the different subjective parameters. The correlations between the mean CO2-concentration and productivity was weak, and similar findings were obtained concerning sound pressure level. This emphasise the importance of heeding the opinions of the occupants while evaluating the performance of a building, as physical measurements alone appear to be unable to reflect the users’ perspective reliably. The correlation between the thermal parameters (evaluated by the PMV- value) and the subjective evaluations were, on the other hand, considerably stronger. This may indicate that the thermal parameters are among the most influential ones in creating a productive workplace. Furthermore, the study discusses different methods that have been used to evaluate productivity with. It discusses their weaknesses and strengths and what elements they contain that may be used for future studies of productivity.

No description available.

The purpose of this report was to find out if there were any differences in how the indoor environment was experienced in environmentally certified school buildings compared with similar conventional buildings. For that two certified school buildings, Vegaskolan in Vännäs and Hedlunda preschool in Umeå was compared with two conventional preschools in Umeå, Solbacken and Skattelden, in terms of how the indoor environment was experienced. This was done using a questionnaire and interviews. The results of the survey showed that Vegaskolan had the lowest percentage among the staff that was bothered by various environmental factors, while Hedlunda preschool had the largest share. Hedlunda also had the highest percentage amongst the staff with health problems. All four buildings surveyed, however, had smaller percentages who were disturbed by noise than preschools in general, and the environmentally certified buildings had an even lower percentage. If this is due to the certification is however difficult to say. Since there were more differences between the two certified buildings, it is difficult to draw general conclusions depending on the building type. Most of the differences showed in this study do not depend on the certification of the buildings, but of other causes. However the environmentally certified buildings are more complex than the conventional buildings, with more things that can go wrong. Therefore it requires more monitoring of the indoor environment after the building is put into use, as well as more information to operators and users in order to prevent adverse health effects, which seems to be the case at Hedlunda.

Syftet med studien är att ta reda på om den fysiska miljön på fritidshemmen är anpassad så att den inspirerar eleverna till olika lekar, skapande och om det finns utrymme för lugn och ro. Får fritidshemmen den plats de behöver i skolans lokaler eller hamnar fritidshemmen i skymundan? Vi vill även få en bild av vad pedagogerna tycker det finns för för- och nackdelar med att dela lokaler med skolan. Våra teoretiska utgångspunkter i denna studie har varit det sociokulturella, interaktionistiska perspektiven och den utvecklingsekologiska teorin. För att komma fram till ett resultat har vi använt oss av en enkät som sex pedagoger har svarat på och sedan har vi gjort observationer på tre fritidshem. Resultatet av vår undersökning visar att pedagogerna försöker erbjuda eleverna en bra fysisk miljö där de känner sig välkomna och blir inspirerade till lek. Detta trots att pedagogerna upplever att fritidshemmens fysiska miljö får stå tillbaka och att skolans lärandemiljö tar en större plats i skolans lokaler.