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Applying a new systematic fuzzy FMEA technique for risk management in light steel frame systems
Get PDFLight Steel Frame (LSF) system is mainly used for construction of short and intermediate-height buildings in developed countries whereas considerable heed is not given to it in developing countries. Unfamiliarity to LSF risks is one of the main reasons for this averseness so risk management can remedy this challenge and develop application of the LSF. Hence, this paper investigates the risk management of LSF system considering design, construction and operation phase. Three main steps entailing risk identification, assessment and responding using fuzzy Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) technique are suggested for risk management implementation and for validation of responses, a novel index with respect to weighted combination of project quality, time and cost are calculated. The methodology is demonstrated on a pilot study in a developing country. By using interview, 29 significant risks are extracted in design, construction and operation and then evaluated by proposed fuzzy method. Results showed that the share of the risks in these steps are 21%, 31% and 48% respectively. The results revealed that the risks in the construction and operation phases are higher than those in the design phase. The results also show that involving safety as a project object in the risk management process could eventuate acceptable results
Self-harm wounds: assessment and management
Get PDFThe management of self-harm (SH) wounds requires a non-judgemental holistic approach on the part of the health professional. It is important that SH wounds are assessed, and that interventions are agreed between the health professional and the patient. This article looks at definitions of SH and provides guidance on how health professionals can make an accurate assessment of the wound and, in addition to agreement treatment with the patient, provide patient education and guidance on self-care
Advances in the use of the short-time Fourier transform for assessing urban trees’ root systems
Get PDFUrbanisation often leads to the destruction of green areas in the urban environment. To this extent, urban trees help mitigating its detrimental effects, as well as offering a variety of socioeconomic and environmental benefits. The presence of root systems in built environments usually results in structural damage, as for example shrinkage of expansive soils due to water suction by roots, resulting in subsidence and fissures in foundations, or roots obstructing pipes and sewers and damaging roads and pavements.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been extensively used in various areas of civil and environmental engineering. Research has focused on implementing 3D algorithms and investigating root density, and a recent experimental research examined the feasibility of a novel tree root assessing methodology, that processes GPR data both in time and frequency domains. The aim of this research is to improve upon the above-mentioned data processing algorithm, investigating the variation of the frequency spectrum of the GPR signal in urban tree root systems’ surveys by means of a Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT). Results proved the viability of the methodology and paved the way to further developments for the investigation of urban trees’ root systems using GPR
Reggae culture as local knowledge: mapping the beats on southeast London streets
Get PDFAfter half a century of reggae music it remains true that its story is not adequately documented in books or on the university curriculum. With some honourable exceptions the story of reggae in Britain remains hidden or at best only partially appreciated. Yet the form can be used to explain the significance of the stories told by a group of citizens that have been, in many cases, othered in the land of their birth. This means considering the city spaces and alternative public arenas, within which these stories that were direct counters to the dominant, mainstream, white representations of black life in Britain could be heard. Consequently, the voices of the British born/based performers that ensured the perpetuation of this socially, culturally and politically driven genre right up to the present moment will be given the prominence they deserve here.
Our argument in this chapter is that in order to tell and show the story of ‘bass culture’ we need to find new ways to bridge the gap between the social worlds in which the music is made, its collective memory sustained, and the spheres of official academic knowledge. We focus on an experiment with showing, telling, recording and mapping local histories of reggae culture in South East London, to access these very public ongoing intergenerational discussions about what it means to be black, African, Caribbean etc. in the UK. It is crucial we do so here because such discussions represent the types of historical and contemporary cultural concerns that question the role of aesthetics in the process of any racialised form of identification. This also forms part of the internal registers by which an ‘Africentric’ ‘consciousness’ is understood through discussions about the reality of the racist exclusionary practices, that need consideration in any meaningful account of black subjectivities as represented in the reggae performance
Sub-inhibitory antibiotic exposure and virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
No full textPseudomonas aeruginosa is a prime opportunistic pathogen, one of the most important causes of hospital-acquired infections and the major cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis lung infections. One reason for the bacterium’s pathogenic success is the large array of virulence factors that it can employ. Another is its high degree of intrinsic and acquired resistance to antibiotics. In this review, we first summarise the current knowledge about the regulation of virulence factor expression and production. We then look at the impact of sub-MIC antibiotic exposure and find that the virulence–antibiotic interaction for P. aeruginosa is antibiotic-specific, multifaceted, and complex. Most studies undertaken to date have been in vitro assays in batch culture systems, involving short-term (<24 h) antibiotic exposure. Therefore, we discuss the importance of long-term, in vivo-mimicking models for future work, particularly highlighting the need to account for bacterial physiology, which by extension governs both virulence factor expression and antibiotic tolerance/resistance
The impact of student attendance on assessment specific performance in sport degree programs
Get PDFThis study aimed to assess the relationship between attendance and module assessment performance across three Sport degree programs. Undergraduate students (n=256) from three level 4 sport degrees (Sport Therapy (ST): 83; Sport and Exercise Sciences (SES): 80; Sports Development and Management and Coaching (SDMC): 93) participated in this 12-week prospective study. The assessments consisted of a practical for ST, exams and laboratory reports for SES, and presentations and essays for SDMC. A significant correlation was identified for attendance and overall performance across all degrees, although this was weak (rs= 0.327, p <0.001). These findings suggest attendance positively correlates with assessment performance. All assessment types significantly and positively correlated with assessment performance. The study also reports that regardless of assessment type, attendance over a threshold of over 75% led to significantly higher assessment performance compared to those that did not achieve this threshold
Exploring the professional development of online and distance doctoral supervisors
Get PDFThe supervision of doctoral students has been evolving in the last decade. Supervisors supervise students on campus or at a distance and supervision takes place in formal or informal environments with the latter occurring more often through online encounters. This context of supervision has changed supervisory practices and students’ own approaches to learning. This paradigmatic shift demands a rethinking of how supervisors develop themselves and how they learn to cope with the challenges of ‘modern’ supervision. To date, little has been said or written about the development or training of doctoral supervisors who supervise students online or at a distance. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a model for the professional development of supervisors in these contexts. This model can be adapted and implemented by institutions that wish to support supervisors who support students online or at the distance
A framework to address stress and improve productivity of project teams
No full textAddressing stress at work is a topic that is being added to the agenda of many organizations. There are various sources of stress that could impact an individual. Whether it is personal relationships, physical health concerns, mental health issues or professional relationships at a work, an individual’s productivity will be affected. Employees who work in a project environment are already succumbed to the constraints of time and budget. The topic of employee wellbeing is under research for several years, and there are several solutions available and initiatives implemented within global organizations to enhance their team’s wellbeing. Therefore, there is a need for a project management framework that also take employee wellbeing into consideration. This paper reviews the literature on employee wellbeing and some of the most commonly applied project management frameworks, namely Project Management Institute (PMI), the Association of Project Management (APM) and PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2). As a result, a practical guideline is proposed to embed employee wellbeing into the project management book of knowledge (PMBOK Guide) of PMI, incorporating three key process and supporting tools and techniques
Study on wavelet entropy for airport pavement inspection using a multi-static GPR system
Get PDFThe multi-layer nature of airport pavement structures is susceptible to the generation of voids at the bonding parts of the structure, which is also called interlayer debonding. Observations have shown that the thickness of the resulting voids is usually at the scale of millimeters, which makes it difficult to inspect. The efficient and accurate characteristics of ground penetrating radar (GPR) make it suitable for large area inspections of airport pavement. In this study, a multi-static GPR system was used to inspect the interlayer debonding of a large area of an airport pavement. A special antenna arrangement can obtain common mid-point (CMP) gathers during a common offset survey. The presence of interlayer debonding affects the phase of the reflection signals, and the phase disturbance can be quantified by wavelet transform. Therefore, an advanced approach that uses the average entropy of the wavelet transform parameters in CMP gathers to detect the interlayer debonding of airport pavement is proposed. The results demonstrate that the regions with high entropy correspond to the regions where tiny voids exist. The new approach introduced in this study was then evaluated by a field-base experiment at an airport taxiway model. The results show that the proposed approach can detect interlayer debonding of the pavement model accurately and efficiently. The on-site coring results confirm the performance of the proposed approach
Interlayer debonding inspection in airport pavements by MIMO GPR system
Get PDFThe integrity and flatness of airport pavement facilities are important to maintain safe operations of aircrafts. Even a small defect and resulting debris can cause catastrophic accidents and, therefore, anomalies must be accurately detected for the first time before major damage occurs. To this effect, it is necessary to develop a low-cost, efficient, and accurate inspection technology to detect the anomalies in airport concrete pavements. In recent years, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been widely used in airport pavement inspection and maintenance due to the provision of reliable and efficient information. Amongst the NDT techniques, GPR can provide optimal resolutions for different applications in civil engineering due to the ultra-wide frequency band configuration [1][2]. However, for the investigation of airport pavement facilities main challenges are how to extract information from the reflections by small anomalies [3][4].
In this research, we used a MIMO GPR system to inspect the interlayer debonding in a large area of an airport pavement. A special set of antenna arrangements of the system can obtain common mid-point (CMP) gathers during a common offset survey simultaneously. The existence of interlayer debonding affects the phase of the reflection signals, and the phase disturbance can be quantified by wavelet transform. Therefore, an advanced approach that uses the average entropy of the wavelet transform parameters in a CMP gathers to detect the interlayer debonding in airport pavements is proposed.
The aim of this research is to provide more significant and accurate information for airport pavement inspections using a MIMO GPR system. To this extent, the wavelet entropy analysis is applied to identify the interlayer debonding existed in the shallow region. The proposed approach was then evaluated by field tests on an airport taxiway. The results were validated by on-site coring and demonstrate that the regions with high entropy correspond to the regions where tiny voids occurred. The proposed method has proven potential to detect the interlayer debonding of the pavement model accurately and efficiently