Reliability-based assessment procedures for existing concrete structures

A feasibility study of reliability theory as a tool for the assessment of present safety and residual service life of damaged concrete structures has been performed in order to find a transparent methodology for the assessment procedure. It is concluded that the current guidelines are open to interpretation and that the variation in the results obtained regarding the structural safety is too great to be acceptable. Interpretations by the engineer are also included when deterministic methods are used, but probabilistic methods are more sensitive to the assumptions made and the differences in the results will therefore be greater. In a literature survey it is concluded that residual service life predictions should not be expected to be valid for more than 10 to 15 years, due to the large variability of the variables involved in the analysis. Based on these conclusions predictive models that are suitable for the inclusion of new data, and methods for the incorporation of new data are proposed. Information from the field of medical statistics and robotics suggests that linear regression models are well suited for this type of updated monitoring. Two test cases were studied, a concrete dam and a railway bridge. From the dam case, it was concluded that the safety philosophy in the deterministic dam specific assessment guidelines further development. Probabilistic descriptions of important variables, such as ice loads and friction coefficients, are needed if reliability theory is to be used for assessment purposes. During the study of the railway bridge it became clear that model uncertainties for different failure mechanisms used in concrete design are lacking. If Bayesian updating is to be used as a tool for incorporation of test data regarding concrete strength info the reliability analysis, a priori information must be established. A need for a probabilistic description of the hardening process of concrete was identified for the purpose of establishing a priori information. This description can also be used as qualitative assessment of the concrete. If there is a large discrepancy between the predicted value and the measured value, the concrete should be investigated regarding deterioration due to, for example internal frost or alkali silica reactions. Reliability theory is well suited for the assessment process since features of the reliability theory such as sensitivity analysis give good decision support for matters concerning both safety and service life predictions

Social Engineering : A study in awareness and measures

In our technology-based society, there has been a clear focus on technical weaknesses to information security. This study will present another danger that is just as important to be aware of and is just as lethal, Social Engineering. This is an attack against the human element of security. This study covers a basic description of social engineering as well as a more thorough description of how the specific attacks are being performed. It also gives a short description on the factors that can make humans susceptible to manipulation and the possible impact that social engineering might have on an organisation. A research model is created using previous research. The study aims to determine Swedish production companies' perception of social engineering and investigate what measures are being taken to prevent it. This is done through three qualitative interviews with IT professionals from Swedish production companies. Through our research, we have established that Swedish production companies have a good perception of social engineering and that the measures they take to protect themselves are in accordance with best practices. However, the companies put different emphasis on different measures and their view on social engineering’s potential impact differed

Behavior of reinforced concrete beams with loss of bond at longitudinal reinforcement

The effect of loss of bond for longitudinal reinforcement on the structural behavior of RC beams is investigated in a test series of six beams where nominal length without bond is varied. Loss of bond is created with plastic tubes surrounding the longitudinal reinforcement leaving short bonded lengths over support and at positions where stirrups are crossing the longitudinal reinforcement. Using a bond-stress slip relationship made it possible to see that the total bond force could be calculated as the sum of local bond forces. Maximum bond force occurs at maximum load and when the available bond force decreases the load carrying capacity is also reduced. Even for significant loss of bond, the reduction in shear capacity was moderate, implying that short bond lengths are sufficient to create high bond forces. Local areas with bond contributes efficiently to create anchorage for the longitudinal bars. It was also found that the loss of bond was compensated by increased utilization of stirrups, and that loss of bond does not lead to more brittle types of failure

Världsbäst i digitalisering? : En explorativ fallstudie om den pågående digitaliseringsprocessen av den svenska skolan

Swedish society is constantly evolving and growing into higher levels of digitalisation. The school system plays an important part in creating a nationwide competence regarding the proper use of digital tools, by growing alongside the society as a whole. In the spring of 2017 the Swedish government issued a public document called the national strategy of digitalization, which defines certain goals for the school system to achieve. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) is in the process of developing a plan of action, which is to be a document used for guiding people working within the school system towards reaching the goals within the national strategy of digitalization. A few initial changes have now been made to the general curriculum and it has raised several questions, regarding the good, bad or even unmanageable consequences that such changes will lead to. This study aims to look into the ongoing discussion and define specific areas of future research. A number of key actors with different roles within and in relation to the school system have been interviewed. Among the results is a model depicting several major actors within the digitalization process and how they relate to each other. The theoretical framework TPACK is used to analyze and discuss the complexity of a general level of competence that is required of teachers working within a digitalized school system. Two areas of future research have been defined: (1) Continuous study and evaluation of the action plan; (2) Proper use and integration of digital study material

Världsbäst i digitalisering? : En explorativ fallstudie om den pågående digitaliseringsprocessen av den svenska skolan

Swedish society is constantly evolving and growing into higher levels of digitalisation. The school system plays an important part in creating a nationwide competence regarding the proper use of digital tools, by growing alongside the society as a whole. In the spring of 2017 the Swedish government issued a public document called the national strategy of digitalization, which defines certain goals for the school system to achieve. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) is in the process of developing a plan of action, which is to be a document used for guiding people working within the school system towards reaching the goals within the national strategy of digitalization. A few initial changes have now been made to the general curriculum and it has raised several questions, regarding the good, bad or even unmanageable consequences that such changes will lead to. This study aims to look into the ongoing discussion and define specific areas of future research. A number of key actors with different roles within and in relation to the school system have been interviewed. Among the results is a model depicting several major actors within the digitalization process and how they relate to each other. The theoretical framework TPACK is used to analyze and discuss the complexity of a general level of competence that is required of teachers working within a digitalized school system. Two areas of future research have been defined: (1) Continuous study and evaluation of the action plan; (2) Proper use and integration of digital study material

Världsbäst i digitalisering? : En explorativ fallstudie om den pågående digitaliseringsprocessen av den svenska skolan

Swedish society is constantly evolving and growing into higher levels of digitalisation. The school system plays an important part in creating a nationwide competence regarding the proper use of digital tools, by growing alongside the society as a whole. In the spring of 2017 the Swedish government issued a public document called the national strategy of digitalization, which defines certain goals for the school system to achieve. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) is in the process of developing a plan of action, which is to be a document used for guiding people working within the school system towards reaching the goals within the national strategy of digitalization. A few initial changes have now been made to the general curriculum and it has raised several questions, regarding the good, bad or even unmanageable consequences that such changes will lead to. This study aims to look into the ongoing discussion and define specific areas of future research. A number of key actors with different roles within and in relation to the school system have been interviewed. Among the results is a model depicting several major actors within the digitalization process and how they relate to each other. The theoretical framework TPACK is used to analyze and discuss the complexity of a general level of competence that is required of teachers working within a digitalized school system. Two areas of future research have been defined: (1) Continuous study and evaluation of the action plan; (2) Proper use and integration of digital study material

Formative Scaffolding : how to alter the level and strength of self-efficacy and foster self-regulation in a mathematics test situation

The aim of the present study is to advocate the use of a participatory action research programme, the Formative Scaffolding Programme (FSP), in mathematics. The FSP’s main structure is presented as well as an implementation of a class intervention, with the aim of exploring the FSP test cycle’s virtues in a social science class in a Swedish upper-secondary school. The motivations for the FSP’s development were to enhance students’ awareness of their mathematical proficiency, alter the level and strength of their self-efficacy, foster self-regulated learning (SRL), reduce and prevent mathematics-related anxiety, and visualise the learning process in mathematics. The primary findings of the study were there was a resemblance between the FSP setting and SRL phases, and that participation in the test cycle altered the level and strength of students’ self-efficacy and fostered self-regulation in a mathematics test situation. The benefits of working in a formative scaffolding manner indicate that it is worth implementing the FSP on a larger scale. The study is an example of how students can engage in transforming classroom practice and be radical agents of change.