Series
Master of Science in Building Construction and Facility Management

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Degree Series
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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Identifying The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on The Sleep Quality of Aging Adults With MCI: A Comparative Study
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12-15) Ismail, Aliaa
    Aging adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are underrepresented in built environment research, specifically studies that mainly focus on low socioeconomic status and racial minorities. Part of this thesis is a part of a larger study conducted by the Cognitive Empowerment Program that is investigating the built environment of aging adults with MCI. The aim of this thesis is multifold: first, to provide a clearer understanding of the differences in the sleep environment related to socioeconomic status in aging adults with MCI and investigate if these differences affect their sleep health. Second, this thesis also aimed to evaluate which home environment factors, such as lighting, noise, temperature, air quality and housing insecurity affect sleep health for aging adults with MCI. Lastly, this thesis aimed to empower underprivileged aging adults with MCI and give back to this community that is not represented enough in research. Affluent and underprivileged aging adults with MCI were surveyed in Atlanta Georgia, using mental health measures, cognitive health measures, sleep quality measures and a built environment survey that asks questions about their sleeping environment. This study was able to suggest an association between socioeconomic status with sleep quality, depression, and stress. The findings of this study also suggest a relationship between sleep health and the satisfaction with the current living arrangement, homeownership, wanting to move out of current living arrangement and moving frequency. Lastly, this study was also able to identify gender differences in sleep health. This study is a preliminary investigation on the home and sleeping environments of underprivileged aging adults with MCI. Since there is a lack of literature about this presented topic, future research should investigate the indoor environmental conditions and its relationship with sleep health of racial/ethnic minorities, low socioeconomic status groups, and cognitive aging adults to allow these vulnerable populations to age-in-place in their homes peacefully and independently.
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    Net-Zero Water Buildings & the Air Force
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-09-06) Lambert, Jacob L.
    The Department of Defense has tasked the uniformed services to make a percentage of their installations net-zero waste, water, and energy. The purpose of this study is to determine if United States Air Force can make 10% of their large sized installations net-zero water installations and what building types are best suited for net-zero water operations. To accomplish this, existing building floor plan data for 14 different building types on Air Force installations was collected and replicated in Building Information Modeling software. These models were then analyzed in software to determine estimated water usage and the amount of rainwater harvested per building. The models were tested for four different installations in the continental United States to account for different climate areas. The results of the 56 tests were then analyzed for trends to determine which installations and building types were most relevant for net-zero water operations. It was found that installations that experience higher average rainfalls each year are more likely to have successful net-zero water buildings. Installations in the Atlantic Ocean & Gulf of Mexico coastal areas are installations to target. Additionally, with the parameters selected for the procedure – it was found that 8 of 14 building types simulated at Eglin AFB, FL, are net-zero water positive as they harvest more rainwater than they are estimated to use. With additional floorplan data for all buildings on an installation, it would be possible to completely verify if an entire installation would be net-zero for water operations – however, the tests ran are a good indicator if net-zero water is possible or not.