WEDC Technical Brief No. 42: Small-scale irrigation design

Small-scale irrigation can be defined as irrigation, usually on small plots, in which small farmers have the controlling influence, using a level of technology which they can operate and maintain effectively. Small-scale irrigation is, therefore, farmer-managed: farmers must be involved in the design process and, in particular, with decisions about boundaries, the layout of the canals, and the position of outlets and bridges. Although some small-scale irrigation systems serve an individual farm household,. most serve a group of farmers, typically comprising between 5 and 50 households. </p

WEDC Technical Brief No. 36: Ferrocement water tanks

Ferrocement consists of a cement-rich mortar reinforced with layers of wire mesh, sometimes with additional plain wire reinforcement for added strength. Tanks made of ferrocement are used in many countries for the collection and storage of water for drinking, washing, for animal use and irrigation. </p

WEDC Technical Brief No. 22: Intakes from rivers

A typical small water supply system requires less than about 200,000 litres per day, which is well within the capacity of small streams and alternative water sources, other than rivers. Indeed a river is not the ideal source of domestic water in many situations and an intake would normally be constructed only if there is no satisfactory alternative source such as groundwater (handpump), rainwater (catchment tank), or a spring (spring box). In contrast to these sources, water from rivers is liable to be polluted, and many rivers is liable to be polluted, and many rivers in the tropics and subtropics provide difficult conditions under which to construct an intake, for instance:They have a wide range of water levels between high and low flows, threatening to damage the intake at high flows, and leave it dry at low flows, and the intake has to operate satisfactorily over the whole range.They have a high sediment load ('silt'), especially at peak flows, which may block the intake.Scour and deposition can cause frequent changes to the bed and banks of the river channel. and may damage the intake or alternatively cut it off from the river.</p

The influence of role models on the engagement of people with disabilities in sport: a scoping review

Role models can motivate and promote engagement in activities of interest. This study sought to investigate how para-athletes can serve as role models for people with disabilities. Twenty-one studies were included in a scoping review to examine existing evidence relating to role models within parasport. A thematic analysis of available evidence identified five key themes. Persons identified as role models showed para-athletes, coaching staff with disabilities and other people (e.g.family members) were cited as potential role models to people with disabilities. Para-athlete role models as inspirational showed that role models could be important for entry into and maintained engagement in sport. Role models as social support associated with the theory of social learning (emotional, and structural support). Being a role model examines the desire of para-athletes to motivate and promote adapted sport. Finally, the impact of the ‘Supercrip’ narrative is examined in relation to parasport role models. We conclude that para-athletes may be highly relevant role models for people with disabilities and may encourage engagement in sport</p

The “key” to moving on: a frame analysis of entrepreneurs’ venture-failure narratives for public audience

Venture-failure is a common experience for many entrepreneurs, but the strategies they adopt in framing venture-failure narratives to public audiences is not well studied. Addressing this knowledge gap, the study examines how entrepreneurs construct stories that stimulate responses from public audiences during the ‘moving on’ phase. Our analysis of 91 failure blog posts shows how entrepreneurs use framing mechanisms referred to as ‘keyings’ that layer together literal interpretations and re-interpretations of failure. Moreover, we show how the layering of distinctly different primary and secondary keyings shape the tone of venture-failure narratives and stimulate legitimacy signals from audiences to try again. Our study advances the entrepreneurial failure literature by elaborating how failure narratives engage broad public audiences and why these matter as entrepreneurs move on to their next venture. We argue that keyings underpin these efforts by supporting integrative and dynamic presentations of failure to public audiences.</p

Microstructural evolution due to joining and forming in high strength extruded aluminium alloys

Microstructural evolution due to joining and forming in high strength extruded aluminium alloys</p

A comparative feminist analysis of Chinese and Disney animated features 1970-present

A comparative feminist analysis of Chinese and Disney animated features 1970-present</p

Artificial Intelligence in offsite and modular construction research

The capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) in managing complex problems are increasing in construction. Particularly for offsite and modular construction (OMC). However, the knowledge landscape of AI applications in OMC remains fragmented, hindering the understanding of current developments and critical areas for advancing AI-in-OMC. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of AI applications in OMC using a mixed-method review approach to identify key application areas of AI-in-OMC and under-researched areas. The findings reveal that the convolutional neural network (CNN) is the most prominent AI technique adopted, followed by artificial neural network (ANN). Prominent issues regarding AI-in-OMC include productivity and site safety. Further, the findings reveal patterns of different AI techniques solving similar research problems at each stage of OMC. Research areas to improve AI-in-OMC include AI-circular economy outcomes, sound and 23 image data integration and transfer learning.</p

Opticurve: an optimized informer-curvelet framework for enhanced hyperspectral image segmentation and classification

Hyperspectral image (HSI) classification is crucial for applications in climate action, land use analysis, disaster risk reduction, and informed decision-making, given the complex spatial and spectral variations inherent in HSI data. Traditional methods struggle with accurately capturing these variations, necessitating more advanced techniques. This work introduces an Optimized Linformer-Curvelet (OptiCurve) Framework that integrates CNN-based feature extraction, Curvelet Transform for spatial detail capture, and Linformer for efficient feature representation. By combining these techniques, the model enhances HSI segmentation and classification, supporting improved outcomes in critical areas like environmental monitoring and disaster response. The framework is validated on four standard HSI datasets-Indian Pines, Pavia University, Kennedy Space Center, and Houston University-showing significant performance improvements over existing methods.</p

Climate resilience: Scientific protocol for restoration of ecological function of environmentally degraded river basins

This record contains an extended abstract. Presented at the 43rd WEDC International Conference</p