Why Air Purifiers Are Not Always The Answer To Indoor Air Quality Problems
Why Air Purifiers Are Not Always The Answer To Indoor Air Quality Problems
Air purifier filters are not always the answer to air quality problems.Solving the problem is a much better approach than masking the symptom.The following are the basic approaches to improve indoor air quality;1) Eliminate or control the pollutant source.2) Dilution of the contaminants through ventilation.3) Removal or reduction of the contaminants through filtration or purification with the use of air purifier filters or air purifiers.Proper ventilation in a building is a must!Before the energy crunch in the 1970's, fresh air in buildings was not really an issue.When energy costs started to rise, we started making our buildings more energy efficient with better insulation and sealing techniques that made the building tighter, reducing the amount of fresh air into the buildings and increasing indoor pollution.After indoor air quality issues came to the surface, we learned how to reduce energy costs while not compromising the health of the occupants, through the practice of building science.Great strides have been made in this area, leading to more comfortable, healthier, safer homes.The goal of good ventilation is to bring in the right amount of fresh air, not too much or not too little.This is accomplished by using mechanical ventilation (exhaust fans, energy recovery units, etc.) that are sized to the volume of the house and/or according to lifestyle.Mechanical ventilation not only dilutes contaminants but also removes excess moisture that can become a mold problem if not properly addressed.Moisture can show up as high humidity (under-ventilated bathrooms, indoor pools or hot tubs and very tight homes) or water that enters a building either from the outside (rainwater) or from undetected plumbing leaks.Addressing these problems using the right approach, elimination or control of the source (in this case repair the leak from the outside or finding and repairing the plumbing leak) makes more sense than trying to rid the mold with air purifier filters or air purifiers.Pollutants such as formaldahyde and benzene can be produced from certain furniture, carpets, plywood and drapes.
Other sources of benzene are gas cans, gas powered lawn mowers that are stored in garages that are attached to the house.If elimination of these sources is not an option an air purification device would be the obvious choice.Toilets, air conditioning coils, heating/cooling ducts and humans are producers of bacteria. The right plan in these cases would be an air purifier device.Carbon Monoxide is caused by incomplete combustion of appliances that depend on combustion to operate.ELIMINATION IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER WHEN IT COMES TO CARBON MONOXIDE!FIND THE PROBLEM-FIX THE PROBLEM!Leave this to a company that is well-versed in carbon monoxide.Pet and human dander are controlled through proper humidity control (mechanical ventilation) and air purifier filters.By using the combination of source control (elimination), ventilation (dilution) and good air purifier filters and/or purification system ,your environment will be much heatlthier.For air quality info visit www.expert-air-purifier-reviews.com About the Author:A pioneer in residential contracting, Ed is a thirty-year industry veteran trained in the "House Is A System" approach to HVAC design. He was formerly a building analyst instructor, providing certification training for New York's Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
Quality Schools-University
Quality Schools
After presenting these ideas at the NAREN (National At-Risk Education Network) in Wisconsin last week, I was asked to write an article that would be able to reach more people to spread the exciting word about Dr. William Glasser's work in the area of Quality Schools.There are many characteristics that are required in order for a school to be listed as a Quality School. There are currently 13 such schools in the country, with many more on their journey to become Quality Schools.In a Quality School, relationships are based upon trust and respect, and all discipline problems, not incidents, have been eliminated. Total Learning Competency is stressed and an evaluation that is below competence or what is now a "B" has been eliminated. All schooling as defined by Dr. William Glasser has been replaced by useful education. All students do some Quality Work each year that is significantly beyond competence. All such work receives an "A" grade or higher, such as an "A+".Students and staff are taught to use Choice Theory in their lives and in their work in school. Parents are encouraged to participate in study groups to become familiar with the ideas of Dr. William Glasser. Students do better on state proficiency tests and college entrance examinations. The importance of these tests is emphasized in the school. Staff, students, parents and administrators view the school as a joyful place.All of the above criterion must be in place to be listed as a Quality School. When a school is a Quality School, the dictates of "No Child Left Behind" take care of themselves. Now, of course there will be a few children who have totally rejected school that are unreachable but for the majority, they will learn and do quality work.The way to achieve this is to implement the three conditions of quality. First, the school and each classroom must create an environment that will meet the needs of the students, and consequently of teachers. All humans are born with five basic human needs. We have the need for survival, connection/love, power, freedom and fun/learning. This is true of students and teachers.In order to help students meet their need for survival, the school and classroom must be safe. They must feel that they won't be hurt physically or emotionally. When students feel safe, there is no need to threaten teachers or other students.In order for students to satisfy their need for connection/love, they must have a relationship with the teacher and the other students. They must believe that the teacher has their best interest at heart. The more you give love and connection away, the more they come back to you.In order to satisfy a student's need for power, teachers must listen to and respect their students' ideas and issues. This does not mean that teachers must agree with their students but they must at least let the students know that they are important. When students feel listened to and respected, they don't disrespect their teachers and they tend to listen more.For students to have freedom, they must have choices. They must not be bogged down in rules and regulations. When students have choices, they won't have the need to create destructive choices of their own.In school, learning should be fun. Learning is always fun when the learning is useful and the students want to learn what is being taught. Imagine students having fun learning! Isn't that the dream of teachers everywhere? When your students are having fun, you do too.I know this sounds like an impossible task but there are many schools doing just that with training in Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory. Creating a need-satisfying environment is what actually eliminates discipline problems. If someone has a legitimate, appropriate way to get his/her needs met, then there is no reason to create discipline problems.Switching courses over to a competency-based approach is critical to the Quality School concept. Students are not permitted to get credit for less than B work and they have opportunities to improve their work until it meets the minimum standard for a B. Concepts are taught in such a way that reduces the need for memorizing facts that can be found in any encyclopedia or text.This and more speaks to the second condition of quality that students will only be asked to do useful work. It is the teacher's job to convince students that what they are being asked to do is useful in the real world. If you are successful in that endeavor, you will have willing students. Wouldn't that make your job more enjoyable for you?The final condition of quality is self-evaluation. Students are asked to grade their own work. There are two essential items that must be met in order to get accurate self-evaluations from students. First, they must have no fear that the teacher or anyone else will hurt them with an honest self-evaluation. Second, there must be a clear rubric in place that will give students a model against which to compare their own work.Self-evaluation does not replace the need of the teacher or teacher's aide (another student already judged to be competent in that particular area) from corroborating the student's self-evaluation. Students are not punished for less than competent work. Rather they are shown where their work is lacking and given the opportunity to fix it. This, again, is a skill that is seen everyday in the real world. Rarely do people actually loss their jobs for substandard work. They are told what is wrong and asked to fix it.Of course this is just a thumb nail sketch of what is necessary to become a Quality School but if you or anyone you know is interested in learning more, visit http://www.coachingforexcellence.biz and check our calendar for upcoming teleclasses, chats and workshops.Kim Olver has an undergraduate degree in psychology, a graduate degree in counseling, is a National Certified Counselor and is a licensed professional counselor. Since 1987, Kim has extensively studied the work of Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management. She was certified in Reality Therapy in 1992 and continued her studies to become a certified instructor for the William Glasser Institute. She is an expert at empowering people to navigate the sometimes difficult course of life---teaching them how to get the most out of the circumstances life provides them. These are incredibly powerful ideas with equal application to one's work and personal lives. Kim can work with you to empower your staff and clients and propel your organization to the next level.
Get High Quality Traffic by Writing Articles – Writing-Articles
Get High Quality Traffic by Writing Articles
One of the best ways to promote your website is by writing articles that you can post in e-zines, and sites that provide free content to e-zine publishers. This will help you develop credibility and, with time, build a solid customer base. There are a few things to take into account to maximize the effectiveness of this sometimes overlooked marketing technique:Your article should be short and to the point. It must act as a free sample that entices your reader to go to your website for more.To maximize its effectiveness, you should present it as a tip, a solution to a problem.Write in easy to understand "layman's" terms.Whenever possible, write from personal experience. People love to hear other people's experiences (how did they do it?). This approach also tends to hold their attention longer.Be extra-careful to avoid spelling and grammatical errors. They will make you loose credibility.Don't make your article sound like a sales pitch; offer honest, value-adding advice.Don't include links to your affiliate programs in the body of your article. It will make your advice seem biased.Finally, don't forget the most important part: always include a resource box at the end of your article. A resource box is a small paragraph (no longer than six lines) with your name, the name of your business, a short tagline, and that all-important link to your website. If your readers like your article, they will follow your link and you will be getting instant, high quality traffic to your site.About The AuthorMario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net) a website and newsletter that gives you free advice on web design and Internet marketing.