1,720,974 research outputs found
Unlocking Resource Efficiency. Phase 1 Construction Report
Get PDFThe Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned a research project to explore the potential benefits from increasing resource efficiency in the UK. This research was carried out in collaboration with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. This report outlines the findings for the construction sector. For the purposes of this report, resource efficiency is defined as any action that achieves a lower level of resource use for a given level of final consumption. This can occur at any stage of the supply chain including production, consumption, and end-of-life. While material substitution may not always meet the definition of resource efficiency set out above, it is in scope of this research where it reduces whole life carbon.This research was conducted in the first half of 2023, and reports were written in August 2023. As such, this report does not reflect sector developments beyond that point. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has consulted with technical experts as part of research activities for this report. The following report is our understanding of the available evidence and is accurate to the best of our knowledge; however, if any factual errors are encountered, please contact us at [email protected]
DEVELOPING A PAVEMENT CONDITION ASSESSMENT METHOD FOR UNPAVED ROADS IN UGANDA
Get PDFApproximately 95% of Uganda's total road network consists of unpaved surfaces, a situation that is prevalent across most developing countries in the world. This heavy reliance on unpaved roads poses significant challenges, as these roads are highly susceptible to rapid deterioration due to the combined effects of traffic and environmental factors. Consistent monitoring and evaluation of the condition of these unpaved roads is, therefore, crucial to ensure the safety and reliability of the transportation infrastructure. However, the current methods employed for assessing the condition of unpaved roads are often subjective, labor-intensive, and time-consuming, frequently leading to inconsistent evaluations.This PhD study proposes an enhanced method for assessing the condition of unpaved roads in Uganda. The methodology used in this study consisted of five stages: research formulation, investigation, model development, model validation and recommendations. A questionnaire survey was conducted during the investigation stage, with a 51.4% response rate from road maintenance professionals spread across the country's six regions. The novel Gravel Road Condition Index (GRCI) utilized the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to convert the subjective questionnaire survey results into objective mathematical data. The AHP method provided a rigorous and quantitative approach for systematically weighting and ranking the nine key distresses affecting the surface conditions of unpaved roads in the country.The developed Gravel Road Condition Index was validated by applying the method on a case-study gravel road and verifying the results through comparison with the pre-existing condition assessment method in Uganda. The results demonstrated that the GRCI offered a rapid, efficient, and user-friendly procedure for assessing the condition of unpaved roads, underpinned by objective weightings that demonstrated consistency in its evaluations. This PhD study further established a relationship between the novel GRCI and the current gravel loss prediction model for unpaved roads in Uganda. This relationship can be used to improve maintenance planning and efficiently optimize the already scarce funding resources in the country
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
D1.2 RECONMATIC DIMS Final Report V.2
Get PDFThe construction industry, renowned for its resource intensity, can plate a pivotal role in the Circular Economy (CE) transition. However, the unique industrial characteristics and the intricate nature of CE pose challenges to its implementation in construction. Addressing these challenges necessitates the exploration of Industry 4.0 as promising solutions, given their potential to support decision-making aligned with CE objectives. The literature is reviewed to identify problems in Construction and Demolition Waste Management (CDWM). Whereas a critical review of the extant literature in the field of Industry 4.0 has established three critical research gaps in the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies to support CDWM. Specifically, the absence of a comprehensive integrative Digital Information Management System (DIMS) covering the entire project life-cycle, from inception to demolition, is an identified key limitation. Information Management involves the procedures through which an organization gathers, organizes, stores, utilizes, and disseminates its data to carry out its fundamental business functions throughout various stages of asset life-cycle activities. Knowing that it is vital in CDWM to understand the generation, composition, flows and recycling potentials. Material flow analysis (MFA) serves as a valuable tool for quantifying material flows and stocks and is widely utilized for this purpose. Most current digital information systems also lack support for MFA. Furthermore, there is lack of clarity of the roles and engagement of various stakeholders within these systems and the CDWM process. Therefore, this research endeavours to address these identified gaps by proposing the development of a DIMS for Facilitating CDWM, particularly in relation to MFA. This system aims to seamlessly integrates Building Information Modelling (BIM), Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to facilitate effective CDWM. The overarching goal is to align these technological advancements with the principles of CE, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient construction industry, while serving the RECONMATIC demonstrators as pilot applications. To develop the DIMS, this research adopts the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology. This structured approach commences with an awareness of the problem, progresses to proposing a solution, and involves the iterative development of the artifact through a co-creation between RECONMATIC partners and the wider industry. The subsequent steps include rigorous evaluation of the artifact's effectiveness through the RECONMATIC demonstrators, followed by developing a system architecture and then implement the system architecture in the development of a DIMS demonstrator prototype leading to conclusive findings and informed recommendations. By employing DSR, the research ensures a systematic and practical approach to addressing the challenges in construction waste management within the context of CE principles. To-date, the study is in the pivotal stage of proposing a solution to integrate BIM, IoT, and Blockchain. This proposed solution aims to address the existing gaps in CDWM by supporting MFA and comprehensively covering the entire life-cycle of a project, while taking into consideration the role and engagement of stakeholders in the system. This stage of establishing a proposed framework that provides a holistic understanding to the key concepts and constructs, and their relationships, sets the foundation for the subsequent phases of design, development, evaluation, and ultimately, the implementation of an innovative demonstrator solution in the construction industry. With this, the study is poised to advance into the co-creation of the initial system architecture, meticulously designed within the proposed framework developed for the DIMS
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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