Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-94). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-97).

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 S72 / Master of Landscape Architecture

Reflective roof coatings keep the roof cooler by minimizing solar absorption and maximizing thermal emission. Keeping the surface of the roof cooler allows less heat to be conducted into the interior of the building which reduces the cooling load in air-conditioned buildings and improve comfort conditions in non-air conditioned buildings. A number of cool white materials, compatible with most roofing products, are available on the market. To appeal to homeowners, special cool “color” products have been developed to match the dark colors of conventional residential roofs but are highly reflective in the invisible near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. Although many studies highlight the benefits of cool white coatings on roof membranes of low-slope roofs, knowledge of NIR reflective coatings on asphalt shingles of steep slope roofs remains limited. The intent of this exploratory study is to present a process that can be used to evaluate the perceived and actual benefits of NIR coatings field-applied to asphalt shingles on single-family houses. The proposed process can be applied to a large sample of homes and occupants in a future study. A questionnaire was designed to attempt to evaluate occupants’ perceived benefits in regards to their indoor environment and occupant satisfaction following applications of NIR coatings. Along with subjective data collection, a field-experiment was developed to objectively compare the thermal performance of an NIR reflective field-coated asphalt shingle roof system with that of a conventional asphalt shingle roof system. Questionnaire results indicated that occupants did not perceive any significant changes to their indoor environment but were satisfied overall with the application and appearance of the roof coating. Additionally, 50% of occupants stated that their monthly energy costs somewhat decreased after the application. Interestingly, 63% of respondents experienced some form of roof leak following the coating application. Among those who experienced roof leaks, 100% of the roofs were 10 years or older. Field results showed that the coated roof surface was 2 to 5℉ cooler than the uncoated roof surface at midafternoon. Statistical testing for correlation between coated roof surface temperature and external conditions revealed that relative humidity was negatively correlated with coated roof temperature, while solar altitude angle was positively correlated with coated roof temperature. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop a model for predicting the surface temperature of the coated asphalt shingle roofs from the ambient temperature, sky conditions, dew point temperature, relative humidity, solar altitude and azimuth angle.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

This study proposes a series of 3 experiments to explore how different types of staging, pictures versus virtual reality, impacts potential buyers’ likelihood of wanting to visit a home. Moreover, this study seeks to address how the type of market, hot versus cold, and type of home, luxury versus non-luxury, connects with staging and its impact on wanting to visit a home. In Experiment 1, participants will view 10 total homes, 5 randomly selected with staged pictures first followed by the remaining 5 with virtual reality, either within the hot or cold market. If VR increases presence, then people should be more likely to want to visit a house especially in a hot market given that there is a high demand for a constrained supply. Experiment 2 addressed the contrast effect limitation given that virtual reality staging always came after the pictures of staging within Experiment 1. Experiment 2 should replicate the results of Experiment 1 by removing the contrast effect. Finally, Experiment 3 will explore the impact of type of home, luxury versus non-luxury, and type of staging on wanting to visit a home. Researchers are expected to find that participants who viewed properties in virtual reality are more likely to want to visit the home compared to those that saw staged images because of increased presence, which will make them feel more connected to the home compared to viewing staged pictures. Ultimately, this study is important because it aims to identify the utility of VR in home sales.

A importância deste tema pode ser ilustrada no fato de que a autogestão é a principal forma de gestão da construção residencial, pois representa aproximadamente 70% das novas habitações e 87% das obras de reforma e expansão no país. Apesar da importância deste tema há pouca bibliografia na literatura especializada nacional, indicando a necessidade da realização de pesquisa nesta área. Neste sentido esta pesquisa objetivou investigar o atual modelo vigente de gestão, a autogestão, nas obras de reforma em edificações unifamiliares, levantando indicadores de produtividade para se obter um diagnóstico sobre o estágio da eficiência neste tipo de obra. A metodologia utilizada baseou-se em etapas de revisão bibliográfica e na realização de um estudo de campo envolvendo 20 entrevistas. Destas entrevistas, 10 foram realizadas com os gestores de 10 obras de reforma e as outras 10 entrevistas foram realizadas com profissionais de diferentes agentes atuantes no setor da construção civil. A diversidade dos entrevistados foi produto da busca por descrever um panorama geral da autogestão conforme as diferentes perspectivas. No estudo de campo concluiu-se que a informalidade neste setor é um resultado da busca do menor preço pelo autogestor, e do cliente pela mão-de-obra. Apesar de ser denominado como autogestor da obra, nos casos analisados, a gestão da obra é realizada com grande tendência ao insucesso, pois os autogestores não possuem conhecimento suficiente para tomar as decisões de uma obra e, não contratam profissionais habilitados para tal. Estas características podem ser resumidas na opinião generalizada dos empreendedores obra é sinônimo de problema. Desta forma espera-se, como resultado desta pesquisa, contribuir com uma melhoria na gestão desta tipologia de obra e, indiretamente, aumentar a eficiência no uso de recursos utilizados nas suas atividades. / The importance of this theme can be illustrated by the fact that self-management is the main form of management of residential construction, as it represents approximately 70% of new dwellings and 87% of planned remodeling and refurbishment in the country. Despite the importance of this issue there is little information in the national literature, indicating the necessity of conducting research in this area. In this sense, this research aimed to investigate the current prevailing model of management, the self management, in reform and refurbishment works in single-family buildings, surveying productivity indicators to get a diagnosis on the stage of efficiency in this type of work. The methodology was based on stages of literature review and in conducting a field study involving 20 interviews. Within these interviews, 10 were conducted with managers of 10 works of reform and the other 10 interviews were conducted with professionals from different agents in the construction industry. The diversity of respondents was the result of search by describing an overview of self-management according to different perspectives. In the field study it was concluded that this informal sector is a result of the search for the lowest price by the self-managers, and lowest cost labor. Despite being termed as self-manager the refurbishment, in the cases analyzed, the management of the refurbishment is performed with great tendency to fail, because they have not enough knowledge to make good decisions and did not hire qualified professionals to do so. These characteristics can be summarized in the general opinion of the entrepreneurs that refurbishment is synonymous with trouble. Thus, it is expected as a result of this research, to contribute to an improvement in the management of this type of work and, indirectly, increase the efficient use of resources used in their activities.