Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1967 Residential lighting conditions for student study, Faculty of Home Science, Baroda, India Mariamma Mathew Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Home Economics Commons Recommended Citation Mathew, Mariamma, "Residential lighting conditions for student study, Faculty of Home Science, Baroda, India " (1967). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 3195. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/3195 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received MA THE W, Mariamma, 1941- RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING CONDITIONS FOR STUDENT STUDY, FACULTY OF HOME SCIENCE, BARODA, INDIA. Iowa State University, Ph.D., 1967 Home Economics University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING CONDITIONS FOR STUDENT STUDY, FACULTY OF HOME SCIENCE, BARODA, INDIA by Mariamma Mathew A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major Subjects: Household Equipment Home Economics Education Approved: Signature was redacted for privacy. Irr~€trarge of Major Work Signature was redacted for privacy. He^s of Major Departments Signature was redacted for privacy. Dea™ ox Graduate College Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1967 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED 7 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 10 Light and Vision 10 Effects of Light on Human Beings 13 Basis for the Specification of Lighting Levels for Various Tasks 16 Principles of Good Lighting 19 Quantity of light 19 Quality of light 21 Glare 22 Brightness 25 Distribution 26 Direction 27 Diffusion 28 Reflectance 28 Certain Related Conditions to Study Lighting 29 METHOD OF PROCEDURE 33 Preliminary Investigations 33 Population and Sample Characteristics 35 Development of Final Instrument 36 Collection of Data 37 Analysis of Data 41 Quantity of light 41 Quality of light 42 Glare 43 Direction 43 Distribution 44 Diffusion 44 Reflectance 44 Student study practices 44 Adequacy of lighting for the students 45 Knowledge of the students about lighting 46 Relationship among variables 46 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 47 Quantity of Illumination 47 Quality of Illumination 52 Glare 53 Direct glare 53 Reflected glare 54 Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page Glare by contrast 55 Direction 58 Brightness ratio 59 Distribution of light 61 Diffusion 62 Reflectance 62 Student Study Practices 68 Duration of study time 68 Type of lighting used for studying 70 Space available for study purposes 71 Desk placement 74 Postural position 75 Evaluation of Adequacy of Light for Study Purposes 76 Knowledge of Students About Study Lighting 77 Relationships Among Variables 80 Suggestions for Improvement of Study Lighting 84 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 87 LITERATURE CITED 96 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 102 APPENDIX 103 Open-ended Questionnaire 103 Letter of instructions 103 Questionnaire 105 Final Instrument Ill Instructions for administering the questionnaire ...... Ill Questionnaire r 112 Knowledge test including key 124 Procedure for training the interviewer 126 Instructions for the interviewer 127 Interview Schedule 128 Coding Plan 131 Coding plan for analyzing the lighting conditions 131 Coding plan for the analysis of relationships 137 Scoring plan for evaluating the adequacy of lighting conditions 138 Tables of Additional Data 141 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Distribution of students according to quantity of light in lumens per square foot in the study area 47 2 Distribution of students according to footcandles of ' illumination at the task 48 3 Quantity of illumination in footcandles on the book, task area and in the immediate and general surroundings for the hostel students interviewed 50 4 Quantity of illumination in footcandles on the book, task area and in the immediate and general surroundings for the students interviewed in homes 50 5 Distribution of students according to the number of general lights in the room 51 '6 Distribution of the students according to the presence of task light 52 7 Distribution of students according to direct glare score for the lighting in the study area 54 8 Distribution of students according to reflected glare score 55 9 Distribution of students according to scores on glare by contrast for lighting in the study area 55 10 Distribution of students according to scores for total glare for the lighting in the student's study area 56 11 Distribution of students according to the direction of light 58 12 Brightness ratio of task to immediate surroundings and to general surroundings for the hostel students 59 13 Brightness ratio of task to immediate surroundings and to general surroundings for the students interviewed in homes 60 14 Distribution of students according to the scores for dis­ tribution of light 61 15 Distribution of students according to the scores on dif- fusion of light 62 16 Distribution of students according to the color of the exterior of the shade for general and task light 63 V LIST OF TABLES Table (Continued) Page 17 Distribution of students according to the color of the interior of the shade for general and task light 64 18 Distribution of students according to the reflectance of work surface by texture 65 19 Distribution of students according to the color of the ceiling 66 20 Distribution of students according to the color of the wall 66 21 Distribution of students according to the color of floor .. 67 22 Distribution of students according to total scores on reflection 67 23 Distribution of students according to the duration of study time 69 24 Distribution of students according to the duration of study at a table 69 25 Distribution of students according to the type of lights used for studying 70 2 6 Distribution of students according to table space available for study 71 27 Distribution of students according to sharing of table space 72 28 Distribution of students according to sharing of study area 73 29 Distribution of students according to the rooms where they study 73 30 Distribution of students according to the placement of the desk 74 31 Distribution of students according to the postural position while studying 75 32 Distribution of students according to the scores on adequacy of light in their study areas 76 vi LIST OF TABLES (Continued) Table Page 33 Distribution of the students according to the scores on knowledge ; 78 34 Frequency of correct and incorrect responses to test items.. 78 35 Distribution of students according to problem recognition in their study lighting practices 80 36 Pooled-within-group correlation matrix 81 37 Correlation matrix for hostel students 82 38 Correlation matrix for students from homes 82 39 Quantity of light in lumens per square foot calculated on the basis of lumen value of lamps manufactured in the United States 141 40 Percent of agreement between responses of interviewer and students 141 41 Distribution of students according to the scores on visibility of lighted bulbs while studying 142 42 Distribution of students according to the scores on the kind of lamp used 142 43 Distribution of students according to the scores on shielding of the lamp 142 44 Distribution of students according to the characteristics of work surface 143 45 Distribution of students according to the characteristics of lamp base 143 46 Distribution of students according to the scores on the illumination level of surrounding area of task 143 47 Distribution of students according to scores on the task illumination in relation to general illumination 143 48 Distribution of students according to the scores on the kind of lamp used in the light source 144 vii LIST OF TABLES (Continued) Table Page 49 Distribution of students according to the scores on the shielding of the lamp 144 50 Distribution of students according to the shape of the shade of task light 144 51 Distribution of students according to the score on the size of the bottom diameter of the shade 145 52 Distribution of students according to the score on the depth of the shade 145 53 Distribution of students according to the score on the size of the top diameter of task light 145 54 Distribution of students according to the score on the height of the study lamp 146 55 Distribution of the students according to the score on the size of lamp used 146 56 Distribution of students according to the score on the spread of light over the task area 146 57 Distribution of students according to the score on the kind of lamp used in the light source 147 58 Distribution of students according to the score on kind of shade 147 59 Distribution of students according to the scores on the nature of light from the lamps 147 1 INTRODUCTION Daily living consists of performance of many activities requiring sight. Light activates the physiological process in the eye, giving rise to the sensation of sight. According to Logan (47, p. 19), "Vision cannot operate without light; and safe, successful, objective orientation in a physiologically normal person is principally a matter of proper lighting." The stimulating effect of light on human organisms is manifested in physiological, psychological and social reactions of individuals. The ef­ fects of light are seen in relation to health, learning efficiency and mental processes, longevity and accident prevention, micro-eye movements, enzyme production, muscular tension, heart rate and toxin build-up (6, 7, 17, 28, 33, 47, 48, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 62, 63 and 75). Lighting is a most important element of man's optimum climate.