Matching Items (113)
Description
An investigation is undertaken of a prototype building-integrated solar photovoltaic-powered thermal storage system and air conditioning unit. The study verifies previous thermodynamic and economic conclusions and provides a more thorough analysis. A parameterized model was created for optimization of the system under various conditions. The model was used to evaluate energy and cost savings to determine viability of the system in several circumstances, such as a residence in Phoenix with typical cooling demand. The proposed design involves a modified chest freezer as a thermal storage tank with coils acting as the evaporator for the refrigeration cycle. Surrounding the coils, the tank contains small containers of water for high-density energy storage submerged in a low freezing-point solution of propylene glycol. The cooling power of excess photovoltaic and off-peak grid power that is generated by the air conditioning compressor is stored in the thermal storage tank by freezing the pure water. It is extracted by pumping the glycol across the ice containers and into an air handler to cool the building. Featured results of the modeling include the determination of an optimized system for a super-peak rate plan, grid-connected Phoenix house that has a 4-ton cooling load and requires a corresponding new air conditioner at 4.5 kW of power draw. Optimized for the highest payback over a ten year period, the system should consist of a thermal storage tank containing 454 liters (120 gallons) of water, a 3-ton rated air conditioning unit, requiring 2.7 kW, which is smaller than conventionally needed, and no solar photovoltaic array. The monthly summer savings would be $45.The upfront cost would be $5489, compared to a conventional system upfront cost of $5400, for a payback period of 0.33 years. Over ten years, this system will provide $2600 of savings. To optimize the system for the highest savings over a twenty year period, a thermal storage tank containing 272 liters (72 gallons) of water, a 40-m2 photovoltaic array with 15% efficiency, and a 3.5-ton, 3.1-kW rated air conditioning unit should be installed for an upfront cost of $19,900. This would provide monthly summer savings of $225 and 1062 kWh grid electricity, with a payback period of only 11 years and a total cost savings of $12,300 over twenty years. In comparison, a system with the same size photovoltaic array but without storage would result in a payback period of 16 years. Results are also determined for other cooling requirements and installation sizes, such that the viability of this type of system in different conditions can be discussed. The use of this model for determining the optimized system configuration given different constraints is also described.
ContributorsMagerman, Beth Francine (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis director) / Goodnick, Stephen (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Fat-stigma has become a popular topic of research in recent years as obesity and Western ideals have made their way around the globe. Previous studies have found that the internalization and expression of body norms can vary dramatically depending on location, gender, and many other cultural factors. Differing levels of body satisfaction have been linked to the internalization of these norms, and the development of low body esteem can result in many physical and emotional problems. Although there is an abundance of research on the topic of fat-stigma, few studies have investigated the related, but seemingly independent, topic of the ideal thin body. Furthermore, limited research has looked directly at body size stereotypes in Guatemala, and those that have, focused solely on Guatemala City. Furthermore, no previous cross-cultural analyses were found comparing body norms among US and rural Guatemalan adolescents. By surveying 9-10 year old students in Acatenango, Guatemala and Phoenix, Arizona, this study compared the preferences as well as stereotypes for average, thin, and fat body sizes in these two contexts. The results of this study illustrate a contrast between a fat-negative and a thin-negative culture, and highlight the complexity of the emergence of body norms around the world. We find that, in contrast to previous studies, neither the western ideal thin body nor obesity stereotypes have been internalized in Acatenango. Furthermore, negative evaluations of fat bodies and positive evaluations of thin bodies seem to be made independently of each other. Americans had a much higher prejudice against fat children and were more likely to be thin-positive (OR=1.997), while Guatemalans were more likely to be thin-negative. On average, the American students were much more polarized in their judgments on different body sizes, and experienced greater levels of body dissatisfaction. Finally, American students favored an ideal figure over one size smaller than Guatemalan students. Results suggest that there are still rural communities that have not been entirely affected by the spread of western body norms.
ContributorsCole, Dawn Michelle (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Africa is the area of the largest economic water scarcity on earth, with multiple countries, political systems, and geographies involved. Additionally, water scarcity affects more countries in sub-Saharan African than anywhere else on earth, with consequences like waterborne diseases, loss of agricultural development, educational setbacks, and security threats. This thesis synthesizes data on the diverse geographies and politics involved in building a sustainable African water system. It presents historical and present technologies, costs, and problems implementing sustainable potable water solutions, and suggests regional differences and individualized solutions, pointing out advantages and disadvantages of damming, boreholes, open wells, open-source water, and sewer systems. It goes on to discuss grant programs for water and wastewater solutions and technologies. Finally it addresses two divergent, yet equally important data models for African water planning, combining their contributions in order to gain insight into the problem that neither alone can. The research overlaps aquifer and demographic data to see where water should be a priority in Africa. The author finds that hydrology as well as demographic data, when combined, point to the greatest water need in the Sahel. However, many growing cities are situated in areas with high aquifer levels making borehole technology some of the most economical as well as sustainable water sourcing. Recommendations include cultural humility, attention to political and environmental consequences of solutions, and cost-effective ways of addressing the lack of access to clean drinking water in Africa.
ContributorsBarbur, Denisa Teodora (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate how the human-animal relationship affects one's willingness to seek veterinary care for a pet. It is important to understand this topic because past research has shown that companion animals play a very large role in the lives of many people. However, there has been a decline in the frequency of veterinary visits despite an increase in the number of pets. The variables of the human-animal relationship that were tested were one's views on the intelligence of a pet and its ability to feel emotions, and the closeness one feels to a pet. Demographic factors were also considered. The dependent variable of one's willingness to seek veterinary care was measured by the amount one would spend on veterinary treatment for a healthy pet, the amount one would spend on an older pet, and the responsibility one feels for the health and well-being of one's pet. The study revealed that the closeness one feels to a pet and one's views on a pet's ability to feel emotion both have a positive correlation with one's willingness to seek veterinary care for a pet. However, there was no correlation between one's views on the intelligence of a pet and one's willingness to seek veterinary care, and there was only a very slight correlation between income and one's willingness to seek veterinary care. Understanding these factors could be important in ensuring that companion animals receive the necessary care to promote their health and well-being.
ContributorsMagnussen, Hailey Eve (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Risley-Curtiss, Christina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Curanderos are Hispanic traditional healers who attend to their clients through spiritual, natural, and physical techniques. Recent studies have shown that a subset of the Hispanic population refer to these healers for HIV and STD treatment and believe they are important in a collaborative targeted HIV intervention. Thus, curanderos were interviewed and the lay population of Phoenix was sampled in order to get a better idea of the utility of these healers in an HIV prevention effort targeted at the Hispanic community. Due to the limitations of this study there was not sufficient enough data to make significant conclusions; however the interviews with the curanderos were surprising in the they had significant roles as healers in the Phoenix area, patients have referred to them for HIV and STD treatment, and a couple of the healers have integrated western medical knowledge into their practice.
ContributorsMartinez, Justin Anthony (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Aguilera, Miguel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Environmental and genetic factors contribute to schizophrenia etiology, yet few studies have demonstrated how environmental stimuli impact genes associated with the disorder. Immediate early genes (IEGs) are of great interest to schizophrenia research because they are activated in response to physiological stress from the environment, and subsequently regulate the expression of downstream genes that are essential to neuropsychiatric function. An IEG, early growth response 3 (EGR3) has been identified as a main gene involved in a network of transcription factors implicated in schizophrenia susceptibility. The serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) seems to play an important role in schizophrenia and the dysfunction of the 5-HT2AR encoding gene, HTR2A, within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) contributes to multiple psychiatric illnesses including schizophrenia. EGR3's role as a transcription factor that is activated by environmental stimuli suggests it may regulate Htr2a transcription in response to physiological stress, thus affecting 5-HT2AR function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between Egr3 activation and Htr2a expression after an environmental stimulus. Sleep deprivation is an acute physiological stressor that activates Egr3. Therefore to examine the relationship between Egr3 and Htr2a expression after an acute stress, wild type and Egr3 knockout mice that express EGFP under the control of the Htr2a promoter were sleep deprived for 8 hours. We used immunohistochemistry to determine the location and density of Htr2a-EGFP expression after sleep deprivation and found that Htr2a-EGFP expression was not affected by sex or subregions of the PFC. Additionally, Htr2a-EGFP expression was not affected by the loss of Egr3 or sleep deprivation within the PFC. The LPFC subregions, layers V and VI showed significantly more Htr2a-EGFP expression than layers I-III in all animals for both sleep deprivation and control conditions. Possible explanations for the lack of significant effects in this study may be the limited sample size or possible biological abnormalities in the Htr2a-EGFP mice. Nonetheless, we did successfully visualize the anatomical distribution of Htr2a in the prefrontal cortex via immunohistochemical staining. This study and future studies will provide insight into how Egr3 activation affects Htr2a expression in the PFC and how physiological stress from the environment can alter candidate schizophrenia gene function.
ContributorsSabatino, Alissa Marie (Author) / Gallitano, Amelia (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Maple, Amanda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Some scholars have suggested that individuals are inclined to believe that they have souls because they are also inclined to believe that they have a core, immutable self. The present study will explore this question in several parts. First, what is the extent to which individuals report having a core self? Next, how do beliefs about a core self relate to belief or non-belief in an eternal soul? The final question looks at location as an extension of the core self and soul relationship. Where is the self perceived to reside within a dualistic framework, the body or the soul? This study assessed the stated beliefs of 200 respondents using Amazon Mechanical Turk as a recruiting platform. Greater belief in a core self was moderately associated with greater belief in an eternal soul (r= 0.30, p<.01), and with belief in the self as a reflection of the soul (r=0.31, p<.01) and as a reflection of the brain (r=0.21, p<.01). This suggests that belief in a core self does hold association with belief in an eternal soul. However, its perceived location seems to show little preference as residing withing the soul versus the body.
ContributorsLy, Destiny (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Parker, John (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was signed into law with the goals of providing quality and affordable health care to every American, but there is concern that not enough young adults are gaining health insurance. Some believe it is because of the "young invincible" mentality of being healthy enough to not need health insurance, and others claim that the cost of health care is the main reason behind low enrollment rates in young adults. However, young adults may not be obtaining insurance because of a lack of understanding and awareness concerning the ACA. Do young adults understand how the ACA functions, and does this understanding (or lack thereof) determine their opinions towards it? In order to research this question, students at Arizona State University were given the opportunity to complete a survey and interview detailing their knowledge of Obamacare and how they felt about the health care law. Results indicated that though many respondents supported the law, respondents did not feel like they had enough information to understand the health care law, affecting their knowledge of it. These findings imply that in order for the ACA to be considered successful among young adults, awareness and education of the law must increase in order for young people to feel like they have an adequate understanding of it.
ContributorsBrewer, Katherine Alysse (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This study investigates the impact of urban form and landscaping type on the mid-afternoon microclimate in semi-arid Phoenix, Arizona. The goal is to find effective urban form and design strategies to ameliorate temperatures during the summer months. We simulated near-ground air temperatures for typical residential neighborhoods in Phoenix using the three-dimensional microclimate model ENVI-met. The model was validated using weather observations from the North Desert Village (NDV) landscape experiment, located on the Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus. The NDV is an ideal site to determine the model's input parameters, since it is a controlled environment recreating three prevailing residential landscape types in the Phoenix metropolitan area (mesic, oasis, and xeric).
After validation, we designed five neighborhoods with different urban forms that represent a realistic cross-section of typical residential neighborhoods in Phoenix. The scenarios follow the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification scheme after Stewart and Oke. We then combined the neighborhoods with three landscape designs and, using ENVI-met, simulated microclimate conditions for these neighborhoods for a typical summer day. Results were analyzed in terms of mid-afternoon air temperature distribution and variation, ventilation, surface temperatures, and shading. Findings show that advection is important for the distribution of within-design temperatures and that spatial differences in cooling are strongly related to solar radiation and local shading patterns. In mid-afternoon, dense urban forms can create local cool islands. Our approach suggests that the LCZ concept is useful for planning and design purposes.
ContributorsMiddel, Ariane (Author) / Hab, Kathrin (Author) / Brazel, Anthony J. (Author) / Martin, Chris A. (Author) / Guhathakurta, Subhrajit (Author)
Created2013-12-01
Description
The City of Phoenix (Arizona, USA) developed a Tree and Shade Master Plan and a Cool Roofs initiative to ameliorate extreme heat during the summer months in their arid city. This study investigates the impact of the City's heat mitigation strategies on daytime microclimate for a pre-monsoon summer day under current climate conditions and two climate change scenarios. We assessed the cooling effect of trees and cool roofs in a Phoenix residential neighborhood using the microclimate model ENVI-met. First, using xeric landscaping as a base, we created eight tree planting scenarios (from 0% canopy cover to 30% canopy cover) for the neighborhood to characterize the relationship between canopy cover and daytime cooling benefit of trees. In a second set of simulations, we ran ENVI-met for nine combined tree planting and landscaping scenarios (mesic, oasis, and xeric) with regular roofs and cool roofs under current climate conditions and two climate change projections. For each of the 54 scenarios, we compared average neighborhood mid-afternoon air temperatures and assessed the benefits of each heat mitigation measure under current and projected climate conditions. Findings suggest that the relationship between percent canopy cover and air temperature reduction is linear, with 0.14 °C cooling per percent increase in tree cover for the neighborhood under investigation. An increase in tree canopy cover from the current 10% to a targeted 25% resulted in an average daytime cooling benefit of up to 2.0 °C in residential neighborhoods at the local scale. Cool roofs reduced neighborhood air temperatures by 0.3 °C when implemented on residential homes. The results from this city-specific mitigation project will inform messaging campaigns aimed at engaging the city decision makers, industry, and the public in the green building and urban forestry initiatives.
ContributorsMiddel, Ariane (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Author) / Quay, Raymond (Author)
Created2015