Assessment of sample quality in soft clay using shear wave velocity and suction measurements

The characterisation of soils for civil engineering purposes depends on removing sufficiently high-quality samples from the ground. Accurate evaluation of sample quality is therefore important if reliable design parameters are to be determined. This paper describes the use of unconfined shear wave velocity (V _s) and suction (u _r) measurements to assess sample quality rapidly in soft clay. Samples of varying quality from three well-characterised soft clay sites are initially assessed using conventional techniques, and their results compared with V _s and u _r measurements performed on the same samples. It is observed that the quality of samples indicated by these measurements is very similar to those inferred from traditional disturbance measures, with V _s being the more reliable indicator. A tentative empirically derived criterion, based on samples tested in this project, is proposed to quantify sample disturbance combining both V _s and u _r measurements. Further work using this criterion on different materials is important so as to test its usefulness.

Shame, intimacy and self-definition: An assessment of the emotional foundation and intimate relationship consequences of an introjective personality orientation.

The current study sought to elaborate and test a theoretical proposition that introjective personality functioning, which has been implicated in various psychological difficulties (e.g., self-critical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder), has an emotional foundation in the self-conscious emotion of shame and is supported by dissociation. Moreover, introjective functioning was predicted to be associated with reduced interpersonal intimacy. To test the model, a Web-based survey design using path analysis was used. Three hundred and fifteen university students were assessed with measures of self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, and embarrassment), introjective (self-definition) and anaclitic (relational) personality style, pathological dissociation, and interpersonal intimacy. Introjective personality was found to be associated with increased shame and reduced interpersonal intimacy. However, the path between pathological dissociation and introjective functioning was not significant. The results are discussed with reference to the moderating influence of introjective functioning between shame and reduced interpersonal intimacy.

Wave loads on the foundation of a bottom-hinged modular flap structure

Large loads result in expensive foundations which are a substantial proportion of the capital cost of flap-type Wave Energy Converters (WECs). Devices such as Oyster 800, currently deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), comprise a single flap for the full width of the machine. Splitting a flap-type device into smaller vertical flap modules, to make a ‘modular-flap’, might reduce the total foundation loads, whilst still providing acceptable performance in terms of energy conversion.
This paper investigates the foundation loads of an undamped modular-flap device, comparing them to those for a rigid flap of an equivalent width. Physical modelling in a wave tank is used, with loads recorded using a six degree of freedom (DoF) load cell. Both fatigue and extreme loading analysis was conducted. The rotations of the flaps were also recorded, using a motion-tracking system.

Research Protocol: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Family Therapy: An Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) Partnership between Croydon Council and Queen's University Belfast

The paper presents a protocol for ‘A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Family Therapy (FFT): An Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) Partnership between Croydon Council and Queen's University Belfast’. The protocol describes a trial that uses FFT as an alternative intervention to current use of the youth justice system and local authority care with the aim of reducing crime/recidivism in young people referred to Croydon Council. The trial will take place over a period of 36 months and will involve up to 154 families. Croydon Council will employ a team of five Functional Family Therapists who will work with families to promote effective outcomes. The Centre for Effective Education at Queen’s University Belfast will act as independent evaluators of outcomes for families and young people. The work is supported from the United Kingdom Economic & Social Research Council/Early Intervention Foundation Grant Number ES/M006921/1.