Sustainable development of medium strength concrete using polypropylene as aggregate replacement

Abstract—Plastic as an environmental burden is a well-rehearsed topic in the research area. This is due to its global demand and destructive impacts on the environment, which has been a significant concern to the governments. Typically, the use of plastic in the construction industry is seen across low-density, non-structural applications due to its diverse range of benefits including high strength-to-weight ratios, manipulability and durability. It can be said that with the level of plastic consumption experienced in the construction industry, an ongoing responsibility is shown for this sector to continually innovate alternatives for application of recycled plastic waste such as using plastic made replacement from polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl and polypropylene in the concrete mix design. In this study, the impact of partially replaced fine aggregate with polypropylene in the concrete mix design was investigated to evaluate the concrete’s compressive strength by conducting an experimental work which comprises of six concrete mix batches with polypropylene replacements ranging from 0.5 to 3.0%. The results demonstrated a typical decline in the compressive strength with the addition of plastic aggregate, despite this reduction generally mitigated as the level of plastic in the concrete mix increased. Furthermore, two of the six plastic-containing concrete mixes tested in the current study exceeded the ST5 standardised prescribed concrete mix compressive strength requirement at 28-days containing 1.50% and 2.50% plastic aggregates, which demonstrated the potential for use of recycled polypropylene in structural applications, as a partial by mass, fine aggregate replacement in the concrete mix

Validation of a home safety questionnaire used in a series of case-control studies

© 2014 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Conclusions This study found that the validity of selfreports varied with safety practice. Questions with a high specificity will be useful for practitioners for identifying households who may benefit from home safety interventions and will be useful for researchers as measures of exposures or outcomes.Objective To measure the validity of safety behaviours, safety equipment use and hazards reported on a questionnaire by parents/carers with children aged under 5 years participating in a series of home safety casecontrol studies.Methods The questionnaire measured safety behaviours, safety equipment use and hazards being used as exposures in five case-control studies. Responses to questions were compared with observations made during a home visit. The researchers making observations were blind to questionnaire responses.Results In total, 162 families participated in the study. Overall agreement between reported and observed values of the safety practices ranged from 48.5% to 97.3%. Only 3 safety practices (stair gate at the top of stairs, stair gate at the bottom of stairs, stairs are carpeted) had substantial agreement based on the κ statistic (k=0.65, 0.72, 0.74, respectively). Sensitivity was high (≥70%) for 19 of the 30 safety practices, and specificity was high (≥70%) for 20 of the 30 practices. Overall for 24 safety practices, a higher proportion of respondents over-reported than under-reported safe practice (negative predictive value>positive predictive value). For six safety practices, a higher proportion of respondents under-reported than over-reported safe practice (negative predictive valu

Keeping children safe at home: protocol for a case-control study of modifiable risk factors for scalds

Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions. BACKGROUND: Scalds are one of the most common forms of thermal injury in young children worldwide. Childhood scald injuries, which mostly occur in the home, result in substantial health service use and considerable morbidity and mortality. There is little research on effective interventions to prevent scald injuries in young children.OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between a range of modifiable risk factors for medically attended scalds in children under the age of 5 years.DESIGN: A multicentre case-control study in UK hospitals and minor injury units with parallel home observation to validate parental reported exposures. Cases will be 0-4 years old with a medically attended scald injury which occurred in their home or garden, matched on gender and age with community controls. An additional control group will comprise unmatched hospital controls drawn from children aged 0-4 years attending the same hospitals and minor injury units for other types of injury. Conditional logistic regression will be used for the analysis of cases and matched controls, and unconditional logistic regression for the analysis of cases and unmatched controls to estimate ORs and 95% CI, adjusted and unadjusted for confounding variables.MAIN EXPOSURE MEASURES: Use of safety equipment and safety practices for scald prevention and scald hazards.DISCUSSION: This large case-control study will investigate modifiable risk factors for scalds injuries, adjust for potential confounders and validate measures of exposure. Its findings will enhance the evidence base for prevention of scalds injuries in young children

Managing concussion in the real world: Stakeholder perspectives of New Zealand Rugby's concussion management pathway

The potential adverse consequences associated with poor concussion management highlights the need to improve the translation of concussion guidelines into consistent use in real-world sport settings. To facilitate this process, New Zealand Rugby developed a community concussion management pathway to support concussion recognition, diagnosis, and management. This study adopted a pragmatic, descriptive qualitative approach to explore key stakeholders’ perceptions of the concussion management pathway, with the aim to inform policy and practice. Interviews were conducted with 123 participants, including players, parents, coaches, healthcare professionals, and school and provincial union representatives. The framework method was used to analyze data. Themes were organized according to the principles of realist process evaluation that considers contextual factors and mechanisms influencing a program's operation to produce specific outcomes. Contextual factors influencing the concussion management pathway's implementation included governing bodies’ support, existing local resources, general concussion attitudes, or concussion severity. The optimal functioning of the concussion management pathway (mechanism) was influenced by (i) pathway resources, (ii) roles and relationships, (iii) buy-in and support towards the concussion management pathway, and (iv) diligence and communication. Outcomes identified included (i) hitting the target (optimally managed and enhanced awareness) or (ii) missing the mark (dissatisfaction or management gaps). Overall, participants found the concussion management pathway valuable. However, the acceptability of certain policy-related aspects and the underlying attitudes associated with these perceptions, are some areas requiring further investigation and support. Tailoring programs according to end-users’ perceptions is crucial in developing context-sensitive interventions appropriate for a specific setting. These findings may act as a foundation for investigations of concussion management in other settings

maths inside Resource Suite with Interdisciplinary Learning Activities

Maths inside (https://mathsinside.com/) is a photo competition open to everyone living in Scotland, hosted by the University of Glasgow. The maths inside project seeks to nourish a love for mathematics by embarking on a journey of discovery through a creative lens. This suite of resources have been created to inspire entrants, and support families, teachers and those out-of-school to make deeper connections with their surroundings. The maths inside is waiting to be discovered! Also contained in the suite is an example to inspire and support you to design your own interdisciplinary learning (IDL) activity matched to Education Scotland experiences and outcomes (Es+Os), to lead pupils towards the creation of their own entry. These resources are not prescriptive, and are designed with a strong creativity ethos for them to be adapted and delivered in a manner that meets the specific needs of those participating. The competition and the activities can be tailored to meet all and each learners' needs. We recommend that those engaging with maths inside for the first time complete their own mapping exercise linking the designed activity to the Es+Os. To create a collaborative resource bank open to everyone, we invite you to treat these resources as a working document for entrants, parents, carers, teachers and schools to make their own. Please share your tips, ideas and activities at [email protected] and through our social media channels (https://mathsinside.com/#contact). Past winning entries of the competition are also available for inspiration and for using as a teaching resource (https://mathsinside.com/pastwinners/). Already inspired? Enter the competition! (https://mathsinside.com/submit/enter/

Quest for clarity: investigating concussion-related responsibilities across the New Zealand Rugby Community System

There is a growing concern around concussions in rugby union, at all levels of the game. These concerns highlight the need to better manage and care for players. However, consistency around concussion-related responsibilities of stakeholders across the community rugby system remains challenging. Taking a systems thinking approach, this pragmatic, qualitative descriptive study explored key stakeholder groups within New Zealand’s community rugby system’s perceptions of their own and others’ concussion-related responsibilities. Participants included players from schools and clubs, coaches, parents, team leads and representatives from four provincial unions. A total of 155 participants (67 females and 88 males) were included in the study. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. Thirty concussion-related responsibilities were identified. These responsibilities were contained within four themes: (1) policies and support (responsibilities which influence policy, infrastructure, human or financial resources); (2) rugby culture and general management (responsibilities impacting players’ welfare and safety, attitudes and behaviour, including education, injury reporting and communication); (3) individual capabilities (responsibilities demonstrating knowledge and confidence managing concussion, leadership or role/task shifting) and (4) intervention following a suspected concussion (immediate responsibilities as a consequence of a suspected concussion). The need for role clarity was a prominent finding across themes. Additionally, injury management initiatives should prioritise communication between stakeholders and consider task-shifting opportunities for stakeholders with multiple responsibilities. How concussions will realistically be managed in a real-world sports setting and by whom needs to be clearly defined and accepted by each stakeholder group. A ‘framework of responsibilities’ may act as a starting point for discussion within different individual community rugby contexts on how these responsibilities translate to their context and how these responsibilities can be approached and assigned among available stakeholders

Keeping children safe: a multicentre programme of research to increase the evidence base for preventing unintentional injuries in the home in the under-fives

Background: Unintentional injuries among 0- to 4-year-olds are a major public health problem incurring substantial NHS, individual and societal costs. However, evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of preventative interventions is lacking. Aim: To increase the evidence base for thermal injury, falls and poisoning prevention for the under-fives. Methods: Six work streams comprising five multicentre case–control studies assessing risk and protective factors, a study measuring quality of life and injury costs, national surveys of children’s centres, interviews with children’s centre staff and parents, a systematic review of barriers to, and facilitators of, prevention and systematic overviews, meta-analyses and decision analyses of home safety interventions. Evidence from these studies informed the design of an injury prevention briefing (IPB) for children’s centres for preventing fire-related injuries and implementation support (training and facilitation). This was evaluated by a three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial comparing IPB and support (IPB+), IPB only (no support) and usual care. The primary outcome was parent-reported possession of a fire escape plan. Evidence from all work streams subsequently informed the design of an IPB for preventing thermal injuries, falls and poisoning. Results: Modifiable risk factors for falls, poisoning and scalds were found. Most injured children and their families incurred small to moderate health-care and non-health-care costs, with a few incurring more substantial costs. Meta-analyses and decision analyses found that home safety interventions increased the use of smoke alarms and stair gates, promoted safe hot tap water temperatures, fire escape planning and storage of medicines and household products, and reduced baby walker use. Generally, more intensive interventions were the most effective, but these were not always the most cost-effective interventions. Children’s centre and parental barriers to, and facilitators of, injury prevention were identified. Children’s centres were interested in preventing injuries, and believed that they could prevent them, but few had an evidence-based strategic approach and they needed support to develop this. The IPB was implemented by children’s centres in both intervention arms, with greater implementation in the IPB+ arm. Compared with usual care, more IPB+ arm families received advice on key safety messages, and more families in each intervention arm attended fire safety sessions. The intervention did not increase the prevalence of fire escape plans [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) IPB only vs. usual care 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 1.49; AOR IPB+ vs. usual care 1.41, 95% CI 0.91 to 2.20] but did increase the proportion of families reporting more fire escape behaviours (AOR IPB only vs. usual care 2.56, 95% CI 1.38 to 4.76; AOR IPB+ vs. usual care 1.78, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.15). IPB-only families were less likely to report match play by children (AOR 0.27, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.94) and reported more bedtime fire safety routines (AOR for a 1-unit increase in the number of routines 1.59, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.31) than usual-care families. The IPB-only intervention was less costly and marginally more effective than usual care. The IPB+ intervention was more costly and marginally more effective than usual care. Limitations: Our case–control studies demonstrate associations between modifiable risk factors and injuries but not causality. Some injury cost estimates are imprecise because of small numbers. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were limited by the quality of the included studies, the small numbers of studies reporting outcomes and significant heterogeneity, partly explained by differences in interventions. Network meta-analysis (NMA) categorised interventions more finely, but some variation remained. Decision analyses are likely to underestimate cost-effectiveness for a number of reasons. IPB implementation varied between children’s centres. Greater implementation may have resulted in changes in more fire safety behaviours. Conclusions: Our studies provide new evidence about the effectiveness of, as well as economic evaluation of, home safety interventions. Evidence-based resources for preventing thermal injuries, falls and scalds were developed. Providing such resources to children’s centres increases their injury prevention activity and some parental safety behaviours. Future work: Further randomised controlled trials, meta-analyses and NMAs are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of home safety interventions. Further work is required to measure NHS, family and societal costs and utility decrements for childhood home injuries and to evaluate complex multicomponent interventions such as home safety schemes using a single analytical model. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN65067450 and ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01452191. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full in Programme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 5, No. 14. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

An assessment of the Herzberg two-factor theory and of the reactions of a particular group of educational administrators to a questionnaire pertaining to that theory

Master of EducationThis dissertation is concerned with two(2) investigations. These were undertaken as a direct and indirect consequence of an initial desire to assess the potential relevance of a controversial theory of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction for an area of educational administration. In each investigation, data was sought from the sixty five(65) most senior Professional Officers in the Secondary Schools Division and the Technical Schools Division of the Victorian Education Department: These Officers held the administrative position of Director or Assistant Director or Inspector. In Part One, consideration has been given to the major hypotheses of Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory: This Theory constituted the basis for the initial investigation. Herzberg's contention that the sources of job satisfaction are typically different, both specifically and characteristically, from the sources of job dissatisfaction constitutes a radical departure from traditional thinking on this subject. Whereas job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction have generally been thought to stem from common sources, Herzberg identified job satisfaction with factors pertaining to the content of work (Motivators) and job dissatisfaction with factors pertaining to the context of work (Hygiene Factors). He nominated five(5) factors as Motivators - 'Achievement', 'Advancement', 'Recognition', 'Responsibility', and 'The Work Itself'. Similarly, he nominated eleven(11) factors as Hygiene Factors - 'Company Policy and Administration', 'Factors in Personal Life', 'Interpersonal Relations - Peers', 'Interpersonal Relations - Subordinates', 'Interpersonal Relations - Superiors', 'Job Security', 'Possibility of Growth', 'Salary', 'Status', 'Supervision - Technical', and 'Working Conditions'. In Part Two, consideration has been given to a second investigation which attempted to ascertain a possible explanation of the low rate of response associated with the initial investigation. Therefore, despite the possible implications of this dissertation for the Herzberg Two-Factor Theory and for an understanding of the satisfaction/ dissatisfaction of Professional Officers, the major revelation has been the failure to obtain the co-operation of a majority of the Senior Professional Officers who were surveyed