Adoption of building information modelling as a project management tool

This study aims to develop an understanding of current and potential use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) through advanced Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems in the Australian construction industry. This research also aims to find out how BIM has become important for the purpose of construction project management. With the advancement and availability of latest IT facilities it has been seen that the Australian construction industry is increasingly using BIM in construction projects. Its use, however, is limited to large and complex projects and driven by the client’s requirements. With the arrival of powerful CAD software that is available at relatively low expense the technology has seen a steady increase in use. However, more recently CAD has evolved from traditional 2D and 3D CAD into further dimensions such as 4D and nD applications. To date these advanced dimensions CAD technologies have primarily been used solely for design and presentation purposes. Through the use of case studies and interviews, this study gauged how successfully BIM has been adopted within the Australian construction industry. This paper reports the preliminary findings of the literature review

Demographic characteristics of patients using a fully integrated psychosocial support service for cancer patients

Background: Psychosocial support services are an important component of modern cancer treatment. A major challenge for all psychosocial services is the achievement of equity of use. Previous studies in the UK have found that women of higher socio-economic status with breast cancer were over-represented amongst those accessing support services. People with other cancer diagnoses, those from socio-economically deprived areas, and men, were under-represented. Findings: The Oncology Health Service, Kingston Upon Hull, UK, delivers fully integrated psychosocial support and interventions. To assess equity of access in this service, a cross-sectional study of all patients with cancer accessing the service during a 5 day period was carried out. One hundred and forty-five patients attended. Forty four percent were male, and the types of cancer were broadly in the proportions expected on the basis of population prevalence (breast cancer 22%, colorectal cancer 21%, lung cancer 16%). Sixty six percent came from the three most deprived quintiles of the Townsend deprivation Index. Conclusions: The fully integrated Oncology Health Service in Hull is accessed by a more diverse range of patients than previously reported for other services, and is an example of a model of service by which socially equitable use of psychosocial support in the National Health Service might be achieved

Bone fracture nonunion rate decreases with increasing age: A prospective inception cohort study

AbstractBackgroundFracture nonunion risk is related to severity of injury and type of treatment, yet fracture healing is not fully explained by these factors alone. We hypothesize that patient demographic factors assessable by the clinician at fracture presentation can predict nonunion.MethodsA prospective cohort study design was used to examine ~2.5 million Medicare patients nationwide. Patients making fracture claims in the 5% Medicare Standard Analytic Files in 2011 were analyzed; continuous enrollment for 12months after fracture was required to capture the ICD-9-CM nonunion diagnosis code (733.82) or any procedure codes for nonunion repair. A stepwise regression analysis was used which dropped variables from analysis if they did not contribute sufficient explanatory power. In-sample predictive accuracy was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve approach, and an out-of-sample comparison was drawn from the 2012 Medicare 5% SAF files.ResultsOverall, 47,437 Medicare patients had 56,492 fractures and 2.5% of fractures were nonunion. Patients with healed fracture (age 75.0±12.7SD) were older (p<0.0001) than patients with nonunion (age 69.2±13.4SD). The death rate among all Medicare beneficiaries was 4.8% per year, but fracture patients had an age- and sex-adjusted death rate of 11.0% (p<0.0001). Patients with fracture in 14 of 18 bones were significantly more likely to die within one year of fracture (p<0.0001). Stepwise regression yielded a predictive nonunion model with 26 significant explanatory variables (all, p≤0.003). Strength of this model was assessed using an area under the curve (AUC) calculation, and out-of-sample AUC=0.710.ConclusionsA logistic model predicted nonunion with reasonable accuracy (AUC=0.725). Within the Medicare population, nonunion patients were younger than patients who healed normally. Fracture was associated with increased risk of death within 1year of fracture (p<0.0001) in 14 different bones, confirming that geriatric fracture is a major public health issue. Comorbidities associated with increased risk of nonunion include past or current smoking, alcoholism, obesity or morbid obesity, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, type II diabetes, and/or open fracture (all, multivariate p<0.001). Nonunion prediction requires knowledge of 26 patient variables but predictive accuracy is currently comparable to the Framingham cardiovascular risk prediction

Make Things Happen: Activity Sheets

Make Things (Happen) is a participatory project organized by Christine Wong Yap featuring artist-created activity sheets to make things or make things happen. Make Things (Happen) is intended to multiply creative activity. It began with artists creating activity sheets—downloadable from a website, and freely available as photocopies in the exhibition—for anyone and everyone to use and share, encouraging further activation. Organized by Christine Wong Yap featuring artist-created activity sheets by Lauren F. Adams, Oliver Braid, Maurice Carlin, Kevin B. Chen, Torreya Cummings, Helen de Main, double zero, Bean Gilsdorf, Galeria Rusz, Sarrita Hunn, Maria Hupfield, Ariana Jacob, Hannah Jickling & Helen Reed, Nick Lally, Justin Langlois, Justin Limoges, Jessica Longmore, Mail Order Brides/M.O.B., Kari Marboe & Erik Scollon, Betty Marín, Mark Anthony Martinez, Meta Local Collaborative, Melissa Miller, Roy Meuwissen, Laura Napier, Susan O’Malley, Dionis Ortiz, Kristina Paabus, Piero Passacantando, Julie Perini, Ryan Pierce, Pavel Romaniko, Risa Puno, Genevieve Quick, Mary Rothlisberger, Pallavi Sen, Elisabeth Smolarz, Tattfoo Tan, Lauren Marie Taylor, sharita towne, Emilio Vavarella, David Gregory Wallace, Lexa Walsh, Alex Wilde & Emily Chappell, Brian Zegeer, Lu Zhang.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/make_things_happen/1000/thumbnail.jp