Investigations into the cause and consequence of incipient anodes in repaired reinforced concrete structures

The incipient anode (or halo) effect often occurs on repaired reinforced concrete structures. The diagnosis of this problem is widely reported in literature to be macrocell activity. It is deemed that the cause of incipient anodes is the loss of the natural cathodic protection provided by the corroding steel to the steel in the parent concrete adjacent to the patch repair. This diagnosis however, is based on very limited data. Indeed recent potential measurements on field structures repaired with cementitious proprietary materials have provided data that suggests that macrocell activity is not a cause of incipient anode formation but is instead a consequence. Alternative mechanisms that may cause incipient anode activity include repair/parent material interface effects, residual chloride contamination within the parent concrete, and/or vibration damage to the steel/parent concrete interface during repair area preparation. The aim of the work presented here was to assess the impact of macrocell activity on the formation of incipient anodes around the perimeter of repairs in patch-repaired reinforced concrete structures. Data was collected from a major multi-storey car park and a bridge structure both located in the UK. The analysis challenges the widespread view that macrocell activity is a cause of incipient anode formation. Indeed this work illustrates that the data supporting the existing diagnosis is not convincing and suggests that macrocell activity is primarily a consequence of incipient anode formation and the cause is more likely to be a result of other factors

Advancing Typology of Computer-Supported Influence: Moderation Effects in Socially Influencing Systems

Persuasive technologies are commonly engineered to change behavior and attitudes of users through persuasion and social influence without using coercion and deception. While earlier research has been extensively focused on exploring the concept of persuasion, the present theory-refining study aims to explain the role of social influence and its distinctive characteristics in the field of persuasive technology. Based on a list of notable differences, this study outlines how both persuasion and social influence can be best supported through computing systems and introduces a notion of computer-moderated influence, thus extending the influence typology. The novel type of influence tends to be more salient for socially influencing systems, which informs designers to be mindful when engineering such technologies. The study provides sharper conceptual representation of key terms in persuasive engineering, drafts a structured approach for better understanding of the influence typology, and presents how computers can be moderators of social influence

Institutional isomorphism and change: the national programme for IT - 10 years on

Available online on the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jit.2012.18International audienceInstitutional isomorphism has been a major intellectual contribution within institutional theory for three decades. The effects and processes of institutionalization have traditionally focused on stability and persistence of institutions, and more recently on institutional change. This study contributes to the IS field using the lens of coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphism and change within a highly institutionalized organizational field of health care. The setting is the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, where in 2002 a major government policy was launched to introduce Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to over 50 million citizens. Using episodic interviewing techniques and content analysis of government health IT policy documents, this study provides a longitudinal analysis of the introduction of government policy to modernize health care using information technology. Institutional isomorphic conditions become conflicted with attempts to impose field and organizational change. As clinicians attempt to retain their professional dominance in a climate of almost continuous restructuring of health services, political initiatives to implement EHRs are met with resistance from key stakeholders, resulting in policy changes and further delayed implementation times