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Flanges' Impact on Persian Historical Masonry Walls: Modeling Safety Factors
Get PDFThis comprehensive study investigates the nuanced impact of flanges, height-to-length aspect ratios, wall thickness, and pre-compression levels on Persian historical masonry walls under uncertainty conditions. Numerical testing of 100 masonry wall specimens, varying across five lateral constraints (flanges), four height-to-length ratios, three wall thicknesses, and three pre-compression levels, was conducted. The study also examined the influence of uncertainty on the modulus of elasticity. Results demonstrated a substantial dependency of ultimate shear force (Fu), ultimate drift (δu/H), and effective stiffness (ff) on the considered variables. Fu and ff increased with higher lateral constraints, wall thicknesses, and pre-compression levels, decreasing with reduced aspect ratios. Simultaneously, δu/H decreased with higher lateral constraints, wall thicknesses, and pre-compression levels, increasing with reduced aspect ratios. Estimated values for Fu ranged from 292.5 to 1357.4 MPa, δu/H spanned from 1.61 to 3.43, and ff varied from 7.72 to 158.9 kN/mm. Proposed partial coefficients for partial coefficients (γM), displacement capacity (γdu), and effective stiffness (γk) were introduced through models incorporating uncertainty, revealing that increasing lateral constraints and wall thicknesses, and decreasing aspect ratios, led to heightened values for γM and γk and reduced values for γdu. With increasing pre-compression levels, all safety factors increased. The safety factors (γM: 1.18–1.96, γdu: 1.16–1.76, γk: 1.157–1.967) optimize Persian historical masonry structures, providing crucial insights for varied conditions were proposed
Pre and post diagnostic dementia care in four Scottish prisons
Get PDFBackground and purpose: The number of older people in prisons is increasing across the globe. Many have poor physical and mental health, higher prevalence of head injury, cognitive impairment and dementia than found in community populations. Meeting the complex needs of this vulnerable group has become an increasing concern for prison and prison healthcare services. The aim of this multi method qualitative study was to investigate how men with diagnosed or suspected dementia were identified, assessed, and cared for in Scottish prisons. It also explored the lived experience of individuals being assessed for or diagnosed with dementia within four prisons. The data from twenty nine interviews was thematically analysed and used to collaboratively propose principles for dementia care in prison and present the resultant co-designed care pathway. Results: At the time of data collection almost all the men known to have a dementia diagnosis or suspected dementia had complex health and social care needs, and some were living with advanced dementia. Prison healthcare staff reported taking a ‘case by case’ approach to their pre- and post-diagnostic care. Meeting these prisoner’s needs was complicated by the absence of organisational leads for care of older adults or people with dementia and there was no pathway or model in place to guide staff. Prison healthcare teams often had difficulty accessing specialist community services to support diagnosis. There was a lack of dementia education and knowledge about how to provide pre and post diagnostic dementia care in this setting amongst staff. The findings arising from this research have informed the co-production of two important evidence informed innovations namely a Model of Care and a pre- and post-diagnostic Care Pathway. Conclusion: This research adds insights critical to understanding the adequacy of current approaches to meeting dementia related needs within the prison setting. To our knowledge this paper offers the first co-produced evidence informed pre- and post- diagnostic dementia care pathway and model of care for use in prisons. These could serve as tools for change that could enable prison healthcare staff to deliver the right care, at the right time, by the right people, and provide an opportunity to assess risk and plan care for the future
Editorial: The shadowlands of (geo)science communication in academia – definitions, problems, and possible solutions
Get PDFScience communication is an important part of research, including in the geosciences, as it can (1) benefit both society and science and (2) make science more publicly accountable. However, much of this work takes place in “shadowlands” that are neither fully seen nor understood. These shadowlands are spaces, aspects, and practices of science communication that are not clearly defined and may be harmful with respect to the science being communicated or for the science communicators themselves. With the increasing expectation in academia that researchers should participate in science communication, there is a need to address some of the major issues that lurk in these shadowlands. Here, the editorial team of Geoscience Communication seeks to shine a light on the shadowlands of geoscience communication by geoscientists in academia and suggest some solutions and examples of effective practice. The issues broadly fall under three categories: (1) harmful or unclear objectives, (2) poor quality and lack of rigor, and (3) exploitation of science communicators working within academia. Ameliorating these problems will require the following action: (1) clarifying objectives and audiences, (2) adequately training science communicators, and (3) giving science communication equivalent recognition to other professional activities. In this editorial, our aim is to cultivate a more transparent and responsible landscape for geoscience communication – a transformation that will ultimately benefit the progress of science; the welfare of scientists; and, more broadly, society at large
RF sensing enabled tracking of human facial expressions using machine learning algorithms
Get PDFAutomatic analysis of facial expressions has emerged as a prominent research area in the past decade. Facial expressions serve as crucial indicators for understanding human behavior, enabling the identification and assessment of positive and negative emotions. Moreover, facial expressions provide insights into various aspects of mental activities, social connections, and physiological information. Currently, most facial expression detection systems rely on cameras and wearable devices. However, these methods have drawbacks, including privacy concerns, issues with poor lighting and line of sight blockage, difficulties in training with longer video sequences, computational complexities, and disruptions to daily routines. To address these challenges, this study proposes a novel and privacy-preserving human behavior recognition system that utilizes Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar combined with Machine Learning (ML) techniques for classifying facial expressions. Specifically, the study focuses on five common facial expressions: Happy, Sad, Fear, Surprise, and Neutral. The recorded data is obtained in the form of a Micro-Doppler signal, and state-of-the-art ML models such as Super Learner, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbor, Long Short-Term Memory, and Logistic Regression are employed to extract relevant features. These extracted features from the radar data are then fed into ML models for classification. The results show a highly promising classification accuracy of 91%. The future applications of the proposed work will lead to advancements in technology, healthcare, security, and communication, thereby improving overall human well-being and societal functioning
Implementing responsible innovation: the role of the meso-level(s) between project and organisation
Get PDFMuch of academic discussion of responsible innovation (RI) has focused on RI integration into research projects. In addition, significant attention has also been paid to RI structures and policies at the research policy and institutional level. This article reports experiences of RI implementation with a focus on the intermediate i.e. meso-level. The research described here included a series of interviews that aimed to clarify researchers' perspectives on RI as well as barriers to and benefits of RI implementation. Two cases of engagement with research projects, with the aim of promoting RI, were undertaken. The analysis of the data demonstrates the crucial contribution that the meso-level of a research programme can make in interpreting, implementing and perpetuating RI across related activities. The article provides strong evidence that the scholarly debate surrounding RI should pay more explicit attention to this meso-level, ultimately strengthening RI theory and practice
Cruise Revenue Navigator: Unveiling Cruise Revenue Management
Get PDFThis report illustrates how revenue management applies to the cruise industry from a comprehensive revenue perspective, including the connection between ticket sales and onboard activities.It provides recommendations to the cruise industry, partners, and policymakers on collaborating and establishing long-term sustainable growth and relationships, particularly in the post-pandemic era
Bespoke design of cage trap and patagial wing tag for the capture and study of black grouse Lyrurus tetrix at lek sites: assessment of effectiveness for future studies
Get PDFGiven new avenues for Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix telemetry, and translocations to previously occupied areas, we designed a new cage trap for use at leks that was safe, reliable, and easily transportable, and a custom black-and-white wing-tag that was visible in low light and under camera-trap infrared illumination. The trap was tested over 12 trap days in autumn/winter. Behaviour before and after trapping and marking was monitored with camera traps and then via daily spring watches. The trap was simple to set up and operate, with a quiet closure mechanism that did not typically flush other birds, allowing multiple catches per day. Birds were caught on three quarters of trap days and at a rate of 2.5 birds per hour set. Typically, birds behaved apparently normally around traps and after trapping and tagging, although with some indication of resource-guarding of bait. Lek counts between autumn and spring matched patterns reported from other local leks. Tags were identifiable using camera traps (including with infrared in pre-dawn low light) and via optics. This trapping method could be tested in the spring to assess its ability to catch females, and our approaches could be applied to future telemetry, translocation, behavioural or demographic studies
International Confederation of Midwives Essential Competencies for Practice - Update of Laerdal Peer-to-Peer Digital Learning tool to reflect ICM 2024 Essential Competencies
No full textInvited by ICM/Laerdal to the Hague as part of an international team of midwifery subject experts to inform updates to peer-to-peer learning tool in response to publication of 2024 ICM Global Competencies for Midwives
Digital Content Marketing: Creating Value in Practice
No full textDigital Content Marketing: Creating Value in Practice introduces the principles of the content marketing discipline and serves as a guide to any professional or student who wants to learn how to successfully plan and implement digital content marketing strategies and tactics.Filled with contemporary examples of the most successful creative content marketing practices, case studies and professional advice from subject experts, this text offers an in-depth view of the world of content marketing from a value-based perspective. The textbook also includes practical advice on content marketing ideation, content management and content curation, as well as offering recommendations for the best content marketing software.The textbook offers a good balance of both theory and practice and is suitable for advanced undergraduate students and postgraduate students studying content marketing, digital marketing or social media marketing. Support material includes an instructor manual, chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and a test bank of exam questions
Aizerman Conjectures for a class of multivariate positive systems
Get PDFThe Aizerman Conjecture predicts stability for a class of nonlinear control systems on the basis of linear system stability analysis. The conjecture is known to be false in general. Here, a number of Aizerman conjectures are shown to be true for a class of internally positive multivariate systems, under a natural generalisation of the classical sector condition and, moreover, guarantee positivity in closed loop. These results are stronger and/or more general than existing results. The paper relates the obtained results to other, diverse, results in the literature
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