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The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether small holes in an impermeable patch at the wrist improve perceived comfort during exercise.

Nine male participants participated in this study. During the experiment, participants cycled 60 W in a hot room (35°C, 30 percent relative humidity) while an impermeable 20 cm² patch was located on the ventral side of one wrist and at the same time a patch of identical shape with 5 mm diameter holes (17.7 percent uncovered) on the other wrist. The participants could not see the patches. Participants were forced to choose which patch they perceived as more comfortable. Chest and arm skin temperature, thermal comfort, thermal sensation and wetness perception were assessed.

Participants preferred 5 mm holes over no holes (p=0.017). Chest skin temperature (p=0.018) but not arm skin temperature correlates with this preference. Thermal comfort, thermal sensation and wetness perception did not differ significantly between patches. It is concluded that patches with 5 mm holes are preferred over impermeable patches during work in the heat in particular when the torso skin is warm.

The wrist is a preferred location for smart wearables. Generally, wrist bands are made of air-impermeable materials leading to sensation of wetness and discomfort. This study has shown that manufacturers should consider to make small holes in their wrist bands to optimize wearing comfort.

In cities with high density, heat is often trapped between buildings which increases the frequency and intensity of heat events. Researchers have focused on developing strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of heat in cities. Adopting green infrastructure and cooling pavements are some of the many ways to promote thermal comfort against heat. The purpose of this study is to improve microclimate conditions and thermal comfort levels in high-density living conditions in Seoul, South Korea.

This study compares six design alternatives of an apartment complex with different paving and planting systems. It also examines the thermal outcome of the alternatives under normal and extreme heat conditions to suggest strategies to secure acceptable thermal comfort levels for the inhabitants. Each alternative is analyzed using ENVI-met, a software program that simulates microclimate conditions and thermal comfort features based on relationships among buildings, vegetation and pavements.

The results indicate that grass paving was more effective than stone paving in lowering air temperature and improving thermal comfort at the near-surface level. Coniferous trees were found to be more effective than broadleaf trees in reducing temperature. Thermal comfort levels were most improved when coniferous trees were planted in paired settings.

Landscape elements show promise for the improvement of thermal conditions because it is much easier to redesign landscape elements, such as paving or planting, than to change fixed urban elements like buildings and roads. The results identified the potential of landscape design for improving microclimate and thermal comfort in urban residential complexes.

The results contribute to the literature by examining the effect of tree species and layout on thermal comfort levels, which has been rarely investigated in previous studies.

Agricultural workers represent an important part of the population exposed to high heat-related health and productivity risks. This study aims to estimate the heat-related productivity loss (PL) for moderate work activities in sun and shady areas and evaluating the economic cost locally in an Italian farm and generally in the whole province of Florence. Benefits deriving by working in the shade or work-time shifting were provided. Comparisons between PL estimated in Mediterranean (Florence, Italy) and subtropical (Guangzhou, China) areas were also carried out.

Meteorological data were collected during summers 2017–2018 through a station installed in a farm in the province of Florence and by two World Meteorological Organization (WMO)‐certified meteorological stations located at the Florence and Guangzhou airports. These data were used to calculate the wet-bulb globe temperature and to estimate the hourly PL and the economic cost during the typical working time (from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and by advancing of 1 h and 2 h the working time. Significant differences were calculated through nonparametric tests.

The hourly PL and the related economic cost significantly decreased (p < 0.05) by working in the shade and by work-time shifting. Higher PL values were observed in Guangzhou than in Florence. The decrease of PL observed by work-time shifting was greater in Florence than in Guangzhou.

Useful information to plan suitable heat-related prevention strategies to counteract the effects of heat in the workplace are provided. These findings are essential to quantify the beneficial effects due to the implementation of specific heat-related adaptation measures to counter the impending effects of climate change.

Different countries have responded to the pandemic with distinct domestic and international travel restrictions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the stringency of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) countermeasures in Japan against their G20 cohorts. Primary data were monitored at a ski resort in Kyushu regarding the social acceptance of initial COVID-19 countermeasures, ranging from hygiene and local “lockdowns” to border control measures.

The stringency of the COVID-19 countermeasures was examined using data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) and triangulated with the early stage social acceptance of survey respondents in Aso Kuju National Park in February 2020 that consisted of 165 valid Japanese language questionnaires.

An one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified significant differences in social acceptance for countermeasures, with more-concerned respondents agreeing more strongly with “low-tech” health protocols, such as washing hands (M = 3.7) or wearing a mask (3.4). More concerned visitors were significantly more likely to modify their travel plans (2.9) or cancel their trip altogether (2.7). Male day trippers were less likely to be concerned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper's originality is derived from a triangulation of the stringency of Japan's initial COVID-19 countermeasures via a combination of comparison with G20 cohorts and social acceptance of domestic snowboarders and skiers. Moreover, by shining a light on the trade-off between public health and human rights, the paper provides a current review of the ethical dimension of a travel restriction debate that is often overlooked in the ongoing pandemic.

This study aims to explore the relationship between folk religious place-making and the development of urban public spaces and summarize its influence on community network construction and daily behavior to discover the authentic practices and role of folk faith culture in social space.

Taking Macau's Shi Gandang Temple and its belief culture as an example, on-site research, historical evidence and interviews were used to elaborate and analyze the processes of place-making, social functions, management mechanisms and folk culture to establish a new perception of folk religious place-making in contemporary urban spaces.

The article argues that the culture of folk beliefs profoundly influences urban spaces and the social management system of Macau and has a positive significance in building the local community and geopolitical relations. In addition, it suggests that the participation of folk religious places in local practices is important as key nodes and emotional hubs of local networks, reconciling conflicts between communities of different backgrounds and driving urban spaces toward diversity while forming a positive interaction and friendly cooperation between regional development and self-contained management mechanisms, governance models and cultural orientations.

This study takes an architectural and anthropological perspective of the impact of faith on urban spaces and local governance, using the Shi Gandang Temple in Macau as an example, to complement related studies.

Public authorities are required to organise new facilities to respond to changed user demands in terms of a public-owned school. The number of pupils attending the case study school will increase in the following years, as will the number of children attending a day nursery located on the present campus. In addition, the users of the campus have complained of building-related symptoms. This study aims to understand the municipal decision-making process in organising the school’s facilities, in particular, the factors used for decreasing uncertainty around a project.

This study is a case study undertaken through an action research approach. The researchers participated in the project planning meetings concerning the future activities to take place in the building.

Over a 13-month period, multiple stakeholders participated in the project planning meetings providing a deeper understanding of the space demands posed, current challenges and opportunities offered by the existing building. In addition, the alternative solutions generated were evaluated. The problem identification and information gathering periods lasted over nine months, which was far longer than predicted. Thus, generating alternative solutions and evaluation of the solutions also delayed. As the entire process was delayed substantially, the final decision on organising the facilities was not made during this research.

This research may be of practical value for a property owner and a project team for decision-making concerning changed facility demands.

This paper provides information about how public authorities are making decisions on facility organisation during conditions of uncertainty.

The future construction site will be pervasive, context aware and embedded with intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to explore and define the concept of the digital skin of the future smart construction site.

The paper provides a systematic and hierarchical classification of 114 articles from both industry and academia on the digital skin concept and evaluates them. The hierarchical classification is based on application areas relevant to construction, such as augmented reality, building information model-based visualisation, labour tracking, supply chain tracking, safety management, mobile equipment tracking and schedule and progress monitoring. Evaluations of the research papers were conducted based on three pillars: validation of technological feasibility, onsite application and user acceptance testing.

Technologies learned about in the literature review enabled the envisaging of the pervasive construction site of the future. The paper presents scenarios for the future context-aware construction site, including the construction worker, construction procurement management and future real-time safety management systems.

Based on the gaps identified by the review in the body of knowledge and on a broader analysis of technology diffusion, the paper highlights the research challenges to be overcome in the advent of digital skin. The paper recommends that researchers follow a coherent process for smart technology design, development and implementation in order to achieve this vision for the construction industry.