Maintaining a grasp on reality – Is our validation and design effort focused in the same direction?

This article examines the influence on the engineering design process of the primary objective of validation, whether it is proving a model, a technology or a product. Through the examination of a number of stiffened panel case studies, the relationships between simulation, validation, design and the final product are established and discussed. The work demonstrates the complex interactions between the original (or anticipated) design model, the analysis model, the validation activities and the product in service. The outcome shows clearly some unintended consequences. High fidelity validation test simulations require a different set of detailed parameters to accurately capture behaviour. By doing so, there is a divergence from the original computer-aided design model, intrinsically limiting the value of the validation with respect to the product. This work represents a shift from the traditional perspective of encapsulating and controlling errors between simulation and experimental test to consideration of the wider design-test process. Specifically, it is a reflection on the implications of how models are built and validated, and the effect on results and understanding of structural behaviour. This article then identifies key checkpoints in the design process and how these should be used to update the computer-aided design system parameters for a design. This work strikes at a fundamental challenge in understanding the interaction between design, certification and operation of any complex system.

Factors influencing the compressive strengths of fly ash based geopolymers

Several factors affecting the reactivity of pulverised fuel ash (pfa) as a precursor for geopolymer concrete have been investigated. These include physical and chemical properties of various pfa sources, inclusion of ground granulated blast furnace slag (ggbs), chemical activator dosages and curing temperature. Alkali-activated pfa was found to require elevated curing temperatures and high alkali concentrations. A mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate was used and this was shown to result in high strengths, as high as 70 MPa at 28-days. The presence of silicates in solution was found to be a key factor. Detailed physical and chemical characterisation was carried out on thirteen pfa sources from the UK. The most important factor affecting the reactivity was found to be the particle size of pfa. The loss on ignition (LOI) and the amorphous content are also important parameters that need to be considered for the selection of pfa for use in geopolymer concrete. The partial replacement of pfa by ground granulated blast furnace slag (ggbs) was found to be beneficial in not only avoiding the need for elevated curing temperatures but also in improving compressive strengths. Microstructural characterisation with scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was performed on pfa/ggbs pastes. The reaction product of pfa and ggbs in these binary systems was calcium aluminium silicate hydrate gel (C-A-S-H) with inclusion of Na in the structure.

The impact of organisational factors and government policy on psychiatric nurses family focused practice with parents who have mental illness, their dependent children and families in Ireland

Government policy and organizational factors influence family focused practice in adult mental health services. However, how these aspects shape psychiatric nurses’ practice with parents who have mental illness, their dependent children and families is less well understood. Drawing on the findings of a qualitative study, this article explores the way in which Irish policy and organizational factors might influence psychiatric nurses’ family focused practice, and whether (and how) family focused practice might be further promoted. A purposive sample of 14 psychiatric nurses from eight mental health services completed semi-structured interviews in 2013. The analysis was inductive and presented as thematic networks. Both groups described how policies and organizational culture enabled and/or hindered family focused practice, with differences between community and acute participants seen. The need to develop national and international policies along with practices to embed information and support regarding parenting into ongoing care is implicated in this study.

The Belfast Storytelling Database: A spontaneous social interaction database with laughter focused annotation

To support the endeavor of creating intelligent interfaces between computers and humans the use of training materials based on realistic human-human interactions has been recognized as a crucial task. One of the effects of the creation of these databases is an increased realization of the importance of often overlooked social signals and behaviours in organizing and orchestrating our interactions. Laughter is one of these key social signals; its importance in maintaining the smooth flow of human interaction has only recently become apparent in the embodied conversational agent domain. In turn, these realizations require training data that focus on these key social signals. This paper presents a database that is well annotated and theoretically constructed with respect to understanding laughter as it is used within human social interaction. Its construction, motivation, annotation and availability are presented in detail in this paper.

Factors that impact on the use of mechanical ventilation weaning protocols in critically ill adults and children: a qualitative-evidence synthesis

Background:
Prolonged mechanical ventilation is associated with a longer intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay and higher mortality. Consequently, methods to improve ventilator weaning processes have been sought. Two recent Cochrane systematic reviews in ICU adult and paediatric populations concluded that protocols can be effective in reducing the duration of mechanical ventilation, but there was significant heterogeneity in study findings. Growing awareness of the benefits of understanding the contextual factors impacting on effectiveness has encouraged the integration of qualitative evidence syntheses with effectiveness reviews, which has delivered important insights into the reasons underpinning (differential) effectiveness of healthcare interventions.

Objectives:
1. To locate, appraise and synthesize qualitative evidence concerning the barriers and facilitators of the use of protocols for weaning critically-ill adults and children from mechanical ventilation;

2. To integrate this synthesis with two Cochrane effectiveness reviews of protocolized weaning to help explain observed heterogeneity by identifying contextual factors that impact on the use of protocols for weaning critically-ill adults and children from mechanical ventilation;

3. To use the integrated body of evidence to suggest the circumstances in which weaning protocols are most likely to be used.

Search methods:
We used a range of search terms identified with the help of the SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Intervention, Comparison, Evaluation) mnemonic. Where available, we used appropriate methodological filters for specific databases. We searched the following databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, OVID, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, EBSCOHost, Web of Science Core Collection, ASSIA, IBSS, Sociological Abstracts, ProQuest and LILACS on the 26th February 2015. In addition, we searched: the grey literature; the websites of professional associations for relevant publications; and the reference lists of all publications reviewed. We also contacted authors of the trials included in the effectiveness reviews as well as of studies (potentially) included in the qualitative synthesis, conducted citation searches of the publications reporting these studies, and contacted content experts.

We reran the search on 3rd July 2016 and found three studies, which are awaiting classification.

Selection criteria:
We included qualitative studies that described: the circumstances in which protocols are designed, implemented or used, or both, and the views and experiences of healthcare professionals either involved in the design, implementation or use of weaning protocols or involved in the weaning of critically-ill adults and children from mechanical ventilation not using protocols. We included studies that: reflected on any aspect of the use of protocols, explored contextual factors relevant to the development, implementation or use of weaning protocols, and reported contextual phenomena and outcomes identified as relevant to the effectiveness of protocolized weaning from mechanical ventilation.

Data collection and analysis:
At each stage, two review authors undertook designated tasks, with the results shared amongst the wider team for discussion and final development. We independently reviewed all retrieved titles, abstracts and full papers for inclusion, and independently extracted selected data from included studies. We used the findings of the included studies to develop a new set of analytic themes focused on the barriers and facilitators to the use of protocols, and further refined them to produce a set of summary statements. We used the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research (CERQual) framework to arrive at a final assessment of the overall confidence of the evidence used in the synthesis. We included all studies but undertook two sensitivity analyses to determine how the removal of certain bodies of evidence impacted on the content and confidence of the synthesis. We deployed a logic model to integrate the findings of the qualitative evidence synthesis with those of the Cochrane effectiveness reviews.

Main results:
We included 11 studies in our synthesis, involving 267 participants (one study did not report the number of participants). Five more studies are awaiting classification and will be dealt with when we update the review.

The quality of the evidence was mixed; of the 35 summary statements, we assessed 17 as ‘low’, 13 as ‘moderate’ and five as ‘high’ confidence. Our synthesis produced nine analytical themes, which report potential barriers and facilitators to the use of protocols. The themes are: the need for continual staff training and development; clinical experience as this promotes felt and perceived competence and confidence to wean; the vulnerability of weaning to disparate interprofessional working; an understanding of protocols as militating against a necessary proactivity in clinical practice; perceived nursing scope of practice and professional risk; ICU structure and processes of care; the ability of protocols to act as a prompt for shared care and consistency in weaning practice; maximizing the use of protocols through visibility and ease of implementation; and the ability of protocols to act as a framework for communication with parents.

Authors' conclusions:
There is a clear need for weaning protocols to take account of the social and cultural environment in which they are to be implemented. Irrespective of its inherent strengths, a protocol will not be used if it does not accommodate these complexities. In terms of protocol development, comprehensive interprofessional input will help to ensure broad-based understanding and a sense of ‘ownership’. In terms of implementation, all relevant ICU staff will benefit from general weaning as well as protocol-specific training; not only will this help secure a relevant clinical knowledge base and operational understanding, but will also demonstrate to others that this knowledge and understanding is in place. In order to maximize relevance and acceptability, protocols should be designed with the patient profile and requirements of the target ICU in mind. Predictably, an under-resourced ICU will impact adversely on protocol implementation, as staff will prioritize management of acutely deteriorating and critically-ill patients.

Mental Health Nurses' Family Focused Practice with Parents who have Mental Illness, their Children and Families in Adult Mental Health Services in Ireland

Introduction: While it is recommended that mental health professionals engage in family focused practice (FFP), there is limited understanding regarding psychiatric nurses’ practice with parents who have mental illness, their children and families in adult mental health services.

Methods: This study utilized a mixed methods approach to measure the extent of psychiatric nurses’ family focused practice and factors that predicted it. It also sought to explore the nature and scope of high scoring psychiatric nurses’ FFP and factors that affected their capacity to engage in FFP. Three hundred and forty three psychiatric nurses in 12 mental health services throughout Ireland completed the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ). Fourteen nurses who achieved high scores on the FFMHPQ also participated in semi-structured interviews.

Results: Whilst the majority of nurses were not family focused a substantial minority were. High scoring nurses’ practice was complex and multifaceted, comprising various family focused activities, principles and processes. Nurses’ capacity to engage in FFP was determined by their knowledge and skills, working in community settings and own parenting experience.

Conclusions: Generally, low levels of family focused practice suggest the need for organizations to develop and implement guidelines, policies and training to support mental health professionals to adopt a whole family approach.

A comparison of theoretical Mg VI emission line strengths with active-region observations from SERTS

R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates in N-like Mg VI are used to derive theoretical electron-density-sensitive emission line ratios involving 2s²2p³ - 2s2p⁴ transitions in the 269-403 Å wavelength range. A comparison of these with observations of a solar active region, obtained during the 1989 flight of the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS), reveals good agreement between theory and observation for the 2s²2p^{3 4}S - 2s2p ^{4 4}p transitions at 399.28, 400.67, and 403.30 Å, and the 2s²2p^{3 2}p - 2s2p^{4 2}D lines at 387.77 and 387.97 Å. However, intensities for the other lines attributed to Mg VI in this spectrum by various authors do not match the present theoretical predictions. We argue that these discrepancies are not due to errors in the adopted atomic data, as previously suggested, but rather to observational uncertainties or mis-identifications. Some of the features previously identified as Mg VI lines in the SERTS spectrum, such as 291.36 and 293.15 Å, are judged to be noise, while others (including 349.16 Å) appear to be blended.

Effective collision strengths for election impact excitation of Cl III

Effective collision strengths for electron-impact excitation of the phosphorus-like ion Cl III are presented for all fine-structure transitions among the levels arising from the lowest 23 LS states. The collisional cross sections are computed in the multichannel close-coupling R-matrix approximation, where sophisticated configuration-interaction wave functions are used to represent the target states. The 23 LS states are formed from the basis configurations 3s²3p³, 3s3p⁴, 3s²3p²3d, and 3s²3p²4s, and correspond to 49 fine-structure levels, leading to a total possible 1176 fine-structure transitions. The effective collision strengths, obtained by averaging the electron collision strengths over a Maxwellian distribution of electron velocities, are tabulated in this paper for all 1176 transitions and for electron temperatures in the ranges T(K)=7500-25,000 and log T(K)=4.4-5.4. The former range encompasses the temperatures of particular importance for application to gaseous nebulae, while the latter range is more applicable to the study of solar and laboratory-type plasmas. © 2001 Academic Press.

Effective collision strengths for forbidden transitions among the 3s23p3 fine-structure levels of Cl III

Effective collision strengths for the 10 astrophysically important fine-structure forbidden transitions among the ⁴S^o, ²D^o and ²P^o levels in the 3s²3p³ configuration of Cl III are presented. The calculation employs the multichannel R-matrix method to compute the electron-impact excitation collision strengths in a close-coupling expansion, which incorporates the lowest 23 LS target eigenstates of Cl III. These states are formed from the 3s²3p³, 3s3p⁴, 3s²3p²3d and 3s²3p²4s configurations. The Maxwellian-averaged effective collision strengths are presented graphically for all 10 fine-structure transitions over a wide range of electron temperatures appropriate for astrophysical applications [log T(K) = 3.3 - log T(K) = 5.9]. Comparisons are made with the earlier seven-state close-coupling calculation of Butler & Zeippen, and in general excellent agreement is found in the low-temperature region where a comparison is possible [log T(K) = 3.3 - log T(K) = 4.7]. However, discrepancies of up to 30 per cent are found to occur for the forbidden transitions which involve the ⁴S^o ground state level, particularly for the lowest temperatures considered. At the higher temperatures, the present data are the only reliable results currently available.

Effective collision strengths for fine-structure forbidden transitions among the 2s22p3 levels of S x

Effective collision strengths for electron-impact excitation of the N-like ion S x are calculated in the close-coupling approximation using the multichannel R-matrix method. Specific attention is given to the 10 astrophysically important fine-structure forbidden transitions among the ⁴S^O, ²D^o and ²P^o levels in the 2s²2p³ ground configuration. The total (e^- + ion) wavefunction is expanded in terms of the 11 lowest LS eigenstates of S x, and each eigenstate is represented by extensive configuration-interaction wavefunctions. The collision strengths obtained are thermally averaged over a Maxwellian distribution of velocities, for all 10 fine-structure transitions, over the range of electron temperatures log T(K) = 4.6-6.7 (the range appropriate for astrophysical applications). The present effective collision strengths are the only results currently available for these fine-structure transition rates.

Effective collision strengths for fine-structure forbidden transitions among the 2s22p3 levels of Ne IV

Effective collision strengths for electron-impact excitation of the N-like ion NeIV are calculated in the close-coupling approximation using the multichannel R-matrix method. Specific attention is given to the 10 astrophysically important fine-structure forbidden transitions among the ⁴S^o, ²D^o and ²P^o levels in the 2s²2p³ ground-state configuration. The expansion of the total wavefunction incorporates the lowest 11 LS eigenstates of NeIV, consisting of eight n = 2 terms with configurations 2s²2p³, 2s2p⁴ and 2p⁵, together with three n = 3 states of configuration 2s²2p²3s. We present in graphical form the effective collision strengths obtained by thermally averaging the collision strengths over a Maxwellian distribution of velocities, for all 10 fine-structure transitions, over the range of electron temperatures log T(K) = 3.6 to log T(K) = 6.1 (the range appropriate for astrophysical applications). Comparisons are made with the earlier, less sophisticated close-coupling calculation of Giles, and excellent agreement is found in the limited temperature region where a comparison is possible [log T(K) = 3.7 to log 7(K) = 4.3]. At higher temperatures the present data are the only reliable results currently available.

Effective collision strengths for fine-structure forbidden transitions among the 3s 23p 3 levels of Ar IV

The multichannel R-matrix method is used to compute electron impact excitation collision strengths in Ar IV for all fine-structure transitions among the ⁴S°, ²D° and ²P° levels in the 3s ²3p ³ ground configuration. Included in the expansion of the total wavefunction are the lowest 13 LS target eigenstates of Ar iv formed from the 3s ²3p ³, 3s3p ⁴ and 3s ²3p ²3d configurations. The effective collision strengths, obtained by averaging the electron collision strengths over a Maxwellian distribution of electron velocities, are presented for all 10 fine-structure transitions over a wide range of electron temperatures of astrophysical interest (T _e = 2000-100 000 K). Comparisons are made with an earlier 7-state close-coupling calculation by Zeippen, Butler & Le Bourlot, and significant differences are found to occur for many of the forbidden transitions considered, in particular those involving the ⁴S° ground state, where discrepancies of up to a factor of 3 are found in the low-temperature region. © 1997 RAS.

Child-focused psychosocial interventions for anger and aggression in children under 12 years of age (Protocol)

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows:

To evaluate the effectiveness of child-focused psychosocial interventions for anger and aggression in children under 12 years of age.

Worker, workplace or families: What influences family focused practices in adult mental health?

Introduction: Family focused practice is thought to lead to positive outcomes for all family members. However, there are multiple barriers and enablers in adult mental health services to practitioners undertaking these actions.
Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of worker, workforce and family factors to predict family focused practices (FFPs) in adult mental health services.
Method: Three hundred and seven adult mental health workers completed a 45 items family focused practice measure of 16 family focused practices.
Thesis: It was found that worker skill and knowledge about family work and an ability to assess the degree of parental insight into the child’s connections to other family members and the community were important predictors of FFP, along with the closely related-worker confidence. While aspects of the worker, workplace and family each contribute to FFPs, this study highlighted the importance of worker skill, knowledge and confidence as central issues for adult mental health workers.
Implications for practice: Study implications include the need for training in specific FFPs, the provision of time to engage with clients on parenting issues and the need 5 to ensure that there are adequate services for workers to refer family members to

Enlivening, Invigorating & Enhancing Science:This session explores learning from a range of Primary Science Teaching Trust projects focused on invigorating the experience of children, teachers and whole school communities with primary science.

This session will provide you with opportunity to find out what is being achieved and explore the implications for your own practice.