Psychometric validation of the Bangla fear of COVID-19 Scale: confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis

The recently developed Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fears of COVID-19. Given the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh, we aimed to translate and validate the FCV-19S in Bangla. The forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the questionnaire into Bangla. The reliability and validity properties of the Bangla FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilizing both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables, national lockdown variables, and response to the Bangla Health Patient Questionnaire. The sample comprised 8550 Bangladeshi participants. The Cronbach α value for the Bangla FCV-19S was 0.871 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S was significantly correlated with the nine-item Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-90) (r = 0.406,

Financing micro-entrepreneurs for poverty alleviation: a performance analysis of microfinance services offered by BRAC, ASA, and Proshika from Bangladesh

Microfinance services have emerged as an effective tool for financing microentrepreneurs to alleviate poverty. Since the 1970s, development theorists have considered non-governmental microfinance institutions (MFIs) as the leading practitioners of sustainable development through financing micro-entrepreneurial activities. This study evaluates the impact of micro-finance services provided by MFIs on poverty alleviation. In this vein, we examine whether microfinance services contribute to poverty alleviation, and also identify bottlenecks in micro-finance programs and operations. The results indicate that the micro-loans have a statistically significant positive impact on the poverty alleviation index and consequently improve the living standard of borrowers by increasing their level of income

Micromobility Trip Characteristics, Transit Connections, and COVID-19 Effects

While micromobility services (e.g., bikeshare, e-bike share, e-scooter share) hold great potential for providing clean travel, estimating the effects of those services on vehicle miles traveled and reducing greenhouse gases is challenging. To address some of the challenges, this study examined survey, micromobility, and transit data collected from 2017 to 2021 in approximately 20 U.S. cities. Micromobility fleet utilization ranged widely from 0.7 to 12 trips per vehicle per day, and the average trip distance was 0.8 to 3.6 miles. The median (range) rates at which micromobility trips substituted for other modes were 41% (16–71%) for car trips, 36% (5–48%) for walking, and 8% (2–35%) for transit, 5% (2–42%) for no trip. In most cities, the mean actual trip distance was approximately 1.5 to 2 times longer than the mean distance of a line connecting origin to destination. There was a weak and unclear connection between micromobility use and transit use that requires further study to more clearly delineate, but micromobility use had a stronger positive relationship to nearby rail use than to nearby bus use in cities with rail and bus service. The COVID-19 pandemic led to more moderate declines in docked than in dockless bike-share systems. Metrics that would enable better assessment of the impacts of micromobility are vehicle miles traveled and emissions of micromobility fleets and their service vehicles, and miles and percentage of micromobility trips that connect to transit or substitute for car trips

Insight into the behavior of a caisson anchor under cyclic loading in calcareous silt

This paper provides insight into the behavior of a stiffened caisson anchor under inclined cyclic loading in calcareous silt. A series of tests was conducted in a beam centrifuge. A monotonic test was first performed, quantifying the pure monotonic capacity, and then four cyclic loading tests varying the mean load, amplitude, and number of cycles. Cyclic soil characterization T-bar tests and caisson tests were linked. Undrained cyclic T-bar tests led to generate excess pore pressure, resulting in degradation of soil strength and stiffness. For partially drained cyclic caisson tests, the excess pore pressure generated during initial undrained monotonic loading experienced partial dissipation. Healing due to consolidation outweighed the damage due to initial pore pressure generation. Postcyclic monotonic capacity was found to be up to 35% higher compared with the pure monotonic capacity unless the anchor failed during cyclic loading. Measured rotation indicated the evolution of anchor failure mechanism. Caisson capacity under inclined loading was presented as a failure envelope, with the effect of cyclic loading accentuated. The contribution of the soil–chain interaction on the caisson capacity was minimal. No trenching was apparent on the soil surface, and no gap was formed around the anchor in the considered centrifuge testing conditions. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943- 5606.0002818. © 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers

Calibrating a T-bar factor for calcareous silt subjected to simple shear

Field tests suggest that the T-bar factor may vary over a large range for calcareous soils. As the T-bar penetrates very deep into soft soil, a full flow-round mechanism is formed around the T-bar. Examining the stress states around this mechanism suggests that soil elements are subjected to a varying stress state, and the element behaviour represents a combination of triaxial compression, simple shear, and triaxial extension conditions. This paper reports results of T-bar penetrometer tests performed at an elevated gravity of 150-g (where g is earth’s gravity) in a geotechnical centrifuge on a calcareous silty sediment collected from the North West Shelf of Australia. Once the centrifuge tests were completed, a tube sample was cored from the centrifuge strongbox. Two specimens were prepared from two reference depths, and undrained monotonic simple shear tests were carried out. The undrained shear strengths obtained from the simple shear tests were used to back analyse the T-bar bearing factor (NT-bar). A mean T-bar factor of 9.92 was found for the calcareous silt tested. A threedimensional large deformation finite element analysis was conducted to find out the T-bar factor in an ideal soil, showing the potential for undertaking further parametric analyses using an appropriate constitutive model to develop a robust interpretation framework for Tbar test data