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An interdisciplinary body of literature has focused on the role of lighting in mitigating patient and employee stress and error-producing conditions in hospital settings. The purpose of this study is to explore how a new circadian lighting system installed in a small pharmacy unit with no penetration of natural light is experienced by staff. Psychosocial variables, such as affective organizational commitment, perceived productivity, well-being, and satisfaction with the physical work environment, were measured to further a line of inquiry that may help facilities managers and hospital administrators make optimal choices when purchasing lighting and commissioning retrofits.

Post-occupancy evaluation; mixed methods survey design.

While affective organizational commitment, perceived productivity, well-being and satisfaction with the physical work environment were experienced, to some extent, by employees, low average responses about whether the setting had improved, as the circadian lighting had been installed suggest that the retrofit did not affect them as positively as expected. Counter to the intention of the installation, participants did not perceive the circadian lighting as having strongly improved their levels of stress, concentration, mood or fatigue at work.

More research on simulated daylighting should be done to optimize occupant responses to lighting retrofits in hospitals. This case study supports recommendations to measure relevant psychosocial variables before and after a design change. Similarly, sized units within hospitals and health care facilities that possess analogous dimensions and design constraints concerning a lack of daylight penetration will benefit from this study’s mixed methods, results and interpretations.

Good illumination creates an aesthetic environment that may positively influence patients’ well-being and provide comfort to the hospital staff. This study aims to focus on exploring the energy efficiency of lighting and subjective perception of the lit environment in a hospital ward to assess quality indicators of ambient lighting conditions.

The existing conventional tubular fluorescent lamp–based lighting system in the surveyed patients’ ward was retrofitted with light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires to explore illumination and energy parameters. Thereafter, a software lighting model was created, simulated and analyzed. A Web-based survey with five bipolar adjective pairs in a semantic differential scale was conducted with 48 participants to record and analyze their subjective responses pertaining to the variations in lamp types and surface reflectance combinations.

The findings imply that the LED tubular lamp–based illumination was deemed more adequate compared to other lamp types and the effects of variations in room surface reflectance combinations on the participants’ responses were statistically significant at α = 0.05 level. The simulated horizontal work plane average illuminance level varied from 131 to 171 lx, mean room surface exitance (MRSE) levels remained between 30 and 90 lm/m² and overall uniformity of illuminance remained between 0.5 and 0.7.

In a hospital ward illuminated by LED tubular lamps, variations in room surface reflectance combinations for a constant luminous flux package output from the lamps may affect the subjective perception of users and the correlation between horizontal work plane average illuminance and MRSE is found to be highly linear (coefficient of determination > 0.97).

An indoor office space should not only provide adequate illuminance on horizontal planes but also cater to the physiological and psychological requirements of the occupants. This paper aims to describe a lighting simulation-based work conducted in Kolkata, India which modeled an indoor office to investigate the effects of variation in room surface reflectance combinations on user perception, mean room surface exitance (MRSE), average horizontal illuminance and overall uniformity of horizontal illuminance.

A fluorescent illumination system–based office space was modeled and retrofitted with tubular LED lamps in DIALux. Simulations were conducted for 16 different room surface reflectance combinations and a five-point Likert scale-type survey questionnaire was formulated to conduct a survey with 32 test subjects to assess the subjective preferability of each resultant light scene.

Simulation results demonstrate that the relationship between average horizontal illuminance and MRSE as well as between average horizontal illuminance and overall uniformity of horizontal illuminance, was statistically significant (p < 0.001). In the conducted survey, the resultant light scene arising out of the reflectance combination of wall:ceiling:floor = 60%:90%:20% was the most well-received one with 187 convinced agreements (“agree” and “strongly agree” responses).

This work found strong linear correlation between average horizontal illuminance and MRSE and between average horizontal illuminance and overall uniformity. A five-point Likert scale-type survey questionnaire with seven questions was formulated and validated with 32 test subjects (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.9295), which showed that the wall:ceiling:floor reflectance combination of 60%:90%:20% was the most favored choice.

The COVID-19 global health crisis is undeniably a global housing crisis. Our study focuses on quality of life in urban mid- and high-rise apartment housing, the fastest growing housing types in many cities around the world. This housing typology presents unique challenges relating to connection to nature, daylight and fresh air.

This multi-disciplinary literature review analyzes more than 100 published papers from peer-reviewed sources from environmental psychology, building science and architecture relevant to quality of life in high-rise housing, as well as more than 40 recent newspaper and magazine articles about the possible impacts of COVID-19 on housing. We identify synergies between passive design strategies and health-promoting architecture or “restorative environmental design” principles.

Post-pandemic, health-promoting apartment housing design must prioritize (1) window placement and views that support stress recovery and restoration; (2) lighting levels based on spaces that can satisfy multiple uses and users; (3) bedrooms designed for restful sleep that contribute to circadian regulation; (4) living rooms with better indoor air quality, with a focus on natural ventilation; (5) access to nature, through the purposeful design of balconies and (6) unit sizes and layouts that enable physical distancing and prevent crowding.

We identify new social and environmental design priorities in the form of evidence-based design principles to inform and promote healthy and restorative living environments for residents in apartment housing.

Using the context of a farm holiday venue, the purpose of this study is to empirically test whether textual references can have significant influences on potential consumers' affective responses and interest in advertisements.

In a between-subjects experiment, a reference to sunshine (the underlined phrase in the following narrative) was inserted into a Facebook advertisement for a farm holiday venue: “Relax and Rejuvenate for a couple of days on our farm. Great food, fun, and sunshine … See More”.

Results indicate that a reference to sunshine significantly improves consumers' affective responses to the advertisement and significantly increases their interest (propensity to click “see more”). This study also examines the potential influence of a textual reference to fresh air as well as fresh air in combination with sunshine. No statistically significant results are found with the fresh air reference.

While a number of studies have examined text-based sensory details in marketing stimuli (Magnini and Gaskins, 2010; Torto, 2016), the notion of inserting textual references to fresh air and/or sunshine in advertising has not been empirically examined in the body of the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the empirical support for the use of assistive technology in the care of people with dementia as an intervention to improve independence, safety, communication, wellbeing and carer support.

A total of 232 papers were identified as potentially relevant. Inclusion criteria were: studies published between 1995 and 2011, incorporated a control group, pre-test-post-test, cross sectional or survey design, type of interventions and types of participants. The 41 papers that met criteria were subjected to an assessment of their validity using the model provided by Forbes. Following the assessment seven papers were considered as strong, ten moderate and 24 weak. The review is presented around the following topics: independence, prompts and reminders; safety and security; leisure and lifestyle, communication and telehealth; and therapeutic interventions.

The literature exploring the use of assistive technologies for increasing independence and compensating for memory problems illustrate the problems of moving from the laboratory to real life. The studies are usually limited by very small samples, high drop-out rates, very basic statistical analyses and lack of adjustment for multiple comparisons and poor performance of the technology itself.

Research to date has been unable to establish a positive difference to the lives of people with dementia by the general use of the assistive technology reviewed here.

To examine whether quality-of-life of a home's occupants varies in northern and southern hemisphere homes when the orientation of the home is always to the eastern sun (as prescribed by Maharishi Vedic Architecture) not orientated differently in northern and southern hemispheres to maximise light (as prescribed by western and Feng Shui architecture design).

A theoretical discussion of the use of sunlight and orientation in western, Feng Shui and Vedic approach to architecture, and then a cross-sectional quantitative survey conduced in 14 countries.

The lived experience of 158 home occupants in Maharishi Vedic Architecture did not vary from northern to southern hemispheres.

Research of this type has never been carried out before on Maharishi Vedic Architecture, except for one other study published in 2020 by these authors which considered the lived experience of home occupants. The amount of research on the basics of Vastu architecture is minimal.

Service members of the US Department of Defense (DoD) have alarmingly high rates of depression, anxiety, probable stress disorders and suicidality, all of which are negative health conditions exacerbated by various external stressors. High-stress work conditions – to include shift work, hazardous territories, high-stakes mission sets and generally disconnected sites – require a work environment that facilitates, rather than inhibits, stress reduction and mental well-being. This paper aims to present “salutogenic design” as an innovative approach: Salutogenic design offers demonstrated architectural solutions that improve health and well-being.

This paper describes salutogenic design strategies beginning with the need for such an approach, the call to action to implement strategic and tactical solutions and the challenges and financial impacts of such a broad and innovative strategy to improve workplace health, well-being and performance in the DoD and beyond. Examples of these strategies, via biophilic design solutions, are presented in the central Table 1 as an easy-to-reference tool and supported by the voluminous literature as referenced, in part, through this research paper.

Salutogenic design strategies offer innovative, financially viable solutions to help mitigate stress and improve workforce well-being while maintaining the highest level of building security requirements in access-controlled spaces and disconnected sites, such as military installations and government compounds.

Issues of mental and physical health are complex and multi-faceted, and they require complex and multi-faceted solutions. Salutogenic design is presented as one facet of that solution: a tangible solution to an often-intangible issue. Further, as a novel approach to address a critical DoD issue, Table 1 bridges the common gap between high-concept design theory and practical construction-application solutions, with positive value to the health, performance, quality-of-life and well-being of service members.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to approach the DoD’s imperative to reduce service members’ mental stress with “salutogenic design.”

Team effectiveness is often predicated by a group’s ability to communicate. However, the effect of stress response on communication success, particularly nonverbal engagement, and how this might affect team performance, is not clear; a “phenomenon” this study sought to explore.

This was an observational study in a cohort of professional rugby players. Participants gave presentations to their peers on two separate occasions during a “live-in” camp designed to have psychologically stressful elements. Presentations were video recorded and audience engagement was measured. Testosterone and cortisol were used as biomarkers of stress response, with a high testosterone–cortisol ratio considered positive. A team training session followed the presentations and participants were rated for training quality.

A small decline in testosterone was observed each day after waking. Conversely, cortisol rose after waking, with the rise being the highest on the first day. A decline in testosterone–cortisol ratio was also seen each day after waking; the decline was greatest on the first day. Presentation duration and audience engagement was greatest for the second presentation; when the testosterone-cortisol ratio decline and the cortisol increase after waking was smaller. Training quality was also better that day. Pooled data revealed a moderate inverse relationship and weak positive relationships for audience engagement with post-meeting cortisol and post-meeting testosterone–cortisol ratio, respectively. Training quality was related to testosterone and testosterone–cortisol ratio, but inversely related to cortisol.

This study suggests that in stressful conditions, as suggested by an awakening hormone response, communication and team performance could become compromised with reduced ability to engage with others.

The British Library (BL) faces a significant challenge with storage space predicted to run out within the next three years. However, alongside a plan to create additional capacity, the BL also intends to take the opportunity to rethink the integration of storage and workflows in order to implement a fully optimised end-to-end model of content management. This approach will incorporate not only storage and workflow design and integration, but also the physical environments and facilities for staff and users.

This paper draws on years of experience in the context of systemic industry changes to lead the reader into new thinking and opportunities in relation to print preservation and access. It should be noted that some of the aspirational new thinking described within this article may not come to fruition due to construction market inflation and resulting budgetary constraints.

As the national library of the UK, BL, like all libraries, has the responsibility of storing (preserving) its collections while making them accessible to everyone. Traditional models of physical storage can often operate in isolation from the processes that accompany them – creating silos of materials, completely remote from either the acquisition and description processes that precede their storage, or misaligned with the processes in place to support access.

The presentation of this conceptual thinking could help inform other libraries planning to build new print repositories.

The strategic approach outlined within this paper has adopted ideas and concepts from non-library applications, bringing them together to form a holistic solution that delivers the ultimate aims of a library within a modern context.