Stone-built heritage inventory and ‘performance in use’ condition assessment of stonework

An academic–industrial partnership was formed with the aim of constructing a natural stone database for Northern Ireland that could be used by the public and practitioners to understand both the characteristics of the stone used in construction across Northern Ireland and how it has performed in use, and, through a linked database of historical quarries, explore the potential for obtaining locally sourced replacement stone. The aims were to improve the level of conservation specification by those with a duty of care for historical structures, and to enhance the quality of the conservation work undertaken by archi- tects and contractors through their improved knowledge of stone and stone decay processes.

An Innovative teaching tool for students is it Appropriate?

Background: Clinical supervision takes place once the newly qualified nurse is employed in clinical practice. However, often the variety and diversity of nursing jobs can result in a hit and miss delivery of supervision training. By introducing training uniformly at undergraduate stage a more seamless transition may occur (McColgan K, Rice C. 2012).

There is an increased interest in higher education in the use of online learning resources for students. As part completion of a DNP an App. for training students in clinical supervision was developed.

Aim: The creation of a clinical supervision training App. for use in undergraduate nursing.

Objectives:
•To develop a teaching tool that is up to date, current and easily accessible to students.
•To introduce supervision training for undergraduate nursing students
•To motivate the undergraduate nursing student to identify examples from their clinical experience to encourage change and promote professional development.

Approach:
Stage 1
In 2010/11 informal inquiries with senior nurses regarding the introduction of supervision training in undergraduate nursing
Stage 2
A review of UK supervision training.
Stage 3
Template production of teaching tool.
Stage 4
Collaboration with a computer technician to transfer multimedia outputs onto an App.
Stage 5
App. piloted with lecturers (n=4) and post registration students (n=20).
Stage 6
Minor alterations made to App. design template
Stage 7
App. included in an experimental study looking at online learning versus blended learning June 2013 (n=61, n=63)

Conclusion: A collaborative approach to the development of any educational programme is essential to ensure the success of the final teaching product (McCutcheon 2013). The end result is that this App. could be:
•Made available to nurses in the UK.
•Adapted to suit other healthcare professionals and students.
•Used as a prototype for other healthcare related subjects.

McColgan K., Rice C. (2012) An online training resource for clinical supervision. Nursing Standard, 26(24) 35-39.
McCutcheon K. (2013) Development of a multi-media book for clinical supervision training in an undergraduate nursing programme. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(5) 31-38.

A bridge-monitoring tool based on bridge and vehicle accelerations

Previous research on damage detection based on the response of a structure to a moving load has reported decay in accuracy with increasing load speed. Using a 3D vehicle – bridge interaction model, this paper shows that the area under the filtered acceleration response of the bridge increases with increasing damage, even at highway load speeds. Once a datum reading is established, the area under subsequent readings can be monitored and compared with the baseline reading, if an increase is observed it may indicate the presence of damage. The sensitivity of the proposed approach to road roughness and noise is tested in several damage scenarios. The possibility of identifying damage in the bridge by analysing the acceleration response of the vehicle traversing it is also investigated. While vehicle acceleration is shown to be more sensitive to road roughness and noise and therefore less reliable than direct bridge measurements, damage is successfully identified in favourable scenarios.

Simulation of three-dimension cutting force and tool deflection in the end milling operation based on finite element method

This paper presents a 3D simulation system which is employed in order to predict cutting forces and tool deflection during end-milling operation. In order to verify the accuracy of 3D simulation, results (cutting forces and tool deflection) were compared with those based on the theoretical relationships, in terms of agreement with experiments. The results obtained indicate that the simulation is capable of predicting the cutting forces and tool deflection.

Comparative study of tool life and hole quality in drilling of CFRP/titanium stack using coated carbide drill

The use of hybrid materials including carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) and lightweight metals such as titanium are increasing particularly in aerospace applications. Multi-material stacks require a number of holes for the assembly purposes. In this research, drilling trials have been carried out in CFRP, Ti-6Al-4V and CFRP/Ti-6Al-4V stack workpieces using AlTiN coated tungsten carbide drill bit. The effects of process parameters have been investigated. The thrust force, torque, burr formation, delamination, surface roughness and tool wear have been analyzed at various processing condition. The experimental results have shown that the thrust force, torque, burr formation and the average surface roughness increase with the increased feed rate and decrease with the increased cutting speed in drilling of Ti-6Al-4V. In drilling CFRP, delamination and the average surface roughness has similar tendency with the cutting parameters however thrust force and torque rises with the increased cutting speed. The results showed that after making 15 holes in CFRP/Ti-6Al-4V stack, measured thrust forces were increased by 20% in CFRP and by 45% in Ti-6Al-4V. Delamination was found to be much smaller in drilling of CFRP in stack from compared to drilling single CFRP. Tool life was significantly shortened in drilling of stack due to the combination of the wear mechanisms.

Teachers’ Perspectives on Moving Image as a digital literacy tool in Creative Classrooms

Eight Creative Classroom (CCR) elements are used as a framework for analysing teachers’ current attitudes towards the use of moving images as a tool for teaching digital literacy to pupils aged 11-18 years in the context of ‘Creative Classrooms’. This paper reports on the challenges being faced by innovative teachers willing to adopt moving image (as a new ICT) into their teaching, and highlights the gaps currently present in the systemic support structures in schools which need to be addressed for innovative pedagogical practices to occur in these Creative Classrooms. By ensuring educators learn from their experiences of poor ICT uptake in the past and utilise these lessons for future innovations in classrooms, it is hoped that the transition to moving image, and its associated digital literacy skills, will be smooth and beneficial to the learners.

An Enchanted Tool? Humanitarian Assistance and the ILC Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters

Despite previous attempts at codification of international law regarding international responses to natural and human-made disasters, there is currently no binding international legal framework to regulate the provision of humanitarian assistance outside armed conflicts. Nevertheless, since the International Law Commission (ILC) included the protection of persons in the event of disasters on its programme of work in 2006, it has provisionally adopted eleven draft articles that have the potential to create binding obligations on states and humanitarian actors in disaster settings. Draft articles adopted include the definition of ‘a disaster’, the relationship of the draft articles to the international humanitarian law of armed conflict, recognition of the inherent dignity of the human person, and the duty of international cooperation. However, the final form of the draft articles has not been agreed. The Codification Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs has proposed a framework convention format, which has seen support in the ILC and the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee. The overall aim of this article is to provide an analysis of the potential forms of international regulation open to the ILC and states in the context of humanitarian responses to disasters. However to avoid enchanting the ILC draft articles with unwarranted power, any examination of form requires an understanding of the substantive subject matter of the planned international regulation. The article therefore provides an overview of the international legal regulation of humanitarian assistance following natural and human-made disasters, and the ILC’s work to date on the topic. It then examines two key issues that remain to be addressed by the ILC and representatives of states in the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee. Drawing on the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the development and implications of binding and non-binding international texts are examined, followed by an analysis of the suggested framework convention approach identified by the Special Rapporteur as a potential outcome of the ILC work.