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Barriers to engaging with mental health support services for police officers in Ireland
Get PDFPolice officers are routinely exposed to stressors which can negatively impact their mental health. This paper presents findings from an anonymous online survey undertaken by 98 members of An Garda Siochána (the Irish police force). It considers Irish police officer perceptions of mental health support and the barriers they face to accessing and engaging with mental health support. Barriers to engaging with support included the impact of stigma, the potential negative impact on career progression, a lack of trust in the support services and a general lack of resources
Knowing or not knowing the rules of the game: Exploring the role of institutional habitus in shaping individual expectations and experience on talent management programmes
Get PDFThis paper applies the concept of institutional habitus to analyse the accounts of participants on a talent management (TM) programme that is underpinned by an Exclusive/Developed talent philosophy. In doing so we reveal the structural presence of the organisation in shaping individual expectations and experience on TM programmes, adding to a subset of critical voices in the TM field which recognise how individual agency may be enabled or constrained by social and institutional structures. Our research contributes to the field of talent management in two significant ways. Firstly, we demonstrate the importance of an individual's professional habitus to account for variations in individuals' recognition of organisational expectations of talent. Second, we show how navigating organisational expectations of talent is shaped by individuals' appreciation for the ‘rules of the game’ and their ability to put this into practice. Against a backdrop of concern about diversity and inclusion in organisations, particularly within the public sector, the findings have implications for HR practitioners as they raise questions about how TM programmes might allow scope for individuals who do not fit the unwritten rules of what talent looks like in an organisation
Computational experimental test on PID controlled fixed wing aircraft systems
No full textThis paper focuses on the implementation of a control framework for a fixed wing aircraft system and the simulation demonstrations. The aim is to develop several Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers to stabilise the altitude and attitude in a 2D environment by regulating the engine power, the pitch angle, and height in flight operation. In technique, a dynamic mathematical model is established by considering the degrees of freedom and the dynamics of motion of a fixed wing aircraft, which provide a foundation for design and simulation. A simplified aircraft dynamic model is tailored for testing the formed control systems, which can be flexibly modified with different aircraft configurations, for a showcase illustration a calculation of the moment of inertia is included. Further, several flight settings such as height differences and velocities are proposed and a feasible implementation of the PID controllers is introduced for adjusting the control variables, and further a switching mode with two controllers for the height with different speeds are simulated to select the height linked controllers
Principles of medicines management in mental health nursing
No full textMedicines management is integral to maintaining patient safety and achieving optimal patient outcomes in nursing, including in mental healthcare settings, but there are potential discrepancies between its principles and their implementation in practice. There are numerous barriers to safe medicines management in mental health services and it is not always perceived as a core element of mental health nurses’ identity. However, mental health nurses have critical roles in medicines management, including supporting informed choice, reporting medication errors, promoting adherence to medicines, and deprescribing. This article offers an overview of some of the principles of medicines management particularly relevant in mental health nursing and argues that improved postgraduate training in medicines management for mental health nurses is needed
Investigation of the properties of fly ash and slag-based geopolymer concrete containing waste glass aggregates
No full textThis paper evaluates the geopolymer concrete produced using industrial waste and waste glass obtained by crushing glass materials. Geopolymer concrete mixtures were prepared with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.35 and an alkali activator solution to binder ratio (AAS/B) of 0.5 and 0.4. The partial substitution of sand by waste glass was 10%, 20% and 30%. Laboratory results showed that the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete increased with the addition of waste glass for a geopolymer concrete with AAS/B = 0.5, but decreased for AAS/B = 0.4. The expansion due to the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) was below 0.1% which is the expansion limit. The shrinkage of geopolymer concrete during drying decreases with an increase in glass content. The results of this study indicate that using glass as a partial sand substitute in geopolymer concrete provides sufficient mechanical properties. In addition, the production of this concrete will improve environmental conditions by reducing the extraction of raw materials and recycling waste glass
Visioning for transport practitioners
Get PDFWith increasing transport sector interest in vision-led rather than forecast-led planning, there is a growing need to think about what a good vision looks like, how a vision can be created, who should be involved in creating a vision, and, ultimately, what value a vision subsequently has. In the field of foresight and scenario planning, futures can be categorised as one of three types: probable, possible, and preferred. Preferred futures, or visions, characterise what we choose to work towards. They involve clarity around values, with the evident implication that values can be contested. The paper draws upon existing literature alongside the experience of the authors to examine considerations in the development of visions – as part of the vision-led approach to transport planning. It is framed by a set of ten guiding questions that, when taken in sequence, help to chart a course through the process of developing a vision (so-called ‘visioning’). The interdependent nature of the questions within the set is also highlighted
Applications of Immersive Technology in Architecture, Engineering and Construction: A Handbook
No full textThis edited book addresses a gap in literature by advancing current understandings of the applications of immersive technology within the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector.Globally, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector makes an enormous contribution to the socio-economic development of nations, which is primarily evidenced by its creation/provision of the built environment. The sector has, however, often been criticised for inefficiencies, waste and diverse forms of adverse impacts that are associated with the lifecycle of the provision of built assets – design, construction, operations and maintenance and end-of-life phases. Over the years, the inefficiencies, waste and adverse impacts have often been a catalyst for calls and initiatives to transform the AEC sector. The advent of the fourth industrial revolution (commonly referred to as, ‘Industry 4.0’), which entails the automation and digitalisation of production, presents opportunities to leverage emerging technologies to improve the image and productivity of the sector. Prominent among the emerging technologies in the Industry 4.0 era is that of immersive technology, which includes virtual reality, mixed reality and augmented reality. The capability of immersive technology to deliver beneficial impacts for multiple construction sector stakeholders throughout the construction lifecycle has been acknowledged within the industry and this continues to stimulate interest amongst practitioners, policymakers and researchers. Despite this phenomenon, at present there is no dedicated compendium of research-informed text that focusses on the multifaceted applications of immersive technology throughout the lifecycle of the provision of built assets right from concept design to end-of-life.This book thus addresses this gap in literature by advancing current understanding of the applications of immersive technology within the AEC industry. Readers will understand how the technologies are applied, the resulting array of impacts including benefits, drawbacks, challenges and future directions for applications, research and development
A sucrose‐utilisation gene cluster contributes to colonisation of horse chestnut by pseudomonas syringae pv. aesculi
Get PDFPseudomonas syringae pathovar aesculi (E‐Pae) causes bleeding canker disease in the woody tissue of European horse chestnut (HC). Comparative genomic analysis of E‐Pae with a related leaf‐infecting strain (I‐Pae) and other P. syringae strains identified candidate virulence genes for colonisation of woody tissue, including a sucrose uptake and utilisation system (scrYABCDBR cluster) found in 162 of 206 P. syringae strains spanning the pangenome. Growth analysis using sucrose as sole carbon source showed that I‐Pae (lacking the gene cluster) was unable to grow whereas E‐Pae could grow. P. savastanoi pv. phaseolicola 1448A and P. syringae pv. morsprunorum R15244 were compromised in growth despite the presence of the gene cluster. Sucrose utilisation assays using scrB and scrY mutants and complemented strains confirmed the importance of the cluster for sucrose metabolism in vitro. Pathogenicity assays in HC revealed the sucrose gene cluster is important for symptom development in the woody tissue. While the scr genes contribute to disease causation, they were not essential for pathogen fitness when compared to hrpL and hopAB1 mutants. E‐Pae caused disease symptoms in HC leaves, suggesting the strain has the potential to infect leaves as well. However, it was notable that the scrB mutant of E‐Pae caused increased disease symptoms, possibly highlighting a niche adaptation strategy for I‐Pae to cause leaf spots in HC as well as constraining E‐Pae to predominantly infect the woody tissue
The utility of experiential water insecurity measures for monitoring and evaluating WASH programs: Case studies from Nepal and Sierra Leone
Get PDFProgress toward safe water for all is predominantly tracked using directly observable, resource-based indicators, including primary water source and water collection travel time. There is growing interest in complementing these indicators with experiential data about water access, use, and reliability, but there is limited evidence about their value for evaluating water service interventions. We therefore compared findings from observable and experiential water measures that were used to evaluate the impact of two multilevel interventions among households in Nepal (n = 83) and Sierra Leone (n = 981). We used t-tests, chi-square tests, and multivariable models to determine whether drinking water services (classified using the Joint Monitoring Programme’s drinking water service ladder) and water insecurity experiences (measured using the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale) changed following intervention. Additionally, we assessed for potential differential impacts on water insecurity by sociodemographic characteristics to understand if any groups were being left behind. In both settings, access to at-least-basic drinking water services among sampled households increased, from 60.8% to 100% in Nepal and from 33.0% to 48.2% in Sierra Leone. The percentage of households experiencing moderate-to-high water insecurity declined from 18.3% to 1.4% in Nepal and from 66.3% to 24.8% in Sierra Leone. Affirmation and reported frequency of being unable to wash clothes due to water problems, worrying about water insufficiency, and feeling angry about one’s water situation decreased but remained salient issues in both sites. There were no observed differences in project impact on water insecurity by respondent gender or age. In Nepal, project impact varied by districts, suggesting opportunities to better tailor interventions to local needs. These findings provide empirical evidence that experiential data complement traditional resource-based indicators and offer actionable information to address water insecurity
Optimizing the substrate for hypercube-based neuroevolution of augmented topologies to design soft actuators
No full textThe characteristics of soft robots make them better candidates for applications such as healthcare, due to their enhanced safety, adaptability and more natural human-robot interaction compared to traditional counterparts. Different actuating systems have been proposed for soft robotics. On the other hand, since this technology is fairly young, the designing process of soft actuators is not yet well formalized. In an attempt to enhance the applicability of this type of actuators, the utilization of a NeuroEvolution algorithm to automatically design them is proposed here. More specifically Hypercube-based NeuroEvolution of Augmented Topologies (HyperNEAT) is investigated for different substrate architectures. These substrates are Artificial Neural Networks that encode the three dimensional representation of the soft actuators. The produced three dimensional sketches are tested within a simulated environment under two different targets (the maximum displacement and the combination of maximum displacement and minimum actuator volume) to identify the suitability of Hy-perNEAT as an efficient designing methodology. Since the evaluation of candidate solutions under a physics simulator is the most computationally demanding process, the proposed methodology was realized under a client-server setting, with the outlook of accelerating the evolutionary optimization of actuator sketches. The evaluation part of the algorithm was outsourced to the server side that can be a specialized and high-performing computational entity. The resulting soft actuators of this study proved to be of higher competence when compared with actuators derived under previously published evolutionary methodologies