Mold and Moisture Susceptibility

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term referring to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Indoor air quality, like energy management, is a fairly young industry. In fact, many of today’s IAQ issues stem from the energy-conscious building practices used in the 1970s. Structures were built virtually airtight in order to conserve electricity, causing ventilation problems and, thus, breeding some of today’s IAQ concerns.

Continuing media attention given to the health effects of toxic mold, the outbreak of infectious diseases such as swine flu, and the increase in chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma have resulted in a growing interest and attention to indoor air quality in homes, commercial buildings, schools, and hospitals.

IAQ can be affected by microbial contaminants such as mold and other bacteria, or any mass or energy stressor that can induce adverse health conditions. Indoor air is becoming more of a health threat than outdoor air. Determination of IAQ involves collecting air samples, monitoring human exposure to pollutants, collecting samples on building surfaces, and computer modeling of airflow inside buildings.

There are two procedures involved when IAQ concerns are raised: investigation and remediation. Mold investigation is the process of identifying the location, existence, and extent of a mold hazard in a structure; mold remediation is the process of removal and/or cleanup of mold from an indoor environment.

Mold as a Causitive Agent

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggests that there has been a significant increase in public concern about Indoor Environment Quality. This is reflected both in the number and percentage of evaluations conducted in relation to Indoor Environment Quality by NIOSH over the past 20 years.

Recently, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) conducted a survey to determine what level of concern exists for IAQ. The findings revealed that 95% of those surveyed thought air quality was important, compared to 41% in the previous year. Over 75% of those surveyed were concerned with the quality of air and potentially harmful emissions in residences, offices, and other buildings, and more than one-third of the respondents were very concerned. The study also found that 80% of respondents were willing to spend their own money on IAQ testing and improvements in their own homes.

The findings of the UL study indicate that the desire for good IAQ is present in all building sectors. Evidence suggests that markets for IAQ solutions are significantly under-penetrated compared with their potential, which means significant business opportunities exist. The UL study also found that certain IAQ markets like Memphis are five to seven years behind the adoption curve. This provides further evidence that IAQ markets in different metropolitan areas are nearly untouched and that the potential for IAQ investigations and remediation are prolific.

The World Health Organization and the Chelsea Group, a leading provider of consulting services to the engineering, architectural, and industrial hygiene industry, estimate that approximately 30% of all commercial buildings in the United States and Canada have significant IAQ Problems and that there is no lack of opportunity for IAQ services in the residential and commercial markets. It is estimated that they have the potential to grow up to five or six times their current size.

Mold-Help.org, a not-for-profit website dedicated to educating the public on the effects of indoor mold, maintains that over 25 million Americans suffer from allergic reactions caused by indoor mold exposure. Furthermore, scientists at Manchester University in the UK reported in 2005 that severe asthma attacks are often triggered by an allergic reaction to mold. This asthma link to mold has been confirmed recently by researchers at the Harvard Medical School. As national asthma rates among children and adults (9.4 % and 7.3 %, respectively) show no signs of subsiding, health-related mold concerns should continue to drive the testing market. Adding to concerns in the U.S and abroad, individuals have been forced to evacuate their homes, schools and offices due to growth of indoor molds. This, along with the detrimental health effects of black mold, amply demonstrates the market need for better and more cost-efficient methods for estimating mold levels and exposure in indoor environments.

As the owner of a store, you have to be concerned with all aspects of your presentation. Lighting, shelves, product placement, and much more contribute to the customer’s experience when they shop at your establishment. While it would be unusual to come across a manager or owner who didn’t give thought to these aspects of the shopping experience, it’s not so unusual to see owners disregard one of the most important parts of the chain: the purchase itself. How many companies are satisfied with throwing purchases into a nondescript plastic bag before handing it to the customer? If you want to do better, retail boxes may be the way to go.

Aesthetics
Customer service and competitive pricing are always going to be an unbeatable tandem when it comes to making a store successful. But aesthetics are important as well. You would be surprised at how much of a customer’s decision making is based on how something looks. Even when the prices and service are outstanding, how many people want to shop in a dingy store? Even if it is perfectly functional, who is going to buy an ugly lamp for their home? Aesthetics matter, and retail boxes are another way to add to the illusion. Because an illusion is really what it is, in the end. You’re selling an experience, and packaging is an important part of the design.

Branding
If you like, you can also use retail boxes as a way of expanding your brand messaging. Customers will walk out of your store holding their purchases, so why not have your logo and brand name on the side of the box? This advertises your company to anyone who happens by, strengthens brand loyalty in the customers themselves, and is just generally a good way to get your name out there. If you’re spending thousands on TV advertising and other media, don’t overlook simple ways such as this to spread the word about your business.

Satisfaction
In addition to adding to the aesthetic appeal of the customer experience, you also want to make sure your retail boxes don’t detract from the purchase. This is why you should spend some time making sure you purchase supplies that are sturdy and comfortable. The best looking box in the world is worthless if it falls apart as the customer is walking out the door. A little incident like that can sour a customer’s experience to the point where they won’t be in any hurry to return to your establishment. Buy from a supplier who understands the importance of a good product.

“Awarded on the Occasion of Becoming an Airman in the World’s Best Air Force” is the wording on the front of an original USAF airman’s coin. The reverse contains the words, “Excellence in all we do, Integrity First and Service before Self.” Representing the accomplishment of becoming an Airman, the coin is typically the beginning of many Air Force squadron coins that are collected by members of the United States Air Force.

Designs may have Changed, but the Meaning is the Same

Although the first airman’s coins featured an eagle, a new version now contains the Air Force Symbol in its place. This symbol was introduce in 2000 and is based on the “Hap” Arnoldwings from World War II. The design is representative of the Air Force’s present day abilities as well as future proficiency and adeptness for protecting this country’s freedom. A number of squadron coins today have this symbol as well as the name of particular Air Force bases and squadrons.

Featuring a variety of other symbols in addition to the Air Force symbol, there are several coins that contain the words, “veni, vidi, vici.” Latin for “I came, I saw, I conquered”, this sentence signifies the accomplishment of a mission. Other coins may have an eagle and are given for dedication and the performance of certain operations groups.

No matter what the coin contains in the way of embellishment or wording, they are given in recognition for a particular act or membership in an elite group – the United States Air Force. Collecting the coins has become very popular and some are quite rare. One example is the Bull Dog coin. This coin was limited to B-52 tail gunners and is no longer given. The rarer a coin, the more value it has and the Bull Dog coin is highly collectible.

Speculation Surrounds the Origin of the Coins

The coins are made from an array of metals including brass, nickel, bronze, silver, gold and copper. There are many stories of the origin of these coins. One is that the first ones were given to members of a squadron by a lieutenant and they were made of solid bronze. Another story says the first coins were actually given to members of the Army Special Forces.

Irregardless of where they originated, these coins are collected by members of the military and their family. They are also collected by others, not just for their value, but due to the unique styles and designs of the coins. The coins are given to enlisted members when they complete basic training. They are given to new officers when they finish their training school. Other reasons for the coins to be given to members are as acknowledgement for acts of bravery performed even when it is not considered worthy of an official medal.

The reason for giving the coins may vary; however, the recipient knows the pride of receiving one. They also know that the coins represent the united cause of members of the Air Force as well as other military divisions.

In the cut-throat world of website promotion some webmasters appear to have taken to pleasing search engines rather than human users. What gets forgotten is that search engines ‘read’ your website much like a human reader would, so if your website is person-friendly then it will be SEO-friendly too.

The same approach applies to off-page link-building, which is when a link to your website is posted elsewhere in order to make your website look more popular. This practice can be manipulated in order to please search engines, but ‘bad’ links pointing to your site can cause search engine penalties, as can a low-quality website.

A good way to think of your website is like a glossy magazine that people will really want to read. In order words; interesting, well considered and interestingly laid out. Websites that retain the interest of web users may be rewarded with higher rankings, as search engines can detect whether web users ‘bounce’ off your page after arriving on it and rank the sites accordingly. So how can you make your website a must-read publication, both for web users and search engines?

The Headline

‘Title tags’ are your headline, that’s what encourages people to peruse your website and pick it up off the Google shelf. When your webpage appears in the results of Google and other search engines the title tag will represent the link to your site, and will be in the largest font too. The tag needs to accurately describe what the page contains so both search engines and users can quickly determine what your site is about. When some webmasters became aware of the concept of keywords they went a little ‘keyword crazy’ and thought that the more search-related keyterms their website contained the better. In light of new algorithm updates this simply isn’t the case as non-sensical keyword-stuffing will be detected.

The Content

Until recently, it was recommended that you optimised your website by utilising keyterms throughout your site’s content and in any articles submitted to externally owned websites and article directories. Algorithms are constantly being developed and updated, subsequently there has been a shift in the way they search and catalogue sites in their results. The focus is now on ‘semantic’ searching so ensuring your site’s content is engaging and interesting is essential.

Length of Content

A very short article in a magazine would be useless for readers wanting to learn more about a subject, and the same goes for a very sparse website. Your site’s content is not just a chance to present yourself but more industry-relevant text could help to inform search engines that your site is ‘useful’ to users.

The best thing you can do is approach your site as a web user. What do you expect from the websites you have bookmarked? What keeps you coming back time again? Make a list and think how you could implement these factors into your own site. You could soon be reaping the benefits.