Summary The investigation of the use of phase change materials (PCM) in the building sector has become a significant issue and a field exhibiting significant potential in terms of research and development. The present study evaluates the integration of PCMs in office buildings on the basis of their economic and environmental performance by means of life cycle analysis (LCA) in conjunction with life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) respectively. This study is based on a previous building envelope multiobjective optimization study which considers cooling load requirements and thermal comfort conditions as optimization objectives. Specifically, this work moves 1 step further to evaluate the optimal results obtained from the above‐mentioned optimization study based on economic and environmental aspects. This paper attempts to evaluate and quantify the environmental and economic potential of PCM use in office buildings in a generic way. In detail, the present study starts by examining whether reducing the extent of the environmental impact achieved during the operational phase from energy savings offsets the respective increase arising from the PCM production. The LCA results reveal that the overall life cycle impact of the 2 office units examined is reduced, despite the respective impact of the construction stage increasing significantly, given the high proportion of impact accruing from the energy use stage in the overall impact. Finally, a life cycle cost evaluation assesses the viability of such applications, with the conclusion that the energy saving achieved during the use stage in both office units is insufficient to compensate for the LCC increase induced by the high cost of construction.

Summary Thermal storage systems development is under significant concern focusing mainly to the thermal energy storage use for thermal applications. On the other hand, the investigation of phase change materials (PCMs) in the building sector was tested consisting a very promising field of research and development. A number of substances have been tested as potential PCMs; however, only few of them have been further developed for commercial purposes. This is attributed to a number of thermophysical barriers, which make the applications of PCMs in buildings difficult. Several studies have examined the potential of PCM use, either incorporated into building envelopes or in heating and cooling applications. Regarding building envelope applications, PCMs are used to mainly ensure indoor thermal comfort and contribute to energy performance. The positive impact of PCMs on the building's annual cooling and heating loads in various climate zones is a common conclusion. Concerning heating and cooling applications, the main idea has been to substitute the storage medium with PCMs, which have higher storage capacity. Hence, the use of PCMs can be considered as scientifically mature, although there are still technical, environmental, and economic barriers. The present study is the state of the art of the existing research of PCM for thermal applications taking into consideration environmental (based mainly on life cycle analysis methodology) and economic performance (accounting to life cycle cost analysis methodology) criteria, while excluding solar power generation applications.

Summary Thermal energy storage applications for buildings now receive considerable attention; many systems are in development or design. Numerous studies have examined phase change materials (PCMs) incorporated into building envelopes to enhance internal thermal comfort and energy performance, while others investigated dynamic characteristics and performance of PCMs on interior surfaces. Many commercial products are currently available, but research on PCMs in Mediterranean climates is lacking. This research aims at evaluating these studies regarding the potential impact of PCM on building comfort and energy performance in Greece. The methodology intends to optimize building envelopes concerning building cooling load requirements and thermal comfort conditions. Combined dynamic simulations and multiobjective optimization, using nondominated sorting genetic algorithm‐II, evaluates design options of typical office spaces: an undivided and a fully subdivided office space, respectively. Specifically, combinations of insulation and thermal mass materials are examined quantifying thermal storage potential: as sensible storage with conventional materials or latent storage with PCM. Several PCMs, with varying melting points, are evaluated in addition to operation schedules enhancing PCM performance. Specifically, the thermal characteristics of 2 commercial products (MicronalBasf® PCM and SP‐24® from Rubitherm Technologies GmbH) are initially modeled, and several hypothetical materials are subsequently defined and evaluated. This work attempts to determine suitable applications of PCM in Mediterranean climates and evaluate their performance. The numerical results evaluate measure appropriateness, and possible trade‐offs are discussed.

• This article is part of a wider research project on the cultural and political significance of the photographic representations of suffering during the Second Iraq War (2003) in Greek newspapers. The paper examines in detail a particular case study — the `wailing father' photographs — carrying out a socio-semiotic analysis of the signifying practices of news reporting and exploring the visual construction of `death' and `lamentation', accounting for the complex articulation between the particular social/cultural context and the processes of meaning construction. More specifically, the aim of the article is to study the role of the representation of death and grief in war; firstly as a rhetorical tool wielded by the Greek press to support its political and moral stance against the Second Iraq War, and, secondly as a hegemonic device that creates an ambivalent divide between `us' (the `implied readers' identifying with the Western moral virtues of `civilised' humanity) and `them' (the social groups being represented, the `Non-Western World') along the lines of Orientalist bipolar oppositions. The article concludes that the `wailing father' photographs, as a deeply complex mixture of voyeurism, objectification, affective participation, human brotherhood, moral indifference, imaginative compassion, passivity and fatalism, seem to reproduce, in all their confusion, the Western superiority and the Orientalist imagery, but also the moral and political failure to react over suffering and war. •

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This article analyses the visual construction of human suffering in war, with special reference to the signifying practices of the photographs published in Greek newspapers during the Second Iraq War. The author carries out a socio-semiotic analysis, arguing that the overall construction of the Second Iraq War in the Greek press — illustrated by two case studies which are examined in detail — combines contradictory elements and assumptions. Representations of the war are `framed' by the `overpoliticization' of the Greek public sphere and the dominant political culture synthesizing themes of `anti-Americanism', `anti-globalization' and `pro-Third Worldism', but also a particular version of what Said called `Orientalism'. More specifically, the insistence on spectacular images of suffering, and the combination of a humanitarian discourse of compassion for the `innocent distant victims of war' with populist and Greek Christian Orthodox conceptualizations of the self are constitutive elements of the newspapers' signifying practices, which aid the Greek press to be critical of the hegemonic western discourse regarding the Second Iraq War without, however, slipping to the other side of `Orientalist binary oppositions'. On the contrary, this persistence on the humanitarian discourse of compassion towards victims is pivotal in identifying with the western moral virtues of `civilized' humanity.

Walking has become one of the most important transport modes in urban areas. The role of walking has steadily increased worldwide and therefore city planners put as their first priority the facilitation of pedestrian trips in urban areas. In doing so, several aspects pertaining to pedestrians trips need to be addressed, such as safety, environment, accessibility, security, etc. This paper attempts to address the needs of pedestrians in the city of Trikala, Greece. In the framework of this research a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in the centre of the city of Trikala. Special emphasis is given to different age groups because the elderly usually face more difficulties during their trips made on foot compared to other age groups. In addition, the survey provides information about the reasons for choosing walking as a means of transport, the difficulties people face during their trips, the level of safety as perceived by the pedestrians, etc. Moreover, people's suggestions about possible methods of making the walking environment friendlier are also recorded. It is believed that the results of the specific research will help city planners in their effort to improve the walking environment and promote walking as a sustainable method of transport.

The need to provide a safer environment for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, is inevitable. This need is more important in the case of students of elementary schools due to the fact that they are not in the position to easily realize the danger of the road traffic and thus take the necessary precautionary measures. In the framework of this paper the results of a research concerning the perceived traffic safety level provided in elementary school areas are presented. These elementary school students participated in questionnaire-based surveys in various Municipalities in Greece. The reasons for which students feel unsafe, their participation in traffic education events and the transport modes used for their trips to and from schools are examined and presented in this paper.