Nonlinear soil-structure interaction for buried pressure pipes under differential ground motion

Pipelines extend thousands of kilometers across wide geographic areas as a network to provide essential services for modern life. It is inevitable that pipelines must pass through unfavorable ground conditions, which are susceptible to natural disasters. This thesis investigates the behaviour of buried pressure pipelines experiencing ground distortions induced by normal faulting. A recent large database of physical modelling observations on buried pipes of different stiffness relative to the surrounding soil subjected to normal faults provided a unique opportunity to calibrate numerical tools. Three-dimensional finite element models were developed to enable the complex soil-structure interaction phenomena to be further understood, especially on the subjects of gap formation beneath the pipe and the trench effect associated with the interaction between backfill and native soils. Benchmarked numerical tools were then used to perform parametric analysis regarding project geometry, backfill material, relative pipe-soil stiffness and pipe diameter. Seismic loading produces a soil displacement profile that can be expressed by isoil, the distance between the peak curvature and the point of contraflexure. A simplified design framework based on this length scale (i.e., the Kappa method) was developed, which features estimates of longitudinal bending moments of buried pipes using a characteristic length, ipipe, the distance from peak to zero curvature. Recent studies indicated that empirical soil springs that were calibrated against rigid pipes are not suitable for analyzing flexible pipes, since they lead to excessive conservatism (for design). A large-scale split-box normal fault simulator was therefore assembled to produce experimental data for flexible PVC pipe responses to a normal fault. Digital image correlation (DIC) was employed to analyze the soil displacement field, and both optical fibres and conventional strain gauges were used to measure pipe strains. A refinement to the Kappa method was introduced to enable the calculation of axial strains as a function of pipe elongation induced by flexure and an approximation of the longitudinal ground deformations. A closed-form Winkler solution of flexural response was also derived to account for the distributed normal fault pattern. Finally, these two analytical solutions were evaluated against the pipe responses observed in the large-scale laboratory tests.

Delivering essential health care services in rural areas : an analysis of alternative models /

"May 1991."

Marketing VM services to achieve competitive advantage in the Malaysian Construction Sector

Value Management (VM) has been proven to provide a structured framework, together with supporting tools and techniques that facilitate effective decision-making in many types of projects, thus achieving ‘best value’ for clients. It is identified at International level as a natural career progression for the construction service provider and as an opportunity in developing leading-edge skills. The services offered by contractors and consultants in the construction sector have been expanding. In an increasingly competitive and global marketplace, firms are seeking ways to differentiate their services to ever more knowledgeable and demanding clients. The traditional demarcations have given way, and the old definition of what contractors, designers, engineers and quantity surveyors can, and cannot do in terms of their market offering has changed. Project management, design and cost and safety consultancy services, are being delivered by a diverse range of suppliers. Value management services have been developing in various sectors in industry; from manufacturing to the military and now construction. Given the growing evidence that VM has been successful in delivering value-for-money to the client, VM would appear to be gaining some momentum as an essential management tool in the Malaysian construction sector. The recently issued VM Circular 3/2009 by the Economic Planning Unit Malaysia (EPU) possibly marks a new beginning in public sector client acceptance on the strength of VM in construction. This paper therefore attempts to study the prospects of marketing the benefits of VM by construction service providers, and how it may provide an edge in an increasingly competitive Malaysian construction industry.

Information dependencies between architects and services engineers for early design evaluation : a framework for an energy design tool for architects

Effective strategies for the design of effi cient and environmentally sensitive buildings require a close collaboration between architects and engineers in the design of the building shell and environmental control systems at the outset of projects. However, it is often not practical for engineers to be involved early on in the design process. It is therefore essential that architects be able to perform preliminary energy analyses to evaluate their proposed designs prior to the major building characteristics becoming fi xed. Subsequently, a need exists for a simplifi ed energy design tool for architects. This paper discusses the limitations of existing analysis software in supporting early design explorations and proposes a framework for the development of a tool that provides decision support by permitting architects to quickly assess the performance of design alternatives.

Value management : an extension of quantity surveying services in Malaysia

Value Management (VM) initially started in early 1940s in the US manufacturing industry has increasingly becoming popular within the construction industry community internationally. It has been widely accepted as an important tool in the management of projects. The structured, systematic and multi-disciplinary approach in decision making process is a niche for VM in delivering better value for money project to the client investment. It would appear to be gaining some momentum as an essential management tool in the Malaysian construction sector especially in the quantity surveying practice. Quantity surveyors increasing involvement in VM provides an opportunity for the profession to re-model some of its traditional services in a more positive light and develop leading-edge skills and promote the profession. International practice has associated VM to be part of services offered in the quantity surveying practice; especially in UK has proven to be a natural progression of QS profession. The introduction of VM as early 1980’s in Malaysia combined with increasing demand for construction project to facilitate nation progress is shedding a positive light for quantity surveying profession to take lead in developing VM as one of their niche area. Therefore, the quantity surveying profession having the opportunity to take lead of this service which reflect their traditional attributes for providing the best value-for-money advise to the client. This paper shall discuss on the development of VM in Malaysia and the challenges VM face services in QS firm to remain ahead of their competitors.

Application of Geographic Modeling Techniques to Quantify Spatial Access to Health Services Before and After an Acute Cardiac Event: The Cardiac ARIA Project

Background: Access to cardiac services is essential for appropriate implementation of evidence-based therapies to improve outcomes. The Cardiac Accessibility and Remoteness Index for Australia (Cardiac ARIA) aimed to derive an objective, geographic measure reflecting access to cardiac services. Methods: An expert panel defined an evidence-based clinical pathway. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a numeric/alpha index was developed at two points along the continuum of care. The acute category (numeric) measured the time from the emergency call to arrival at an appropriate medical facility via road ambulance. The aftercare category (alpha) measured access to four basic services (family doctor, pharmacy, cardiac rehabilitation, and pathology services) when a patient returned to their community. Results: The numeric index ranged from 1 (access to principle referral center with cardiac catheterization service ≤ 1 hour) to 8 (no ambulance service, > 3 hours to medical facility, air transport required). The alphabetic index ranged from A (all 4 services available within 1 hour drive-time) to E (no services available within 1 hour). 13.9 million (71%) Australians resided within Cardiac ARIA 1A locations (hospital with cardiac catheterization laboratory and all aftercare within 1 hour). Those outside Cardiac 1A were over-represented by people aged over 65 years (32%) and Indigenous people (60%). Conclusion: The Cardiac ARIA index demonstrated substantial inequity in access to cardiac services in Australia. This methodology can be used to inform cardiology health service planning and the methodology could be applied to other common disease states within other regions of the world.

Evaluating the QUT Homestay Program : lessons learnt in providing quality services to international students

The QUT Homestay Program is an essential part of the university’s commitment to meet the accommodation needs of international students. Despite the importance of this style of accommodation, there is very little research addressing issues related to homestay arrangements. The program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) was evaluated in 2002 to develop a continuous improvement framework to ensure provision of quality homestay services to international students. This paper presents an overview of the evaluation and key lessons learnt in providing quality homestay services to international students. It will cover social and cross-cultural issues faced by providers and international students in the homestay environment, the homestay support needs, program information, policies, procedures and code of practice governing the program.

Income Tax : Text, Materials and Essential Cases [8th ed.]

Tax law and policy is a vital part of Australian society. Australian society insists that the Federal Government provide extensive public programs, such as health services, education, social security, foreign aid, legal infra¬structure, regulation, police services, national defence and funding for sports development. These programs are costly to provide and are funded by taxation. The aim of this book is to introduce and explain the principles of tax law and tax policy in plain English. The book contains detailed commentary on tax principles together with extracts from cases and materials that illustrate the application of the principles. The book considers tax policy and the economic and social aspects of tax law. While tax students must develop technical competence in tax law, given the speed with which changes are made to the technical details of tax law, it is also important to grasp tax principles and policy to understand why tax law has changed or why it should change. The chapters are structured to direct readers to the key provisions of the tax law. Each case is introduced by an explanation of the facts, followed by the taxpayer’s arguments, the Commissioner’s assertions and the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or a court. The commentary guides readers through the issues considered in the judgments. The book contains extracts from: articles; materials dealing with tax policy; and the Commissioner’s rulings. The book also has references for further reading and medium-neutral citations (Internet citations) for cases decided since 1998.

Building essential BPM capabilities to assist successful ICT deployment in the developing context : observations and recommendations from Sri Lanka

The role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been identified as an important factor by the United Nations in achieving the millennium development goals (UNAPCICT, 2012)1. The potential for ICT has been identified as a means to reducing poverty, creating global communities by providing access to the internet and mobile networks to rural communities, improving education services, medical services, and information availability. As of today, significant amounts of funds have been invested by the governments and donor organizations in ‘Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D)’projects by establishing telecenters, e-villages, e-health, electronic and mobile banking, and egovernment systems for citizens in general, and more specifically, rural communities to bridge the digital divide (Heeks & Molla, 2009).

Fresh ideas : services thinking for social marketing

Purpose The social marketing literature tends to focus on upstream marketing (policy) and downstream (individual behaviour change) and has a limited view on midstream (working with partners and community groups) social marketing. The paper proposes midstream social marketing should also include an understanding of how services and service employees influence and support individual behaviour change goals. The paper presents four key services marketing principles - derived from services theory and thinking - which the paper believes to be essential for implementing effective midstream social marketing. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that uses service theory and case-examples to show how service thinking can be used as a midstream social marketing approach. Findings For effective uptake and impact of social marketing services amongst people and populations, social marketers need to design programs that consider the service experience, the service employee, service quality/customer value and the active role of the customer in value creation. Research limitations/implications Services marketing is a well-established sub-discipline of marketing which, until recently, has not interacted with social marketing. The extension and application of services theory for social marketing can enrich and propel the social marketing discipline forward. Further research is recommended to evaluate how service principles can be applied in practice. Social implications Given that social marketing services tend not to be accessed in sufficient numbers by the people who most need them, social marketers need to think beyond the technical, cognitive, and organisational-focused goals when designing social services. Originality/value This paper identifies key service theories that social marketers should understand and use and is thus a source of fresh ideas for theory and practice.

Air navigation services in Australia and the United States : a comparative case study

The central document governing the global organization of Air Navigation Services (ANS) is the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly referred to as the “Chicago Convention,” whose original version was signed in that city in 1944. In the Convention, Contracting States agreed to ensure the minimum standards of ANS established by ICAO, a specialized United Nations agency created by the Convention. Emanating from obligations under the Chicago Convention, ANS has traditionally provided by departments of national governments. However, there is a widespread trend toward transferring delivery of ANS services outside of line departments of national governments to independent agencies or corporations. The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), which is the trade association for independent ANS providers, currently counts approximately 60 members, and is steadily growing. However, whatever delivery mechanisms are chosen, national governments remain ultimately responsible for ensuring that adequate ANS services are available. The provision by governments of ANS reflects the responsibility of the state for safety, international relations, and indirectly, the macroeconomic benefits of ensuring a sound infrastructure for aviation. ANS is a “public good” and an “essential good” provided to all aircraft using a country’s airfields and airspace. However, ANS also represents a service that directly benefits only a limited number of users, notably aircraft owners and operators. The idea that the users of the system, rather than the taxpaying public, should incur the costs associated with ANS provision is inherent in the commercialization process. However, ICAO sets out broad principles for the establishment of user charges, which member states are expected to comply with. ICAO states that only distance flown and aircraft weights are acceptable parameters for use in a charging system. These two factors are considered to be easy to measure, bear a reasonable relationship to the value of service received, and do not discriminate due to factors such as where the flight originated or the nation of aircraft registration.

Improving US airport taxicab services through governance arrangements

Most airports internationally have implemented customer satisfaction programs into their operations to increase non-aeronautical revenues. In the US, taxicabs are an essential airport transport mode given the limited public transport options available. Effective airport taxicab planning can increase airport customer satisfaction levels, as well as facilitate handling increased airport passenger volumes. However, little is known on how US airports have adapted their governance practices from a traditional hierarchical to a network approach in their efforts to undertake airport taxicab planning initiatives since the deregulation of the transportation industry. Data acquired from 51 US hub airports is used to examine their existing taxicab planning practices. The findings offer how US airports can modify governance processes in their airport taxicab planning processes to better support increases in the customer satisfaction levels of airport taxicab patrons.

Individuals, Innovation, and the Internet : Why Access is Essential

As each day passes, and as new and better devices and services are developed, more and more government and private services are being moved to an online format. This movement makes access to the internet an essential for 21st Century life. The internet has become so integrated in our lives that many of us cannot imagine how we could operate without it. This omnipresent ‘being’ affects all forms of ‘normal’ social and economic activity and does so in ways that we do not realize. Those with access are able to engage with government, business, and family and friends more easily, which can lead to an improved standard of living. For the disadvantaged, however – those with the desire but without the capacity – a lack of access can be socially isolating. "Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow – T. S. Elliott. “The Hollow Men” Engagement in the internet economy requires both physical access and the individual to have the necessary finances and skills to make and sustain their use. If governments and the international community want a fully functioning internet economy this requires that all individuals must be operating in it. That not all individuals do so means, very simply, that the internet economy is not fully functioning. The text contextualizes for policy makers and legislatures why it is essential to ensure that individuals have appropriate access to the internet and what can be done to achieve it. The interrelationship/overlap between why access is essential, how it can be achieved and the central role of the individual to the internet economy is explored and translated into the concept of connectedness. From this, solutions for ensuring connectedness for all individuals are developed. It is Dr Cradduck’s hope that in the not too distant future readers will puzzle over why texts such as this needed to be written.

Incentives for global public health: Patent law and access to essential medicines

This portrait of the global debate over patent law and access to essential medicines focuses on public health concerns about HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, the SARS virus, influenza, and diseases of poverty. The essays explore the diplomatic negotiations and disputes in key international fora, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Drawing upon international trade law, innovation policy, intellectual property law, health law, human rights and philosophy, the authors seek to canvass policy solutions which encourage and reward worthwhile pharmaceutical innovation while ensuring affordable access to advanced medicines. A number of creative policy options are critically assessed, including the development of a Health Impact Fund, prizes for medical innovation, the use of patent pools, open-source drug development and forms of 'creative capitalism'.

Access to essential medicines: Public health and international law

Historically, there have been intense conflicts over the ownership and exploitation of pharmaceutical drugs and diagnostic tests dealing with infectious diseases. Throughout the 1980’s, there was much scientific, legal, and ethical debate about which scientific group should be credited with the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus, and the invention of the blood test devised to detect antibodies to the virus. In May 1983, Luc Montagnier, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, and other French scientists from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, published a paper in Science, detailing the discovery of a virus called lymphadenopathy (LAV). A scientific rival, Robert Gallo of the National Cancer Institute, identified the AIDS virus and published his findings in the May 1984 issue of Science. In May 1985, the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded the American patent for the AIDS blood test to Gallo and the Department of Health and Human Services. In December 1985, the Institut Pasteur sued the Department of Health and Human Services, contending that the French were the first to identify the AIDS virus and to invent the antibody test, and that the American test was dependent upon the French research. In March 1987, an agreement was brokered by President Ronald Reagan and French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, which resulted in the Department of Health and Human Services and the Institut Pasteur sharing the patent rights to the blood test for AIDS. In 1992, the Federal Office of Research Integrity found that Gallo had committed scientific misconduct, by falsely reporting facts in his 1984 scientific paper. A subsequent investigation by the National Institutes of Health, the United States Congress, and the US attorney-general cleared Gallo of any wrongdoing. In 1994, the United States government and French government renegotiated their agreement regarding the AIDS blood test patent, in order to make the distribution of royalties more equitable... The dispute between Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo was not an isolated case of scientific rivalry and patent races. It foreshadowed further patent conflicts over research in respect of HIV/AIDS. Michael Kirby, former Justice of the High Court of Australia diagnosed a clash between two distinct schools of philosophy - ‘scientists of the old school... working by serendipity with free sharing of knowledge and research’, and ‘those of the new school who saw the hope of progress as lying in huge investments in scientific experimentation.’ Indeed, the patent race between Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier has been a precursor to broader trade disputes over access to essential medicines in the 1990s and 2000s. The dispute between Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier captures in microcosm a number of themes of this book: the fierce competition for intellectual property rights; the clash between sovereign states over access to medicines; the pressing need to defend human rights, particularly the right to health; and the need for new incentives for research and development to combat infectious diseases as both an international and domestic issue.