Effects of vehicle speed in structural health monitoring from operational conditions of bridges

The effects of vehicle speed for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges under operational conditions are studied in this paper. The moving vehicle is modelled as a single degree oscillator traversing a damaged beam at a constant speed. The bridge is modelled as simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam with a breathing crack. The breathing crack is treated as a nonlinear system with bilinear stiffness characteristics related to the opening and closing of crack. The unevenness of the bridge deck is modelled using road classification according to ISO 8606:1995(E). The stochastic description of the unevenness of the road surface is used as an aid to monitor the health of the structure in its operational condition. Numerical simulations are conducted considering the effects of changing vehicle speed with regards to cumulant based statistical damage detection parameters. The detection and calibration of damage at different levels is based on an algorithm dependent on responses of the damaged beam due to passages of the load. Possibilities of damage detection and calibration under benchmarked and non-benchmarked cases are considered. Sensitivity of calibration values is studied. The findings of this paper are important for establishing the expectations from different vehicle speeds on a bridge for damage detection purposes using bridge-vehicle interaction where the bridge does not need to be closed for monitoring. The identification of bunching of these speed ranges provides guidelines for using the methodology developed in the paper.

Examining current provision, practice and experience of initial teacher training providers in Ireland preparing pre service teachers for the inclusion of students with special education needs in physical education classes.

Research from an international perspective in relation to the preparation of pre service teachers in physical education and special educational needs indicates that initial teacher training providers are inconsistent in the amount of time spent addressing the issue and the nature of curricular content (Vickerman, 2007). In Ireland, research of Meegan and MacPhail (2005) and Crawford (2011) indicates that physical education teachers do not feel adequately prepared to accommodate students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in physical education classes. This study examined initial teacher training provision in Ireland in the training of pre service physical education teachers in SEN. The methodology used was qualitative and included questionnaires and interviews (n=4). Findings indicated that time allocation (semester long modules), working with children with disabilities in mainstream settings (school or leisure centre based), lack of collaboration with other PETE providers (n=4) and a need for continued professional development were themes in need of address. Using a combined approach where the recently designed European Inclusive Physical Education Training (Kudlácěk, Jesina, & Flanagan, 2010) model is infused through the undergraduate degree programme is proposed. Further, the accommodation of hands on experience for undergraduates in mainstream settings and the establishment of inter institutional communities of practice, with a national disability research initiative, is essential to ensure quality adapted physical activity training can be accommodated throughout Ireland.

Reconfiguring the contours of statehood and the rights of the peoples of disappearing states

Many of the elements that have traditionally supported state level normative self-organization, most notably territory, are being actively undermined by rising sea levels, flooding, desertification, amongst other climate change effects. As more and more states come to be redefined as â disappearingâ , that is, states losing their territories to the natural environment through no specific fault of their own, a question arises as to how displaced communities will be assisted in their desire (and right) to continue to practice principles of self-determination and self-government? What is clear is that the international community can no longer continue with the fiction of a unified or unchanging model of the liberal democratic state. Instead, alternative ontological models of sovereign community are required, as is a re-imagining of how statehood might be re-constituted in the future in response to deepening ecological problems. The international community must now begin to address the immanent nature of threats posed to disappearing states and consider how a model of statehood that does not privilege territory as a fixed component of state identity could be operationalized. This paper considers how a democratic reform of statehood might proceed and resettlement agreements for displaced communities determined. The transition to an era of peaceful sovereign relations under deteriorating global climate conditions and growing natural resource scarcity, it argues, will require a significant extension of established traditions of democratic compromise, human rights solidarity and cosmopolitan justice.

The Trier Social Stress Test: principles and practice

Researchers interested in the neurobiology of the acute stress response in humans require a valid and reliable acute stressor that can be used under experimental conditions. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) provides such a testing platform. It induces stress by requiring participants to make an interview-style presentation, followed by a surprise mental arithmetic test, in front of an interview panel who do not provide feedback or encouragement. In this review, we outline the methodology of the TSST, and discuss key findings under conditions of health and stress-related disorder. The TSST has unveiled differences in males and females, as well as different age groups, in their neurobiological response to acute stress. The TSST has also deepened our understanding of how genotype may moderate the cognitive neurobiology of acute stress, and exciting new inroads have been made in understanding epigenetic contributions to the biological regulation of the acute stress response using the TSST. A number of innovative adaptations have been developed which allow for the TSST to be used in group settings, with children, in combination with brain imaging, and with virtual committees. Future applications may incorporate the emerging links between the gut microbiome and the stress response. Future research should also maximise use of behavioural data generated by the TSST. Alternative acute stress paradigms may have utility over the TSST in certain situations, such as those that require repeat testing. Nonetheless, we expect that the TSST remains the gold standard for examining the cognitive neurobiology of acute stress in humans.